New Arrivals
Author-Laura Picken
Titles

Venom
by Laura Picken

Summary: Crossover with Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. A practitioner of an ancient curse starts to murder those in Cascade who have escaped the law, and Jim and Blair are assigned to track him down. Can Caine, Peter, and Kermit help Jim and Blair find him before Jim becomes the curse's next victim?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of 'em. If I did, they never would have stopped making new episodes of KF: TLC and they would -never- have written someone as annoying as Cassie just to get a female supporting character on The Sentinel. No money is being made off of this. I just want to have some fun. Hopefully a few other people will enjoy it, too.

KF:TLC fans please note: I have looked all over the Net trying to find out exactly -where- Sloanville. Got an infinite number of answers, but most place it somewhere in the midwest. So I'm placing it somewhere in Illinois.

Many thanks to Danae, Zadra and Dawn Witherspoon for beta reading this for me. They kept Jim and Kermit from being a couple of big wimps (and Zadra kept Simon from being totally out of character, once I looked at her ideas...sorry it took me so long!).

Anyway, on with the show...

It was hard to breathe, but he was compelled to go on, even as the hot, heavy air tempted him to rest. He carefully picked through his surroundings, working to get past the jungle underbrush to the distressed howling he had heard in the distance. As he reached a clearing, he discovered that the anguished cries of grief were from a wolf, who seemed to be standing guard over a large black animal and mourning its impending death.

When the man slowly approached the black animal, the wolf's cries turned from grief to growls of protective rage, so the man soothed, "It is all right. I am not going to hurt you. I am just going to see if I can help your friend." The wolf looked up at him with an expression of concern, then slowly jumped off of its charge, still staying close by.

As the man turned his attention from the wolf to the cat, he finally recognized the black animal as a panther. The cat was profoundly ill; its breath coming out in short, shallow pants. He tried to soothe the animal, but to no avail. Focusing his chi towards it, he tried to impart some strength to the animal, but he was not able to reach it. Somehow his efforts were being blocked.

Frustrated, he turned back to the wolf. It was then that he noticed the powerful connection linking the two animals--one that might help the dying animal lying at his feet to survive. He called out to the wolf, "I can not save him alone. If you do not help him, he will die." To his disappointment, the wolf backed away from him, frightened, and ran off.

As the man, too, began to mourn the death of the panther, a fierce growling came from behind him. When he turned, he saw a white leopard trying to fight off a snarling, monstrous-looking beast. Yet it seemed that the beast was not interested in the leopard at all, but in the man. As the man stood to confront the beast, it breathed out a warning, "You can not save them, priest. They are mine, as they have always been."

"They were never yours," replied the priest, "And they never will be."

As the beast backed away, he called out, "We'll see about that, priest, we'll see..."

When Kwai Chang Caine opened his eyes, he realized that he was in his meditation room. The candles around him had burnt down to almost nothing, so he had to have been there for several hours.

Quickly he recalled the vision he had just experienced. [A most perplexing challenge...] He knew the vision had been something related to the future, to his future, but he had no idea how to connect the symbols from the vision to anything in his life or in the neighborhood around him.

A most perplexing challenge, indeed.

*****

Blair Sandburg had a sinking feeling in his gut as he and his partner, Jim Ellison, pulled up to the crime scene they had been called in to investigate. The feeling only worsened when he realized there were only police-related personnel in the area -- not a single morbidly fascinated spectator in sight. "Wonder what's going on..." he mused.

When he got no response from his partner, though, he grew even more concerned. Jim was perfectly comfortable with the normal sights, sounds and smells of a crime scene, to the point where he had often been able to perfectly filter out those sensations and find that unusual piece of information that was often the break in the case. So what was it about this crime scene that was causing him to zone out?

Shaking all suppositions of cause aside for the moment, Blair quickly placed a hand on the older man's shoulder and whispered, "Jim, man, come back. Listen to my voice..."

His soothing reassurances brought Jim out of his deep zone-out. The Sentinel shook off the disorientation, turning to his partner beside him. Remembering immediately what it was that caused him to zone out, he warned, "Stay in the car, Chief."

Blair's concern was evident on his face. "No way, man. If you zoned out on something at this crime scene from this great a distance, then you need me in there."

Jim thought back to the smell that had caused him to zone out. Even from here, it was repulsive enough that he had turned down his sense of smell as low as it could possibly go, yet he could still pick up faint traces of it.

The look of deep concentration on Jim's face was not lost on his Guide. Blair asked him, "What is it, Jim?"

Jim's mind tried to place the foul smell, and was failing rapidly. "It's the body, Chief."

Blair shuddered. That was -so- not what he needeed to hear. "Jim, both you and I are way too familiar with what a corpse smells like, man."

"I know that, Chief. But there's something different about this one."

"-Maybe- I can help you figure it out, but we need to be closer to the crime scene to do it."

Jim could tell right away that he was fighting a losing battle, especially if the normally squeamish Blair was pushing him to get -both- of them to examine the body. Sighing, he relented, "All right, Sandburg, let's go."

As they approached the alley, Blair was beginning to regret his persistence. The younger man started to cough, then gagged as the intense odors finally hit him as well. He exclaimed, "Oh man, Jim, is -that- what you smelled?"

Solemnly, Jim nodded. "Yeah, Chief, that's it."

Before they could see the source of that smell for themselves, though, Simon Banks approached them in full HazMat gear. He greeted them, "Good evening, gentlemen."

Confused, Blair asked, "What's with the 'Outbreak' gear, Simon?"

Ignoring the lame film reference, Simon replied, "Apparently some hospital intern was the one to find the body. The minute he saw its condition, he told us to bring in a HazMat team. The guy's at the hospital getting himself checked out right now."

Jim asked, "Why would he need to do that, Simon?"

Steering his men away from the crime scene and toward the HazMat truck, Simon explained, "The corpse shows all the external signs of having died from the Ebola virus."

Jim and Blair gawked at their captain in open-mouthed shock; memories of the threats Lee Brackett had made flooding their minds. Blair was barely able to ask, "Simon, are they sure?"

Simon shook his head. "No. They won't be a hundred percent certain until after the autopsy. Until then, though, we can't take any chances. So, gentlemen, let's get you suited up."

*****

Although the body itself was intact, it has bled profusely from every orifice, and the smell had almost caused both men to throw up in their HazMat suits. Even though their Asian John Doe had only been dead six hours according to the medical examiner's preliminary exam, according to Jim, it smelled as though the corpse had been dead for almost six days.

So when Jim and Blair walked into the station that next morning, it was obvious that neither man had slept very well, if they had slept at all. The extreme condition of the body, combined with the memories of Lee Brackett and the sight of the forensics team combing the area in the HazMat suits haunted Blair so badly that he had given up all hope of sleeping sometime around 4 a.m.

And, as everyone around Major Crimes was painfully aware of, if Blair looked like hell, then it meant that his partner and roommate probably was going to be in equally bad shape, if not worse. In all honesty, that bit of conventional knowledge was pretty accurate. The exhausted Sentinel woke repeatedly during the night--each time his roommate's heart rate had spiked in response to a nightmare. So when Blair had finally decided that sleep was no longer an option, Jim looked at the clock, and, noticing the time, went downstairs to get a cup of coffee and watch late-night TV. For him, sleep was no longer an option either.

Simon took one look at the way that most of the department was trying to steer clear of his best team and wondered if the information he had just been handed would help them or just make things worse. He soon realized, though, that if the look on Blair's face was any indication, things couldn't get much worse. The last time the kid looked this bad was in the first few weeks after they had rescued him from David Lash. He walked over to the desks of the two men and quietly asked them, "Jim, Blair, could I see you in my office for a minute?"

The two men walked followed Simon into his office as the Captain closed the door behind them. Sitting down in the chairs in front of Simon's desk, Blair asked, "What's up, Simon?"

The captain announced, "We got the autopsy report back from the medical examiner."

At this announcement, both men perked up immediately, concerned. Jim asked, "How'd we get it so soon, sir?"

Simon handed the Sentinel a copy of the report as he replied, "Unfortunately, it's because there wasn't much of the body left for him to autopsy."

Blair looked back at Simon, confused. "But it looked like the body was in one piece last night?" Trying hard to keep down his breakfast as he read the report, Jim replied, "It was, Chief. Unfortunately, that one piece was literally all skin and bones. Whatever disease this guy had, it liquefied all of his internal organs."

"Gross," replied Blair. He then asked, "So it wasn't Ebola?"

Simon shook his head. "No, thank God."

Jim asked, "But then what -did- kill him?"

Simon took a sip of his latest gourmet coffee and replied solemnly, "No one knows. But that's what I want you two to find out."

*****

"Pop?"

Ever since Detective Peter Caine had completed his Shaolin training, he was able to sense his father's chi from halfway across town, and he knew that his father could do the same with him. Still, it felt somehow impolite to not announce his presence.

"Out here, my son."

Peter walked through the house and found both his father and their friend Lo Si, who was known around Chinatown as 'The Ancient', sitting at the outdoor patio, drinking tea. Peter asked his father, "You were supposed to meet me for lunch today, right, Pop?"

Caine's brow furrowed in confusion, then his eyes widened as he remembered, "Ah, so I was, my son. Forgive me, I had forgotten."

[Forgotten?] thought Peter. "Pop, what's going on? You never forget anything."

Caine replied, "The son of an old friend of mine disappeared two weeks ago. The police have done little to help him, and my friend believes his son is in great danger."

Peter raised an eyebrow skeptically at his father. "That can't be all that's bothering you."

Caine nodded. "Last night, I had a disturbing vision, and I believe the vision might be connected to the young man's disappearance."

"Wow," exclaimed Peter, "That must have been some vision. Did you see what happened to your friend's son?"

Caine shook his head. "I did not," he replied, "In truth the vision was, how do you say, rather cryptic?"

[Cryptic?] thought Peter. That didn't sound good. He pulled up a chair and asked his father, "Why don't you describe it to me?"

As Caine described the vision to Peter in detail, the younger man's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't get it, Pop."

"Neither do I, my son. That is why Lo Si and I were discussing it."

While Peter rolled his eyes at his father's characteristically calm statement of the obvious, Lo Si chimed in, "The only thing that I could tell about the vision was that it is connected to the disappearance of Wu Shin's son, because Caine was meditating on that when the vision occurred."

"Wu Shin?" Peter repeated, "That's your friend?" Caine nodded. Peter continued, "Where was his son last seen?"

Caine replied, "In Cascade, Washington."

"Do you have a name, a picture, anything I can work with?"

Caine picked up a picture from small group of papers sitting on the table and handed it to his son. Peter looked at the back of the picture, reading the name of the missing man. "Jason Shin...okay pop, if it'll help I'll ask Kermit to run a check on the man when I get back to the station."

"Thank you, my son."

Peter warned, "Well, just don't go flying off to Cascade without me, all right, Pop?"

At Peter's stern warning, Caine smiled. "All right, Peter. I will not go 'flying off to Cascade' without telling you first."

Peter raised a skeptical eyebrow in his father's direction. [He gave in too easy...] The younger Caine vowed to check in with his father frequently over the next couple of days. At that point, his stomach decided to interrupt the conversation, so he asked, "Well, now that's done, you still up for lunch, Pop?"

*****

After lunch, Peter knocked on the door to Kermit Griffin's office, and was rewarded with a gruff, "Come in, Peter."

Peter poked his head into the office and asked, "How'd you know it was me, Kermit?"

The ex-mercenary deadpanned, "Little trick your father taught me."

He had known the 'Shaolin' cop since he was a child. Even though the -man- Peter Caine had become had changed considerably since his biological father's re-emergence in his life, some things never changed. And that included his friendship with Kermit. Ignoring the glare he was getting from his friend, Kermit continued, "Everyone else in this office, with the noticeable exception of our lovely captain, is too scared of me to even knock on this door, and I happen to know that Captain Simms is, as we speak, in a meeting with the commissioner. So what can I do for you, Pete?"

Getting down to business immediately, Peter pulled out the photograph that his father had given him and asked, "I was wondering if you could run a check on this man for me?"

Kermit took a look at the picture, then turned it over and noticed the name on the back. "Jason Shin, eh? What's this about?"

Peter shrugged, replying, "Don't know all that much. His father's a friend of my father, and Jason here disappeared about two weeks ago. So his father asked my father for help..."

Kermit waved off the rest of the explanation. If you asked Kwai Chang Caine for help, nowadays you were more than likely to end up enlisting both Caines in the bargain. And probably the ex-mercenary as well. Muttering something about another three for the price of one deal, Kermit insisted, "Say no more. What's our Mr. Shin's last known location?"

Peter smiled briefly, then told Kermit as the older man turned to face his computer, "Pop says he was last seen in Cascade, Washington."

As Kermit's fingers flew over his keyboard, he commented to Peter, "All right, first let's check the Snitchnet, see what our Mr. Shin might have been into..."

When information came up on the screen, Kermit read aloud, "Hmmm...Seems our Mr. Shin was a small time dealer, arrested for possession with intention to distribute in various areas of the country. Now, let's check on him in Cascade."

When the search came up with nothing, Kermit scanned the photograph into the computer, and checked the photo against the records of the Cascade PD. When the homicide and medical examiner's report came up as a possible match between the photo and Cascade's 'Asian John Doe', Peter ran a hand through his hair and declared with finality, "So Jason's dead. No wonder his dad had been worried he might be in grave danger."

As Kermit read the report in greater detail, he pointed out to Peter, "But that's not all. Look at how the ME's report says that he died..."

As Peter read over Kermit's shoulder, he grew more and more alarmed. He muttered, "Something about this sounds familiar..." then declared out loud, "I need to talk to my father about this."

Before Peter could leave the office, though, Kermit stopped him, then grabbed his coat and his gun. In response to the younger man's questioning look, Kermit replied, "Oh no, I know you and your father too well by now, Peter. When something like this comes up, most of the time you end up flying halfway across the country and getting yourselves into trouble. You need backup."

Peter shrugged in half-defeat. Apparently, Kermit -was- paying attention... "All right, then, let's go."

*****

When Peter arrived, he found his father packing a small bag and wearing traveling clothes. Exasperated, the younger Caine looked around and exclaimed, "Why do I feel like I'm always the last to know?"

Confused, Caine simply replied, "Because you do not ask?"

Peter rolled his eyes at the statement, then pulled out a cell phone to make flight reservations. "Yes, I need two tickets for the next available flight to Cascade, Washington."

At that point, Kermit tapped Peter on the shoulder and interrupted, "Three tickets." In response to Peter's confused look, Kermit replied, "Backup, remember? Besides, I have a friend in Cascade who can help us."

Peter's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Kermit simply smiled, then, in a perfect imitation of Kwai Chang Caine, replied, "Because you did not ask?"

*****

Blair made one more attempt at getting a positive ID on the John Doe downstairs. Even though the two men had barely spoken for the past hour, Jim could tell that the stress of the day was getting to his partner. The younger man had tried every major local source of information he could think of, and absolutely, positively nothing had turned up. Blair propped his head on the desk with his arms and ran his hands through his hair, as if he was trying use his hands to will his brain to come up with something. Breaking the silence, he asked Jim, "Tell me again why -we're- handling this case and not homicide or missing persons?"

Not looking up from the paperwork he was pouring over, Jim replied, "Because of the unusual cause of death. Homicide won't take it because we can't be sure it was murder, and missing persons isn't taking it because the guy's dead." He put his pen down and looked over at his guide with sincere sympathy. "Find anything yet?"

The frustration evident in his voice, Blair replied, "Nothing. Apparently the guy didn't exist in Cascade prior to the day he died in that alley."

"Check any national stuff yet?"

"Yeah, but none of the databases carry pictures. God, I just wish we had a name to go on..."

"Me too, Chief. Me too."

Simon took that moment to conveniently drop by the desks of his best team. "Hey guys, find anything yet?"

Jim and Blair shook their heads. Blair asked, "any word from the CDC?"

"They asked the ME's office to send them a blood sample, so they'll get back to us sometime tomorrow with the results of their tests. Hopefully it'll turn up something." At that, Jim and Blair both nodded their agreement. They had so little to go on -- they needed -something- to work with.

Rhonda called Simon from across the room, effectively ending the conversation between the three men. When they heard Simon's curse of frustration from across the bullpen, though, they realized that talk would soon change to action, and they got up to get their coats. Before Simon could even get back to them, the two men were ready to leave. Blair asked the captain, "What's up, sir?"

Simon replied, "We found a name for you guys."

Blair's eyes brightened for a moment. "That's good news!" Then remembering Simon's earlier outburst, he questioned, "Isn't it?"

Simon shook his head. "Not this time, Blair. This name is connected to a different dead body. Do you remember Arlo Madison?"

Jim nodded. "Small time thug with a talent for getting really good lawyers?"

Simon nodded his response. "They found his body fifteen minutes ago. The officer on site just called in a request for a HazMat team."

*****

While the flight from Sloanville to Cascade had been blessedly quick and uneventful, the information that passed from Caine to Peter and Kermit was causing its own disturbance among the two cops. Starting off the 'business end' of the conversation, Peter described the way that Jason Shin had died.

Although Kwai Chang Caine remained his normal, passive self through the graphic descriptions, all three men noticed the sounds of the poor souls seated behind them reaching for airsickness bags. Peter winced inwardly, feeling a little guilty at the obvious discomfort their conversation was causing other passengers. Setting those feelings aside, he then asked his father, "Pop, when I read the description of the cause of death it struck a chord with me, but I can't remember why. Did something like this happen at the temple?"

Caine nodded, having recalled the incident immediately. "Do you remember Martin Cho?"

Peter tensed for a minute, concentrating on trying to remember the names of some of the many people he had known from the temple. Moments later, realization dawned on him, and he exclaimed, "Yeah...wasn't he a couple of years older than me?"

Caine nodded as Peter continued to recall everything he remembered about the boy from the temple. "He told me about an old book that he had discovered, and something he had found in the book..." As he continued to recall the conversation from the temple, he hit his hand on the armrest in excitement and declared, "The Curse of the Serpent's Bite! That's it, isn't it, Pop?"

Solemnly, Caine nodded. As the memories continued to flood back to Peter the younger man grew quiet, realizing the depth of their current problem. "Martin tried the inflict the curse on one of the younger children who was giving him trouble...if you hadn't reached the boy in time he would have died, right? Even still, the kid ended up losing the use of one of his hands. But wasn't Martin killed when the temple was destroyed?"

Again Caine nodded. Quietly, he stated, "If we do not know find out who is inflicting this curse on others in Cascade, then I fear that more, too, will die."

Kermit had acted like he was sleeping during most of the conversation, not wanting to interrupt the two Caine's trains of thought. His mind, though, was working overtime. Was this another one of those strange sects that he kept running into ever since Kwai Chang Caine had walked into his life? Or was this a lone killer, working with a far more perverted agenda? He hoped they would be able to get some answers when they arrived in Cascade.

*****

When the plane landed, Peter wanted to try and find a hotel, but Kermit insisted on going to see his source first, and his father, to Peter's displeasure, seemed to be taking the side of the ex-mercenary. Kermit insisted, "If this is as important as you say it is, Caine, then we shouldn't waste any time. Besides, she'll probably be able to find us a place to stay anyway, once we talk to her."

At the mention that Kermit's 'Cascade Connection' was a woman, Peter's face immediately lit up. "She? She wouldn't happen to be attractive, would she?"

Kermit's face lit up in one of his trademark grins. "Oh yeah. And it doesn't hurt that I told her we'd head straight to her place from the airport, either."

As they got into the waiting rental car, Peter crowed, "Well, then we best not keep the lady waiting!"

*****

Peter couldn't help but stare as he got out of the car at the place Kermit had directed them to. Grateful that the rental had a high-tech security system, he locked up the car and joined the two men as they went to the door. [What a lousy neighborhood! And Kermit's attractive, female contact lives -here-? If I were her, I wouldn't want to leave my house...]

For Peter, the ride up the freight elevator was filled with a mixture of hesitancy and anticipation. This didn't seem like much of a neighborhood, but he trusted Kermit. What he wasn't prepared for, though, was the spacious, beautiful apartment that came into view as the elevator reached the top floor. He had to resist the urge to gawk at the high ceilings, hardwood floors and hundreds of windows. He could no longer resist the urge to gawk, though, when his eyes rested upon the blond-haired, blue-eyed knockout that was the owner of the apartment. [-This- is Kermit's contact in Cascade? Wow.]

As Kermit opened the elevator's steel grate, he called out to his old friend, "Share? We're here!"

The classical music they had been enjoying from two floors below ended as a delighted squeal erupted from the woman at the piano. "Kermie! It's good to see you again."

As Kermit went to embrace his long-time friend and surrogate kid sister, Peter mouthed to his father behind Kermit's back, "Kermie?!?" The younger man was in shock that someone could get away with calling Kermit that without fear of gross bodily harm.

Once Sharon released Kermit from the embrace so that he could breathe again, he commented, "It's good to see you, kid. God, you look great! How have you been?"

"Oh, you know me, Kermit. Insanely busy as always. I've been working on the album so much lately I've hardly had any time for myself."

Kermit's eyebrows raised above the top of his glasses in surprised recollection. "That's right! I had almost forgotten about that. Congratulations, by the way."

Graciously, Sharon smiled and nodded, replying, "Why, thank you." Then she noticed the other two men with Kermit and chided him, "But shame on you, Kermit, for not introducing me to your friends yet!"

A small joking gasp escaped Kermit's lips as he exclaimed, "Oh, forgive me, Share. How rude of me! Sharon Driver, these are my friends, Detective Peter Caine and his father, Kwai Chang Caine."

Sharon smiled at Peter, who chivalrously bent down and kissed her hand. Then, turning to Caine, she gasped in amazed recognition, placing the face with the name she had heard so often growing up. Sharon exclaimed, "Oh my God, you're Caine, aren't you?"

Confused, Caine bowed, replying, "I am?"

Sharon continued, "You're a Shaolin priest, right?" Again, Caine nodded, still confused.

Composing herself, she drew to her full height and closed a hand over her fist, bowing in a traditional Shaolin salute. "As a young girl, I was a student of Ping Hai's when he came to our town after your temple was destroyed. He spoke much of your wisdom. I am honored to finally make your acquaintance."

Deeply humbled by Sharon's comments, Caine returned her salute. "I am honored to meet one who so clearly learned her lessons well."

Backing away slightly, she invited the three men, "Please, come in. I was just sitting down to some dinner. Would you care to join me?"

Caine humbly replied, "If it is not too much trouble..."

Sharon cut him off. "It's no trouble at all. Matter of fact I prepared enough for four, since I figured you would be hungry after your flight. Come, sit down."

Graciously, Caine accepted, "Thank you."

After dishing up several plates of the Chicken and Rice Bake she had prepared, Sharon got down to business, declaring to the group, "So, Kermit tells me that you're coming here on a case, more or less?"

Peter looked to Kermit who looked to Caine, wondering who should speak first. Finally Kermit explained to Sharon everything that both Caines had told him about Jason Shin's disappearance, his death and the Curse of the Serpent's Bite. Sharon asked a few leading questions as they ate, and each man took turns answering her questions to the best of their knowledge. Finally, she came to her own conclusions, and she remarked, "Well, I haven't heard anything about something like this, but that could mean it simply hasn't caught the attention of the Bureau yet."

Peter nearly choked on a mouthful of rice. "The Bureau? You work for the FBI?" He took another look around the apartment, thinking, [She can afford - this- on a G-Woman's salary? And she's working on an album? Unbelievable...]

Not even turning around to acknowledge Peter's surprise, Sharon simply nodded and continued her conversation with Kermit. "-However-, I do have some friends in the Cascade PD, so I could try to pull a couple of favors and see if anyone knows something."

Caine responded, "Thank you. It is very kind of you to help us out like this."

Sharon shrugged it off, replying, "Hey, no problem. I don't like to see nutcases running around in my city killing people, anyway."

After a few tense moments, Peter wanted to let the conversation change to something lighter. It was then that Peter remembered Sharon's unusual 'greeting' for Kermit. Grinning wickedly, he asked his old friend, "So how'd you two meet, -Kermie-?"

If looks could kill, Peter would have died a hundred painful deaths at that exact moment.

*****

The next morning, Jim and Blair walked into the bullpen to discover a basket of fresh-baked apple cinnamon muffins on their desk. Skeptically, Jim looked around, first to the guys in the bullpen, then to Simon's office, to see if any of them were showing the slightest hint that they were trying to play a practical joke. When he noticed nothing unusual about the guys in the bullpen, he opened his senses a little further, the Golden incident immediately coming to mind. [After all, better safe than sorry...]

It was at the exact moment that he realized the muffins were perfectly safe to eat and Blair asked, "Wow, who are these from?" that Jim heard a familiar heartbeat behind him, one that belonged to the woman who more than likely baked the muffins. So just before his partner reached for one of the muffins, Jim stopped him with a hand on his chest. At Blair's confused look, Jim put a finger to his lips, then tilted the same finger behind him, indicating that the answer to Blair's question was standing at the entrance to the bullpen. So, following his Sentinel's lead, Blair turned around to find his girlfriend hesitantly waiting for them to notice her.

Skeptically, Jim asked, "What do you want, Share?"

Nervously, Sharon grinned sheepishly as she replied, "Gee Jim, what makes you think I want something?"

Blair rolled his eyes and grabbed a muffin, knowing that Sharon would get down to business soon enough. True to form, as soon as both men were sitting down, Sharon got up the courage to ask her favor. "Okay guys, a couple of friends came by last night and asked for my help."

Jim nodded. "Uh huh. So you need our help to help them."

Nervously, Sharon nodded. "Now, I know you're not supposed to go snooping around in other people's cases..."

Blair led her on, wanting her to get to the point. "But..."

Sharon decided to just come out with it. Not wanting to let on as to just how much her friends knew about the missing man's plight, Sharon began, "The son of a friend of my friends is missing. Cascade was the place where he was last seen. It's not a Bureau case, but I told them I'd ask around a bit, maybe see if any info had come in..."

Skeptically, Jim nodded again. "Uh huh."

Blair asked, "Do you have anything on their friend?"

Sharon nodded, and handed Blair the picture Kermit had given her the night before. "They gave me this picture last night. Their friend's name is on the back."

Within moments of the point when Blair took the picture from Sharon, all the color drained from his face. When Jim looked over at his now stricken partner, Blair handed him the picture and commented, "Well Jim, I guess we have a name for our John Doe now."

Jim's jaw clenched as he took a look at the picture of Jason Shin, the man he now easily recognized as their Asian John Doe from the day before. Looking up at Sharon, who was waiting in anticipation for her friends' response, Jim suggested to her, "I think it might be a good idea if we met those friends of yours."

Sharon's eyes widened slightly, as she asked, "So you recognize this guy?"

Jim took a second look at the picture and nodded.

*****

On the way back to Sharon's loft, Jim and Blair filled them in on the details of the case to date. Sharon couldn't help but notice there was an almost point-for- point correlation between Jim's description of the case and the information Kermit had given her the previous night. [Not surprising,] she thought, [Considering Kermit has more sources of information than the Library of Congress...]

Those thoughts were quickly brushed aside, though, as Sharon led Jim and Blair into the apartment. Apparently, the three gentlemen had made themselves at home. Master Caine was in the kitchen fixing some tea, while his son had decided to avail himself of the workout area and was now giving her favorite punching bag a thorough beating. While this was fine with her, since she had firmly insisted to all three men the previous night that "My home is yours...feel free to make yourselves comfortable..." she still couldn't help but notice the surprise and slight tension coming from the men behind her, particularly Jim. In a voice so low she had dubbed it 'Sentinel-speak', Sharon whispered, "Relax, Jim. Remember, these are friends of mine."

Although Jim, and consequently Blair, relaxed slightly, Sharon could practically -hear- Jim's teeth still grind. She made a mental note to ask him later what was bothering him so much. Right now, though, she needed to make introductions, particularly since both Caine and Peter were so focused on their respective activities that they seemed to have barely noticed Sharon's entrance. She called Caine and Peter over to the elevator and announced, "I'd like you to meet my friends Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg with the Cascade Police Department."

Peter cautiously shook each man's hand, but it was taking almost his entire amount of self-control not to gawk at the men standing in front of him in open- mouthed shock. The smaller one, apparently Blair Sandburg (he couldn't see the big guy with the military build being named Blair), seemed to be standing in front of him with a wolf brushing against the man's legs, yet Blair seemed to be completely oblivious to its presence. And the taller one, apparently Jim Ellison, had a black panther sitting next to him, resting on its haunches, yet Ellison seemed to barely recognize its existence either.

He couldn't entirely tell if the animals were real or not. But, since no one else seemed to be acknowledging them (including his father, although that was never much help in determining whether or not his mind was playing tricks on him), he decided to ignore them himself until he could talk to his father in private. Between the two of them, he was sure they could find a reasonable explanation. The younger Caine introduced himself, "Peter Caine, Sloanville PD." Turning to make the more uncomfortable introduction, he motioned to Caine and added, "And this is my father."

As Jim shook the hands of both men, he noticed something unusual about them. It wasn't anything about their appearance, specifically; it seemed to be more of a feeling... [That's it!] He had -felt- something different about the two men when he shook their hands. Like each of them was surrounded by some sort of powerful energy, different than anything he had ever felt before. He was -definitely- going to have to ask Blair about that one as soon as he had a chance.

Used to hiding his reactions to the unusual sensations that occasionally came with being a Sentinel, Jim was able to compose himself quickly, then greeted Peter and his father, "Good to meet you, gentlemen." He tried to keep his voice cool and casual, not wanting to give much away, particularly to the seemingly nervous 'cop' in front of him, whose heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute. [If he really is a cop. -This- guy is a friend of Sharon's?] Out loud, he asked, "Sharon told us you were looking for a missing person?"

Respectfully, Caine bowed, and spoke in a gentle, hesitant voice, "Yes...Detective Ellison?" At Jim's nod of recognition, Caine continued, "He is the son of an old friend of mine. Apparently he was last spotted here in Cascade."

Jim fidgeted uncomfortably, and looked to Blair for support. This was the part of the job he would never get used to. Gathering his thoughts, Jim then turned back to Caine and said, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but your friend's son Mr. Shin passed away two days ago."

The reaction of the two men in front of them was not one of resignation, grief, anger, or even frustration. In fact, they seemed to simply shift uncomfortably in place, looking more and more like they were hiding something. Blair commented out loud, "You gentlemen don't seem terribly surprised by this?"

A voice behind the two men replied loudly, "That's because we already knew he was dead. Now we want to help you catch his killer."

As everyone turned to the source of the voice coming from the piano, Sharon introduced, "Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, meet my old friend..."

Jim cut Sharon off, "Kermit Griffin." [I can't believe it. -This- is Sharon's friend?] He was beginning to wonder again if he should run a discreet check into Sharon's background.

Coolly, Kermit acknowledged Jim, "Ellison." [-This- is Sharon's friend in the Cascade PD? I thought the guy didn't -have- friends. And he -certainly- wouldn't have made friends with a guy who looked like he's worked Vice too long...]

Blair couldn't help but notice how the temperature in the room seemed to drop about ten degrees when the two men greeted each other. He turned to his partner and asked, "Jim, you know this guy?"

Jim barely nodded, replying coolly, "Chief, it's kind of a long story."

On that point, Kermit was inclined to agree. "Oh yeah."

Sharon had to do -something- to break the tense silence in the room. She questioned both men, "Look, I don't know what happened between you guys in the past, but just answer me one question: can you put it aside and work together to catch this maniac or not?"

With expressions of matching clenched jaws, both men nodded.

Sharon let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. "Good. Now if you'll both just come sit at the kitchen table here we can work on comparing notes on the case." As Jim and Kermit reluctantly followed Sharon's instructions, she continued, "Great. Master Caine, I noticed you were preparing some tea when we came in. Would there happen to be enough for Blair and I to join you?"

Caine nodded his assent, "Of course," and went back to the kitchen to make two more cups of tea.

For his part, Peter commented, "Well, with all the tension in this room, I feel like I could use a good stiff drink, but at this time of the morning I think I'll settle for coffee. Anyone care to join me?" Silently, both Jim and Kermit nodded, and Peter joined his father in the kitchen to make the three cups of coffee.

Satisfied that the crisis was temporarily averted, Sharon asked the younger Caine, "Peter, why don't you fill us in on what you know about Jason Shin's background?"

While he was working in the kitchen, Peter told the group, "Shin grew up in Sloanville's Chinatown, which is where my father met his father. He started dealing at age fourteen, but he was never convicted, as far as we can tell -- his juvie records are sealed. About three years ago he started working his way around the country, apparently trying to either build a network or get himself hooked up with one. Unfortunately, he couldn't get past square one; he usually ended up spending the night in jail for possession with intent to distribute. Most of the time he was caught with such a small amount of product, though, that the judges would let him off. He made it to Cascade three weeks ago, and two weeks ago he disappeared. The next time he showed up was as your John Doe."

Jim then remembered Kermit's greeting to them earlier. "And you believe that Jason Shin was murdered?"

Now sitting at the table, Caine nodded. "Detective, when my son told me how Jason Shin had died, I recognized the effects of an ancient curse called the Curse of the Serpent's Bite."

Jim scoffed in disbelief, but Kermit couldn't help but notice that the ex-Ranger's 'partner' seemed surprised and genuinely curious. Blair questioned, "Excuse me, but did you say -curse-?"

Kermit had to stifle the urge to laugh. Sure, he had seen all sorts of strange sects and curses since Caine had turned his life upside down, but he had a feeling that this was the first time Jim and Blair were dealing with something like this. [Get used to it, Ellison. Knowing Caine and Peter, we're just getting started...]

Jim caught the look on Kermit's face-apparently the ex-spook was buying this whole line hook, line and sinker. Which only made the idea seem less believable to him. [This is crazy! I can't believe these guys are Sharon's friends. And I can't believe that Kermit Griffin, the ice man himself, is buying into this! Something must have happened to the guy since Peru. Maybe a blow to the head...] However, Jim was sure that if Griffin was here, there was more to this than met the eye. Remembering the title Sharon had used for the older man earlier, he asked reluctantly, "Master Caine, how would someone die from the effects of this 'curse'?"

Caine replied, "Once the curse is applied, the person will start to grow increasingly tired, first losing the ability to feel his extremities, then losing function in his arms and legs. This takes about a week. At that point, unable to move from wherever he happens to land, the victim goes through excruciating pain until he finally dies a week later."

[It does sound like a disease,] thought Jim, [Maybe when we get back to the station Simon will have gotten something back from the CDC.] Curious, Jim asked, "And is there any way to reverse this 'curse'?"

Appreciating the detective's skepticism, Caine shook his head. "Through conventional medicine? No, there is not."

[Of course,] thought Jim. He smiled, and nodded politely. [Well, apparently Kermit did go off the deep end, if he really believes this stuff.] Standing up, he told the group, "Gentlemen, thank you for the information on Shin. You've been quite helpful. Sharon, if we come up with anything, I'll let you know." Nodding to his partner, he continued, "C'mon, Chief, let's go."

Confused, Blair quickly caught up to and intercepted his partner at the elevator. He was -sure- they were on to a legitimate lead here. So why all the skepticism from his partner. "Jim," he asked, "What's going on? Shouldn't we at lest hear them out?"

Jim rolled his eyes. Maybe the anthropologist was fascinated by the idea of a 'curse', but Jim had better things to do. Like go catch a psycho killer. "Stay here and listen to them if you want, Sandburg, but I'm not going to sit there and listen to a couple of lunatics just because I felt something--"

Blair cut him off before he could say any more. "Wait a minute, Jim, what do you mean, you -felt- something?"

Now suddenly reluctant to discuss it, Jim hesitated, then admitted, "When I shook their hands, I felt something unusual, like an energy field or something. I've never felt anything like it before."

Blair ran a hand through his hair, trying to process this latest development. "Wow. Some eastern cultures believe that everyone has a certain level of chi energy that flows through them. I wonder if that's what you felt...you mean to tell me you've never felt anything like this before?" Jim shook his head.

Blair ran his hand through his hair again, trying to think. "All right, Jim. Can you do -me- a favor and at least hear them out so that I can figure out why you felt something weird when you shook their hands?" Blair -didn't- say that his gut was telling him these three men were the key to solving this case, and that they might even be telling the truth. If he could just get Jim to stick around and listen to them...

Jim sighed. He didn't want to do this. He thought it was a waste of time. Sensing Jim's apprehension, Blair continued, "Besides, a curse in most cultures was a primitive explanation for a powerful disease, sometimes even a poison. So if this -is- murder, maybe we can use these guys to get an idea as to who's doing it."

Jim sighed again, but Blair could tell the stubbornness was lessening somewhat. With great reluctance in his voice, Jim relented, "All right, I'll give you -ten- minutes, Blair. That's all."

[Great. Crisis averted for now.] "Ten minutes, Jim. You got it."

In the tense moment of quiet that followed, Jim's cell phone rang. As the two men walked back to the rest of the waiting group, Jim answered the phone, almost immediately recognizing the voice on the other end of the line. "Hi Simon! What do you have for me?" As he listened to Simon's information, his face fell, and his brow seemed to furrow in confusion. Finally he ended the call by saying, "Thanks Simon. I'll get back to you when I get things straightened out over here."

When he ended the call the surprise on Jim's face was obvious. He turned to Blair and informed him. "Simon just got the report back from the CDC. They didn't find anything in the blood sample the ME sent them."

Blair was astonished. "Nothing?" Jim nodded.

Kermit chimed in, "And they probably won't find anything, either."

Jim's frustration finally expressed itself. "And what the hell do you know about things like this, Griffin? How do -you- know these two aren't completely insane?"

In an ice-cold voice that seethed with unspoken rage, Kermit leaned in closer to Jim and stated, "Personal experience."

Caine realized a way that he might be able to dissipate some of the tension between the two men. The standoff between them was becoming so uncomfortable to watch that even the panther let out a low growl, although only Caine and Peter seemed to hear it. As he placed himself between the two men, Caine announced, "Gentlemen, I believe I may be able to find a way to get the Detective the evidence that he requires. Evidence -is- what you require, is it not?" At Jim's cautious nod of agreement, Caine continued, "Very well, then. Could you take us to view Jason Shin's body?"

Against his better judgment, Jim agreed. "If you're sure you have the stomach for it, I'll take you."

Sharon couldn't see Kermit and Jim sitting in the same car together without killing each other. She announced to the group, "That sounds like a good idea. Jim, I know the way to the Medical Examiner's office, so why don't I drive Kermit, Peter and Caine and we'll meet you there."

Blair took one look at Kermit, then another look at Jim and agreed immediately.

*****

Peter started to question his father the minute they got in the car. Of all the questions that the meeting with the Cascade cops had brought up, one was foremost on his mind. "Okay, Pop, did you see what I saw? Please tell me I wasn't seeing things in there."

Sharon was confused, and that confusion fed her curiosity. She asked Peter, "What exactly did you see, Peter?"

Peter was so focused on getting advice from his father that he had almost forgotten that Sharon was in the car with them until she spoke up, and he jumped involuntarily at the sound of her voice. Suddenly he became uncomfortable with what he was about to say, because while Kermit had seen enough of the world he and his father lived in that he could blow off conversations like this (more or less), Sharon was a new element. Peter didn't know how she would handle it.

Sharon sensed Peter's apprehension, and assured him, "Believe me, Peter. I've seen some strange things in my time. [-Especially- since I've been friends with Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg...] I doubt anything you could say would be all that shocking to me."

Peter decided to take Sharon at her word. If she thought they were crazy, he could deal with it later. Besides, she -had- studied under Ping Hai... "All right. When your friends Jim and Blair walked in, I saw a grey wolf standing next to Blair, and Jim had a black panther trailing just behind him." Peter then turned around to look his father in the eye and asked, "Did you see them too, Pop?" Wordlessly, Caine nodded. "So what are they?"

Kermit snickered, "You mean the animals, or the detectives?"

If Sharon hadn't been driving the car at the time, she would have hauled off and slugged Kermit. As it was, the icy tone in her voice spoke volumes. "Watch it, Kermit. Those are my -friends- we're talking about here, regardless of whatever it was that went on between you and Jim in the past. So if you want to remain -my- friend, Griffin, you had better lay off."

The ex-mercenary now temporarily silenced, Peter clarified, for his friend's benefit, "The -animals-, Kermit." Turning to his father, he then asked, "Pop?"

Enigmatically, Caine replied, "Not all spirits manifest a human form, Peter."

Peter was confused. "So what are two spirits doing hanging around a couple of cops from Cascade?"

Caine simply shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know."

Peter turned just in time to see Sharon look like she wanted to sink into the seat of her car. Picking up on it immediately, he asked her, "-You- know, don't you, Sharon? You know what's going on with those two?"

Sharon sighed deeply and nodded. "Yeah, Peter, I do. But to tell any of you would be to betray a great confidence, and I can not do that. If you want to understand, I'm afraid you will have to find a way to ask Jim and Blair yourself."

The group spent the rest of the trip in silence.

*****

Blair had only one question on his mind from the moment he got in the truck, but he knew better than to ask it right away. No--first they had to get on the road. Preferably, in high-speed traffic. That way, Jim would have a harder time throwing him out of the truck.

So, after they made it past Sharon's block, Blair asked, "All right Jim, what is it between you and Griffin?"

Jim sighed loudly. "Chief..."

Blair cut off his Sentinel before he could dodge the issue. "Don't start with me, Jim. We don't have time. So unless you think we'll still be able to solve this case with the two of you at each other's throats like this..."

Jim sighed again. After a few tense moments, he began, "I met Griffin down in Peru. The guy was ice personified. Killed without remorse. He had been contracted to kill a rich businessman who was vacationing in Lima. The brass heard about it, and since the guy was the son of a congressman, a couple of us were ordered on guard duty."

"So what happened?"

"Griffin distracted us by getting someone to blow up two of the buildings on the property, then took out everyone in the house. But then the strangest thing happened -- as he was trying to make his escape, I got in the way of one of the other men who was trying to fire on him. He tackled me just before the other guy would have fired at my head. By the time I realized what had happened, though, he decked me so I wouldn't follow him and took off."

"So he defeated you, but he also saved your life in the process."

Jim nodded. "I heard all sorts of stories like that whenever Griffin completed a hit. Apparently he's got his own law that he lives by. So seeing him here, asking questions about Jason Shin..."

"...Means you think there might be something more to this case than meets the eye."

As Jim picked up his cell phone, he smiled, "You're catching on, Chief. You're catching on." Dialing the station, he asked Rhonda on the other end of the line, "Rhonda, I need you to check on someone for me...Peter Caine from Sloanville, Illinois. He says he's a cop...Just basic stuff--I need to know he is who he says he is...thanks, Rhonda."

As Jim hung up the phone he told his partner, "She'll have the information for us when we get back to the station."

Blair asked, "Maybe then we'll get some indication of why Griffin is involved with these guys?" Jim nodded.

*****

Riding in separate cars to the Medical Examiner's office only seemed to give each set of detectives more questions about the other. So when Caine, Peter, Kermit and Sharon met up with Jim and Blair outside the morgue, the tension between them was stronger than it was in the loft. Rolling her eyes, [When am I ever gonna learn...] Sharon opened the door to the morgue and let the men in.

The medical examiner on duty smiled as his two favorite detectives walked in with the group. He asked, "Hi Detective Ellison, Blair. What can I do for you?"

Trying to smile in return, Jim quietly replied, "Hi Joe. We'll need to see that Asian John Doe that came in here a couple of days ago. These gentlemen say they can identify him."

Joe Rockwell led the group to the appropriate drawer, then quickly went back to his newspaper, letting the men who had become adopted members of the forensics division stay to do their 'thing'. All Joe knew was that the less time you spent getting in the way of Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg, the faster they got cases solved. It might as well be a department policy, in his opinion.

As soon as Joe left, Jim pulled away the sheet, revealing what was left of the body of Jason Shin. Normally he would have been a little more sensitive about the reactions of the people around him, but they asked to see the body, and supposedly knew its condition. Sure enough, when he opened his hearing slightly, the only racing heartbeats he heard were the ones of his partner and Sharon, who was seeing the body for the first time.

Caine made his way up from behind his son to stand next to the body. Taking a deep breath, he focused his chi, directing his energy into performing a thorough examination of the body. He moved his hands over the body, looking for the characteristic signs of the curse. Sure enough, the minute he came to Jason Shin's left hand, he found the evidence he was looking for. "Detective Ellison," he called, "I think that if your examiner takes a closer look at this hand, he will find three small marks on the palm. That is the mark of the curse."

Curious, Jim came over to stand at Caine's side. Opening up his sense of touch, Jim examined the hand for himself, when he found the marks that Caine had described. They were on the microscopic level -- if he had felt them earlier, he would still have had to convince the ME to get out a microscope in order to confirm his findings.

Blair couldn't help but notice the look of shock on Jim's face. Afraid his Sentinel was going to zone out, he put a hand on Jim's elbow and asked him, "Jim? What's up, man?"

Jim looked straight into Caine's eyes for a moment, and Caine nodded. Jim shifted uncomfortably. It was as if Caine had looked straight into his soul and understood - both his secret and his need for privacy. Breaking the gaze, Jim grabbed Blair and pulled him away from the rest of the group. "The marks, Chief. They're there, just like he said they were. They're just a little hard to find."

Blair understood what Jim meant immediately -- that -Jim- should have been the only one to tell that they were there. "So how did -he- know they were there?"

Jim shrugged, and was about to express his curiosity about the same thing when his cell phone rang. He answered it, "Ellison."

On the other end of the line, Rhonda responded, "Jim? It's Rhonda. I have that information you were looking for on Peter Caine."

Jim glanced over at the object of his background check and nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

"He's a cop all right, Jim. And from what I got from Sloanville, he seems to be a pretty good one. His biggest problem seems to be that he can't keep a partner for very long."

[Gee, sound familiar, Ellison?] Out loud he simply asked, "Really?"

"Yeah. Get this, Jim...my contact in Sloanville said he's probably traveling with another guy from the department named Kermit. Wild name, huh?"

Looking over at the man who matches the name Jim replied simply, "Yeah. Thanks for the info, Rhonda."

"No problem, Oh, and Jim, there's one other thing that Sloanville PD said you should know about Caine."

"Go ahead."

"If Peter's father is with him, he should be treated, according to my friend in Sloanville, 'like Peter's partner'. He's some sort of mystic healer priest or something like that, from what my friend told me, but they say he's got these unbelievable instincts--kinda like you, Jim."

Jim glanced over to Blair as he repeated, "Kinda like me, huh?" The words were not lost on the young anthropologist.

"Yeah."

Jim sighed. Things seemed to keep getting more and more complicated all the time. "All right. Rhonda, thanks again."

"Anytime, Jim. Hope it helps." *Click*

Blair couldn't quite understand what Jim was trying to tell him as his partner closed the connection on his cell phone. Could the old man be another Sentinel? A lot of his observations were pointing to that, but somehow he didn't think that was the case. So what was? Both men rejoined the group, then Blair turned to Caine and asked, "I don't understand how you could determine the location of the marks."

Caine tried to read the conflicting emotions he felt from the younger man, who had now positioned himself so that they were standing next to each other, while Detective Ellison stood just behind Blair. Blair seemed curious, passionately so, but that was warring with a fierce protectiveness, evidently toward his partner. And he could feel an aura surrounding the two men that was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was as if Blair's chi had meshed with that of his partner's in a symbiotic relationship. They were separate individuals, but yet they were also one--one where the whole was infinitely greater than the sum of its parts. Even the panther moved around to pace back and forth in front of the two men, periodically letting out a low protective growl. Maybe that bond would be the way to explain..."Every living thing in the universe possesses it's own energy, which is called chi."

Blair waved off the basic explanation. "I'm familiar with the concept. Go on."

Acknowledging Blair's comment, Caine continued, "The curse causes the chi of the affected person to break, so to speak, at the point where the victim comes into physical contact with the person delivering the curse. At that point the curse systematically eats away at the pathways through which chi travels, causing the symptoms I had described to you earlier, and eventually leading to this condition in the body after death."

Pointing to the spots on Jason Shin's hands, Caine described, "From the position of the marks, it would appear that the person who delivered the curse shook hands with the victim, which pierced the skin here, here, and here."

Blair watched with fascination as Caine pointed out the exact marks that Jim had found a moment earlier. But his heart leapt with amazed recognition at he noticed the brand mark on the inside of Caine's forearm. [-Now- this is starting to make sense...] "You're Shaolin, aren't you?" Caine nodded.

Peter was impressed that a cop from Washington State would recognize the brands so quickly. "How much did Sharon tell you?"

Blair looked over at the younger Caine, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Sharon...?" Looking to Sharon and then to Jim, he realized what the Sloanville cop had been thinking all along, and he had to stifle the urge to laugh. As it was, he still let out a few small chuckles as he asked, "Share didn't tell you, did she?"

Now it was Peter's turn to be confused. "Tell us what?"

Blair replied, "I'm not a cop. I'm a Professor of Anthropology over at Rainier."

Peter rolled his eyes. As with everything on this case, when one question is answered, two more come bouncing out of the woodwork. [First question: Did these guys know about the curse before we ever got here, which would explain the presence of an anthropologist? Not likely, considering Detective Ellison's reaction to the theory before--he looked like he thought we were -all- nuts. So that brings us to question number two...] "What would an anthropology professor be doing working a murder case?"

Tiring of all of this 'discussion' around the body, Jim decided to try a little obfuscating of his own. He answered Peter, "Professor Sandburg is a -forensic- anthropologist, who the department decided to bring in when the Medical Examiner had some difficulty determining how Mr. Shin died. So, now that we have some more to go on, perhaps we should all just go down to the station and start working on trying to figure out just who might be using this curse against these men."

Sharon caught the end of the statement with a bit of surprise. From the stories Ping Hai had told her of the temple and Kwai Chang Caine, she had assumed that the attack was something personal against the Shaolin Priest. "Jason Shin's not the only victim?" Jim nodded.

Bringing out a ballpoint pen, the Sentinel drew circles around the three marks on the victim's hand, careful not to disturb the marks themselves. While Blair held the door open so the others could leave the Medical Examiner's office, Jim called out to Joe, "Joe, I marked three spots on our guy's left hand. Can you do a biopsy of the skin inside the three spots and send it out for DNA typing? And could you check the same areas on the other victim as well for a possible match?"

At Jim's call Joe replied, "Right away, detective," and immediately got up and put his lab coat back on, preparing to head into the autopsy bay. Unofficial forensics department policy #2: If Jim Ellison asked you to take another look at a certain piece of evidence, then you do it. Whether you saw something there before or not, there's something there now. And you're better off simply getting the good detective the evidence he needs instead of trying to sit there and argue with him. Sighing, he opened the door to the autopsy bay and walked through. DNA typings took forever. It was going to be a long day.

*****

Peter was the last one to leave the office, so Blair caught up to him quickly, leaving the door swinging behind him. He couldn't believe he was talking to a Shaolin Priest and his son in the middle of a murder investigation. He had read things about the Shaolin in Burton's work -- mostly footnotes about them when he realized they weren't Sentinels, but the information was fascinating nonetheless. That could explain why Jim felt an 'energy field' around Caine, but why did he feel the same thing with Peter? The guy was a -cop-, for Pete's sake.

From the minute Blair realized that Caine was a priest, the questions about Peter had been running around in his mind, demanding to be answered. Finally, Blair simply had to know. Tapping Peter on the shoulder, he asked, "Detective Caine, can I ask you a personal question?"

Stopping to let the anthropologist catch up with him, he replied, "Go ahead."

"Can I look at your forearms?"

Wondering why a 'forensic' anthropologist was so curious about this, Peter rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, turning his arms forward to that Blair could see the relatively unscarred skin.

Now Blair was even more surprised. Looking up to lock eyes with the priest's son, he asked, "You're Shaolin but you didn't take the brands. Why?"

Automatically Peter explained, "I completed all the training to become a priest, but realized before I was set to take the brands that my destiny was to be a cop." Catching the full implications of Blair's statement, Peter then asked, "How did - you- know I was Shaolin?"

-Knowing- he couldn't tell Peter the truth without letting on about Jim's abilities, Blair lied, "Educated guess. Since your father's a Shaolin priest, I figured he probably raised you to become one too."

Blair then ran to catch up with his partner, effectively ending the conversation before Peter could call the younger man on the obvious lie. The Shaolin cop no longer needed to see the wolf and the panther to know that something very weird was going on with the 'anthropologist' and the cop from Cascade. He just wished he could figure out what it was.

*****

Since they couldn't all fit into one car, Sharon got into the rental car again with Kermit, Peter, and Caine, while Jim and Blair climbed back into the truck. Sharon could tell immediately that the tension between the Jim and Kermit had dissipated, but -only- slightly, more from Kermit's end than Jim's. She also had a feeling it was due more to the threats she had delivered to Kermit in the car earlier than an actual reconciliation. Sighing in frustration, she thought to herself, [Hopefully these two can catch the bad guys without killing each other...]

Once the group from Sloanville was on the road, Peter asked his father, "Do you believe that garbage Ellison tried to sell us about Sandburg being a 'forensic anthropologist' assigned to only this case? No way. They've known each other way longer than that."

Caine was impressed. "How can you tell, my son?"

Peter replied, "Their chi. Whenever they stood next to each other it was like there was some sort of connection between them. That type of a bond doesn't happen overnight. Not to mention the fact that those animal friends of theirs seem to be fully aware of each other and the bond between those two. And Blair somehow -knew- I was Shaolin."

Caine raised a curious eyebrow at the revelation, but he was not surprised. Considering the things that he was beginning to suspect about the pair, he was surprised the young Shaman hadn't recognized them before now.

Kermit, on the other hand, -was- surprised. And immediately suspicious. Obviously there was more to Mr. Blair Sandburg than meets the eye, but if he wasn't a cop, and he wasn't a 'forensic' anthropologist, then what was he doing hanging around with a cop working a murder investigation? The -only- thing that these guys had going for them at this point was the fact that Sharon knew their secret and she considered it important enough of a secret to -not- tell him about it, but also to not get in the way of the pair's working relationship. Regardless of the circumstances, Kermit trusted Sharon implicitly. If she thought they could solve the case, he would go along. Still, he tapped his fingers impatiently against his knees, wishing fondly for his old computer system back home. -Somewhere- there was a record of this little secret, and Kermit was certain that, with a little digging, he could find it.

Peter asked, "Do you think we can we trust them, Kermit?"

Kermit didn't have an answer for that. He wasn't quite sure himself.

*****

Since Arlo Madison had been dead less than 24 hours, his body was still in the small morgue at police headquarters, waiting to be transferred to the new medical examiner's office that afternoon for a full autopsy. Blair was -not- looking forward to seeing another rotting dead body, especially since they hadn't eaten since breakfast and he was -really- hoping to try that new Thai place around the corner for lunch. But, if Jim and Caine could confirm that Madison was killed by the curse, it would be their first concrete lead in the case. And that, he reluctantly admitted, was a far more important priority than his stomach.

When the entourage entered the office, it was empty--all of the lab technicians having apparently decided to take lunch at the same time. Looking around at the empty lab and the determined look on Ellison's face, Peter asked, "Shouldn't we wait until one of the technicians gets back?"

Tilting his head slightly to the side for a moment, Jim simply shrugged, "Nah. I know which drawer Madison's in. This won't take long." In truth, Jim really didn't know which drawer housed the remains of Arlo Madison, but he was sure he could find it. Opening up his sense of smell, Jim had very little trouble picking up the faint odor that had nearly overpowered him the day before at the crime scene. Confidently walking over to the wall of refrigerated drawers, Jim stopped and opened the middle drawer.

Lifting up the sheet, the body of Arlo Madison was revealed to the members of the group, and Caine went to work, locating the curse-caused break in the decaying chi with little trouble. Pointing out the marks on the dead man's right hand, he motioned for Jim to take over, and the Sentinel easily confirmed the location of each mark with his heightened sense of touch.

Peter watched the silent conference between his father and the Cascade cop, completely amazed. Jim could not possibly have known which drawer Madison's body was in unless he was here when the coroner brought him in-- which wasn't likely. Plus, this was the second time that Jim only needed to touch the corpse's hand to verify the things that only his father, as a Shambhalla master, should have been able to see. Finally, he decided he couldn't stand being out of the loop any longer, and he demanded of the group, "All right, will somebody explain to me exactly -what- is going on here?"

Uncomfortable enough with the implications of that statement that his expression could be passed off as confusion, Blair replied, "What are you talking about, Detective Caine? You know as much as we do, right now."

"Apparently not, considering that your partner is confirming evidence that only my father should be able to see, finding bodies when only the lab techs should have any idea where they are, and he senses something about me -and- my father that led you to a conclusion that I was Shaolin without me telling you. And to top it all off, Sharon -knows- what's going on, but refuses to say anything. So is anyone willing to let me in on the big secret, or do I just get to sit back here and look stupid while the three of you go on without me?"

To everyone's surprise, Kermit's voice called out behind them, "I think I just figured out what Ellison's big secret is, Peter."

The group turned around to see Kermit sitting at one of the lab tech's computers. When Jim caught a glimpse of the computer screen and discovered exactly -what- Kermit was looking at, all the color drained from his face. The type of information that Kermit just discovered about him could make the ex- spook a very rich man, and, for Jim, a very dangerous enemy. Concerned by his partner's stricken expression, Blair asked, "Jim?"

Rubbing a hand over his face, Jim sighed, working very hard to compose himself. "He's reading a summary of your Master's thesis, Chief."

Up until two minutes ago, Kermit would have been curious as to how Jim had figured that out. But now, he was simply impressed. Whistling, he complimented Jim sarcastically, "Nice work, Ellison. But can you read the fine print in a car commercial?"

Turning his attention back to Peter, Kermit continued, "-Doctor- Sandburg -is- an anthropologist at Rainier University, but he's a -cultural- anthropologist, not a forensic one. He got his Ph.D. doing research on police subcultures, using the Cascade PD, particularly the Major Crimes Unit, as his focus group. Quite a switch from your Master's topic, Professor."

Peter was still confused. "So what's the big secret?"

"Well," replied Kermit, "My guess is that police subcultures wasn't your original thesis topic, was it Professor?" As Blair shook his head, Kermit continued, "Dr. Sandburg's Master's thesis was on how people with one or more abnormally heightened senses function in normal society. In his thesis he theorized that these people, somewhere up in their ancestry, were descendents of a Sentinel: a warrior with all five senses heightened far beyond normal human capacity. A Sentinel's responsibility in pre-civilized cultures was to protect his tribe, or in your case, Ellison, the city of Cascade--am I correct?"

Coolly, Jim nodded. "What do you want, Griffin?"

Ice and anger dripping from his voice, Kermit shot back, "No more secrets, Ellison, that's all. You know who we are, we know who you are, so let's end this cryptic garbage right here and right now. I am -only- here because my - friends- needed my help, nothing more. So unless you want to see more people dying painfully in -your- streets I suggest we get on with it."

Jim carefully scrutinized the man in front of him. Was this a man he could trust? For now, he had no choice. "Agreed."

While the rest of the room let out a collective sigh of relief, Jim continued, "We found marks on Madison's right hand that were an identical match to the ones on Shin's left hand. It's the same killer all right."

Peter added, thinking out loud, "So now we need to find out who Jason Shin and Arlo Madison had in common."

All the heads in the room nodded quickly in agreement. After a few tense moments of silence, Blair asked Kermit, "How did you get a hold of my Master's thesis, Detective Griffin? The commissioner had the University bury their copies of it a couple of months after I got my doctorate."

Kermit smiled in response. "Let's just say I know how to use a computer to find what I'm looking for."

[He broke into the University's computer system from a terminal at police headquarters. Figures,] thought Jim. But then his eyes widened as he realized that what he did may not be all -that- bad, considering... "Kermit, exactly how good are you on a computer?"

Even Kermit could tell that Jim had something up his sleeve. "Just what exactly do you have in mind, Ellison?"

*****

As Simon watched his most troublesome team hard at work in the bullpen, he silently hoped that they would have some new information on these mysterious deaths. Not that he minded seeing low-life scum like Madison get caught by God's brand of justice, but it was a case of waiting for the other shoe to drop. When this 'disease', or whatever you wanted to call it, would take the life of someone who actually had a life worth living for. Someone with a wife. Kids. Someone the cops of this city had been sworn to 'serve and protect'. Only at this point, they couldn't even be sure what it was they were trying to protect these people from.

He cradled his head in his hands as he tried to rub his temples and get the growing headache to dissipate. The concentration that simple task required took his focus off the door long enough that Simon barely noticed the entourage of people accompanying Jim and Blair even as they were camped around the detective's desk, watching a strange-looking man with graying hair and green glasses type furiously into Jim's computer. The older man was probably a relative of their Asian John Doe, so that means that Jim and Blair got an ID of their victim #1. So who were the rest of them?

Trying to act casual, Simon left his office and started to walk toward Jim's desk when Rhonda intercepted him. Having already put two-and-two together from Jim's earlier phone call, she wanted to save her boss some embarassment. Handing Simon a sheet with the Sloanville info on it she mentioned, "Captain Banks, here's the information Detective Ellison requested from the Sloanville PD. I thought you might want to take a look at it before I gave it to him."

"Sloanville PD?" muttered Simon. Quietly, he asked, "Rhonda, why are you giving me this? If Jim wanted to find out info from another police department - "

Rhonda interrupted him, "Sloanville PD sent two detectives to Cascade to conduct their own investigation, and apparently they ran into Jim and Blair along the way. Jim called in a request for background info on Sloanville's men, so I made a few calls. I gave him most of the information over the phone, but I figured he might want it in writing for the reports later, so-"

Simon caught on immediately. Scanning the sheet that Rhonda had typed up, he frowned at the unusual name. "One of them is named...Kermit?"

"Yes Sir," replied Rhonda. Pointing him out to Simon she told him, "I can only assume it's the guy in the green glasses."

"The one at Jim's computer?"

Rhonda nodded. "Apparently he's an ex-mercenary. Surprised Ellison hadn't heard of him."

Simon nodded in agreement. "So am I." But then again, Jim was never all that open about his Covert Ops days...scanning the rest of the information, she noticed that the older man was, in fact..."That's Caine's father?"

Rhonda nodded. "Yes sir. Apparently he has a habit of getting involved in his son's cases-which hasn't hurt Detective Caine's arrest and conviction rate any."

Simon reached up under his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. [-Why- does that sound so familiar...] "Have they all been cleared through security?"

"In about five minutes, Sir."

Simon allowed himself a brief smile. "Thanks, Rhonda."

Shrugging off the thanks, Rhonda went for her desk and the phone.

Sighing, Simon tucked the page in a file folder and went to join the group at Jim's desk. When his arrival failed to get the attention of anyone in the very focused group, he asked simply, "Hello, gentlemen. So how's that case coming along?"

Everyone but Jim and Caine jumped involuntarily, startled at the addition of the unfamiliar voice. Blair turned around to face their supervisor and spoke on behalf of the group. "Oh, hi Simon! Turns out some friends of Sharon's knew the John Doe and were able to ID him. Small world, huh?"

[It figures that somehow Sharon would play into this.] The minute Sharon got involved it meant the case was either big or weird or both. Looking over at the young woman, Simon asked, "So if this is has become a Federal investigation, why are you guys working here? Couldn't you get more information from the Bureau's computers?"

Sharon shook her head. "Actually, Captain-"

Simon sighed loudly. "Don't tell me you're doing a favor for-"

Peter spoke up. "For me, Captain." Moving around to face Simon, Peter offered his hand. "Detective Peter Caine, 101st Precinct, Sloanville, Illinois." Nodding to point to the man in the chair Peter continued, "This is my associate, Kermit Griffin."

Simon shook the offered hand, then turned to the man who Peter had not introduced. Keeping up the act, he asked, "And you are?"

Bowing respectfully, Caine replied, "I am Caine."

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Simon played at putting two and two together. Turning to Peter he asked, "Is he your father?"

Jim nodded, speaking up for Peter, "Mr. Caine is also a friend of the father of the deceased, Captain."

Simon nodded. Now this was starting to make more sense. At least, as much sense as most of Jim and Blair's cases ususally made. Pushing his questions about Sloanville to the back of his mind for the moment, Simon turned his focus to the case. "So what's Detective Griffin doing working on -your- computer, Jim?"

Speaking up for the first time, Kermit replied coolly, "Trying to drum up some leads for your men, Captain." After some more furious typing, he announced, "Okay, gentlemen, I think I've got something." Punching a few more keys, a map of the US came on the screen. "All right, these red dots here are the locations where our Mr. Shin was arrested for possession within the last three weeks."

Simon's eyes widened in surprise. The little red dots were scattered across the map. It could never be easy with these two, could it?

Blair asked, "What does this have to do with Madison? As far as we know so far, the man never traveled past the Cascade city limits."

Kermit almost smiled. Almost. "Glad you asked that, Blair. The answer to that question is going to depend entirely on Jim's answer to this next question." Turning to the Cascade detective Kermit asked, "Was Madison working for anyone just before he died?"

Jim shrugged, "Not that I know of."

Peter asked, "Why do you ask, Kermit?"

"The majority of the people that our Mr. Shin said he met with?" Peter nodded, and Kermit continued, "Have strong ties to the Sing Wah." Peter rolled his eyes, the frustration evident on his face.

Confused, Jim asked, "Who are the Sing Wah?"

His voice laced with bitter sarcasm, Peter replied, "Oh, just some old friends of the family."

If Kermit was rolling his eyes, you couldn't tell behind the dark green glasses. "The Sing Wah are a religious sect - unfortunately, the only God they worship is the almighty dollar."

[Great,] thought Jim. Ancient curses, ex-spooks, and now a religious Chinese Mafia? He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to end up with a massive migraine sometime before the end of this case. Sure enough, he could already feel the pressure building just behind his eyes. Trying to ignore it, though, he asked Kermit, "Do you have a list of the people that Mr. Shin met with in Cascade?"

While Kermit shook his head, Caine replied, "I might be able to find out by contacting his father."

By this point Simon's migraine was starting to grow faster than Jim's. "Gentlemen," he motioned to his men, trying vainly to smile, "May I see you in my office, please?"

Jim and Blair winced inwardly at the false politeness in Simon's tone of voice. The man was about to blow, and he didn't want to do it in public. Muttering quiet, "Yes, Sir"s, the two men followed Simon to his office.

*****

Jim and Blair both fidgeted nervously as Simon quietly shut the door, poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat down behind his desk. Pausing to allow himself a deep breath and a sip of coffee, Simon asked, "Gentlemen, would someone like to explain why the -hell- I wasn't informed the minute outside cops wanted in on this case?"

Jim and Blair looked at each other, wondering who was going to be stuck with the explanation. Was it only that morning that Sharon had asked them for a 'favor' for a friend?

In the end, though, Jim lost the silent argument, so he filled Simon in on everything that had occurred since that morning, including..."You mean to tell me, that grey-haired weirdo broke into Rainier's computer system on a 'hunch' and read excerpts from your master's thesis?"

Blair nodded, "Yes, Sir."

Simon stared at Jim in wide-eyed amazement. "So he knows about--?"

Jim and Blair replied in unison, "Yes, Sir."

Simon cradled his head in his arms and sighed. Nope, it never -could- be easy when it came to these two. "So what's the next step?"

Jim replied, "Jason Shin's the key here, Sir. We need to find out if Shin met with this Sing Wah while he was in Cascade, and if Arlo Madison had anything to do with the group. Once we determine that, we might be able to pinpoint the perpetrators."

Sighing deeply, Simon ordered, "Well then get to it, gentlemen. If this really is some ancient Chinese curse I'd like to get these people out of Cascade before someone else dies, understood?" Jim and Blair both nodded in agreement, and Simon continued, "Go! You're not supposed to watch your Captain while he's in the middle of a nervous breakdown."

Muttering vague, "Thank you, Sir"s, Jim and Blair quickly left the office, leaving Simon alone with the headache he knew only came into his life via the team of Ellison and Sandburg.

*****

The phone call to Jason Shin's father proved fruitless. Apparently, father and son had not spoken of Jason's work habits in several years, and the man had no idea that his son was even trying to get into drug dealing. Both Caine and Jim (who was listening in on the conversation) believed the man was telling the truth, and Jim let out a sigh of frustration when Caine hung up the line. "So where does that leave us now?"

After a few tense moments of silence, it seemed almost like a light went off above Peter's head. Leaning forward to place a hand on the desk, he suggested to the group, "Jason had only been in Cascade three weeks, right?" Everyone nodded. "So it would have taken him a couple of days to set up the first meet. What if he only got in -one- meeting before he got sick?"

Sharon mused, "If it took him a day or two to get in contact with the person, who would obviously be a very busy man who wouldn't be able to see him for several days..."

Blair finished the thought, "Then whoever Jason met with is probably our killer."

Jim added, "So we shouldn't be looking for who Jason Shin met with, we should be trying to figure out who would be the first person he would have tried to contact. Maybe he would have gotten the name from the last person he met with in the last city he was in before he came to Cascade. Kermit?"

Following Jim's train of thought to the letter, Kermit had just stopped typing, having gotten the information he was looking for. "According to my sources, the last guy Jason met with was a Kun Tsin Cho in Seattle's Chinatown."

Jim asked, "Do you have a last known location?"

"Oh yeah."

"Good." Looking at his watch, Jim finally realized how late in the day it was. "Seattle's about a three-hour drive from Cascade, so why don't we head out first thing in the morning?"

Once the others looked at their watches, they all nodded in agreement. Sharon offered to Jim and Blair, "Guys, you're welcome to come over to my place for dinner, if you like."

Both Blair and Jim couldn't help but smile, and Blair responded, "Since when have I -ever- been able to turn down some of your cooking, Sweetheart?"

Leaning closer to her boyfriend, Sharon replied, "Not since you learned that I cook better than Jim..." and kissed Blair quickly, letting out a small chuckle when their lips parted.

When Peter caught the exchange between the couple, he let out a small defeated sigh that Kermit picked up on. Standing up to put on his coat, Kermit squeezed the younger man's shoulder, telling him, "Relax, Pete. It's not like you're -always- going to be the one to get the girl."

Caine couldn't help but let out a small chuckle of his own, and the group headed toward the elevator. Before the door could close, though, an Asian- looking patrolman caught it, forcing his way into the elevator and rudely making his way to the back so he could rest the arm that was trying to hold down a giant bundle of files. When he was finally settled, the patrolman leaned back against the rear wall of the elevator and moved to set his free hand down on the railing. When the hand hit warm flesh instead of cold metal, he looked down to realize that his hand had landed directly on top of Jim's left hand. Quickly removing his hand, he looked up into steel blue eyes and apologized, "Sorry."

Annoyed at the intrusion into his personal space by this strange man, Jim simply rolled his eyes, and moved a couple of inches away from the man next to him, muttering something about rookies. It was only after the annoying man left three floors later that Jim started to notice a slight tingle in his hand. Thinking his sense of touch had simply gone hyperactive on him for a bit, he turned it down a little, hoping that after dinner at Sharon's and a cold beer, he could forget about the whole thing.

*****

Sharon watched the men in front of her carefully as they entered the loft. The elevator ride had been quiet and tense - apparently Kermit and Jim still had very little to say to each other, and no one else seemed to be willing to break the stalemate between them. Making it into the loft, though, gave each of the non- combatants a safe place to hide.

Sharon was the first to find a way out. "You gentlemen go ahead and make yourselves at home while I start dinner."

Caine picked up on exactly what Sharon was trying to do. He tried to project into a look whether or not Sharon wanted help preparing the meal. The young agent must have caught on, because she subtly shook her head no. Realizing the opportunity it gave -him-, Caine suggested, "I think I will spend some time in meditation before dinner." Turning to his son he asked, "Peter, would you care to join me?"

Not wanting to be frozen in the icy atmosphere between Kermit and Jim, Peter agreed. "Sure Pop, sounds like a good idea."

Caine then turned to the fledgling Shaman. "Would you care to join us, Mr. Sandburg?"

Blair's eyes widened a bit in surprise. This would be an incredible opportunity to study the Shaolin up close, perhaps get the two men to answer a couple of questions. But instinct was telling him not to leave his Sentinel's side, particularly when neither man was entirely sure if they could count Kermit as friend or foe. In the end, though, the anthropologist in him won out, and he replied, "Sure!"

Diversions created, the bystanders in the group scattered, leaving Kermit and Jim standing in the living room, alone. Looking at each other and realizing that neither one was really in the mood for 'polite' social conversation with the other, they both walked toward the couch, sitting down on opposite ends. Still uncomfortable after a few moments of tense silence, both men got up and paced the room from each of their opposing sides. Finally, Jim gave up and stopped pacing to stand next to the window, attempting to enjoy the view of his city for a while from a different perspective than the loft. The sun was just starting to set on the other side of the building, bathing the area in an amazing combination of warm colors and dark shadows, and Jim had to fight the temptation to zone completely, instead letting the sight before him work as a peaceful balm to soothe his restless soul.

Not wanting to take his eyes from the view to face the ex-mercenary again, Jim felt rather than saw Kermit come up beside him, and heard rather than watched him remove the customary green glasses. The Sentinel was surprised - he had been under the impression that Kermit Griffin -never- removed his glasses, especially in the presence of an adversary. His conscience, speaking in Blair's voice, whispered in the back of his mind that this was an offering of trust on Kermit's part, but his Ranger instincts shushed his conscience quickly.

Jim's conscience had more to think about, though, when Kermit let out a low whistle of amazement, and quietly commented, "She does have an amazing view from up here. I kinda wish I knew what you saw when you looked at it."

Jim knew he had caught Griffin in a vulnerable moment, and the realization floored him. There were many things he thought Kermit Griffin to be, but vulnerable was not one of them. Still, recognizing the man's peace offering, he commented, "It's not all it's cracked up to be, Griffin. But why the curiosity?" Nodding his head toward the room where Caine, Peter and Blair were meditating, Jim continued, "I thought you took the strange and unusual in stride nowadays."

Never letting his eyes stray from the view, Kermit commented, "I once tried to get Caine to explain to me how he does what he does."

"And?"

"You'd have better luck getting Blair to take a vow of silence."

Jim couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as a vision of Blair with a padlock on his mouth came to mind. Kermit continued, "The stuff they deal with is so off-the-wall that it's simply easier for me to just play along than be forced to convince myself I haven't completely lost it. But this...gift that you have? This I could almost believe."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Kermit rolled his eyes. He was used to the skepticism from the people at the 101st, but at least they trusted his loyalty. Apparently, Jim didn't. He could deal with that. "It's not that, it's just-"

"You don't believe that I can see the things that I see." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. Kermit guessed that Jim was all too familiar with people having very little faith in what he could do.

"No, I believe it. I guess I just feel like a blind person who wonders what the color red looks like to you, that's all."

Jim nodded slightly, impressed at the insight behind the comment. After a few tense moments of silence, he answered, "Have you ever looked at a picture of a rose, and swore that the picture had to be retouched, because a rose couldn't possibly be that red in real life?"

Kermit nodded.

"That's what red looks like to me."

Kermit didn't have a response to that. So the Sentinel and the ex-mercenary simply stared out the window, each appreciating the twilight in their own way.

Unseen by the two men, a black panther growled his approval.

*****

Blair drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. After having spent most of the day affected by the tensions between Kermit and Jim, the cocoon of peace that enveloped the two Shaolin felt like a breath of fresh air to the young Guide. Caine had lit some candles while Blair was taking off his shoes and taking his hair out of the 'office' tie-back, and Blair took his place in the circle the group was making around the candles. Closing his eyes, the lights of the candles flames still flickered against his eyelids. He could feel the small amount of heat they radiated, smell the tiny wisps of smoke...

*****

The light from the candles was growing brighter, the heat more intense. It was as if the flame was growing, balanced precariously on the tiny wick, until finally the flame had grown to living size and was able to stand on its own. Hopping off of the candle, Blair watched helplessly as the fire person danced around the bedroom, setting fire to the sheets, the furniture, and the bed.

"This can't be happening!" cried Blair. "You're not real!"

The fire person did not respond; it simply continued to dance around the room, setting fire to everything in its path.

Blair screamed as the fire person jumped from the bed to land on Jim's back, immediately setting the Sentinel ablaze...

*****

And Blair nearly knocked the candles over as he jumped up from his lotus position. Caine was already by his side, and in a soothing tone he tried to calm Blair down, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Blair, it is all right. You are safe now."

The touch of Caine's hands seemed to bring Blair out of the flashback. Shaking off the remnants of the Golden-based vision, Blair jumped back, away from the Shaolin's touch. Even though the doctor had warned him he would have flashbacks, there hadn't been one in years, and he thought the drug had worked its way out of his system. So why was he having one now?

Peter's eyes snapped open as the noise of the commotion brought him out of his own meditations. Getting his bearings, he noticed his father working to reassure Blair. Confused as to why Ellison hadn't raced to his partner's side, Peter's eyes searched for the older man, only to discover that the panther and the wolf were blocking the entrance to the bedroom. Apparently, Ellison saw them too, if the worry and frustration working their way across the detective's face were any indication. [So Blair has to work this out on his own. But what? And why?] "Pop?" he asked out loud, "What's going on?"

Looking up at the new voice, Blair saw the young 'Shaolin cop' eyeing him with concern. Drawing in a deep breath, Blair tried to give voice to his fears. "I had a-" [What do I call it? Nightmare? No, that would have meant I had fallen asleep, and we haven't been meditating that long. Flashback? If I call it -that-, I'll probably lose all credibility with these guys, and then so would Jim...]

Caine provided him with appropriate wording. "You had a disturbing vision, did you not?"

Turning his focus back to the priest, Blair nodded. Just the older man's presence seemed to set Blair at ease. But just how open could he be with the priest? He hadn't even spoken to Jim about how the Golden incident affected him - the memories were simply too painful for both of them. No, he was going to have to work this out on his own. "It's nothing."

Peter noticed as the panther and wolf stopped pacing and looked over at the young anthropologist. Was the wolf actually -scowling-? Positioning himself so he was sitting closer to Blair, Peter insisted, "It's obviously -not- nothing, Blair. What did you see? Remember, we're here to help."

Blair sighed, remembering the last part of the flashback. Even when he was in the original Golden-induced hallucinations, Jim was still his 'Blessed Protector', able to save -him- from the demons even when his brain was too drugged to be functioning properly. But in the flashback, Jim seemed to be the one in danger. [What if this is more meaningful than just a reaction to the Golden? What if this was an honest-to-God vision?] If this -was- a vision, then it foretold a danger to his Sentinel. And that was something he was unable to ignore. Humiliation or not. "A couple of years ago, I was poisoned with an overdose of a hallucinogenic designer drug called Golden. I almost died."

Blair watched the faces next to him carefully for any signs of disdain or pity. To his surprise, both men nodded in complete understanding. Out of the corner of his eye, he also noticed Jim watching with concern in the other room. Normally after something like this Jim was by his side in a heartbeat. So what was holding him back this time? Setting aside the question for now, Blair continued, "Well, while I was under the influence of the drug, I saw these 'fire people' coming after me. I saw them again just now when we were meditating. Only this time, they were coming after Jim."

Caine and Peter nodded. Each remembered the first time they had experienced a vision of the other in danger, and how disturbing the experience was. Caine asked, "So what do you believe this means, Blair?"

Blair shrugged. "I don't know. I was hoping you did."

"The answer lies within you, Blair. Only you can find it."

Mildly annoyed, Blair turned to Peter for help. "Is he always this cryptic?"

Peter smiled, exchanging a knowing glance with his father. "Actually, most of the time he's worse."

The comment earned Peter a smile and a light smack on the cheek from his father in response. Caine then suggested, "Why don't we see if Sharon needs any help with dinner?"

Peter looked over toward the entrance to see that the panther and wolf had both disappeared, and Jim seemed to be practically tripping over the furniture in an effort to get to the bedroom to talk to his partner. Standing up, he agreed, "Good idea, Pop." Turning back to the still-sitting anthropologist he added, "Good luck, Blair. Hope you find what you're looking for."

"So do I," muttered Blair, "so do I."

As Caine and Peter left, quickly dodging Blair's fast-moving partner, Peter whispered in a voice he hoped Jim wasn't paying attention to, "Pop? I know you could have interpreted Blair's dream."

Caine nodded. "So?"

"So why didn't you?"

Caine stopped and turned to look at his son. "The paths of our lives can run in many different directions, my son. It is up to each of us to determine the turns that we take."

As quickly as Caine stopped, he turned around again and headed back toward the kitchen, leaving his confused son muttering, "You're being cryptic again. I hate it when you're cryptic..."

*****

The wind was picking up in the jungle, whipping the raindrops from the storm against his face in a cold attack. The ground beneath him was turning muddy, and it was getting harder and harder to keep his concentration. Still, he knew it was essential. Two lives hung in the balance.

He looked down at the two bodies lying between him and his father. One looked like it was Jim Ellison's upper body, but with the legs and tail of a black panther. The other looked like Blair Sandburg's, but he was dressed like some sort of tribal medicine man. Blair was holding Jim's left hand tightly, and there was considerable stress evident on the young man's face.

A growl and a snarl from behind his father broke their concentration, and Caine turned around to face the beast. "His will is strong," snarled the beast, "But he will break, just like any man. Look, for I have already taken a part of his soul."

It was then that Peter looked down, and realized that Jim's left hand, the hand that Blair was holding so fiercely, was limp, badly decaying even as Blair held on to it. Centering himself, he poured as much of his chi as he dared into Blair, whispering, "C'mon Blair! I think Jim's running out of time here!"

As his mind spun wildly from the loss of his energy, the last thing Peter heard was his father calling angrily to the beast, "The darkness will not defeat the light. Not now, and not ever."

Peter bolted upright and nearly knocked himself off the couch. Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he realized this was no ordinary dream. Something either has happened to Jim or will happen to him soon, and if he couldn't find a way to make sure that Blair did something about it, they were all as good as dead.

*****

Jim and Blair arrived at Sharon's early that next morning. The tingling sensation in Jim's left hand was fading in and out, getting harder and harder for the Sentinel to ignore, but he was not about to disrupt a case simply because his hand felt a little funny. [If it's still bothering me after we get back from Seattle,] thought Jim, [then -maybe- I'll tell Sandburg about it. Otherwise I'll be in a lab the rest of the day getting blood tests. I -hate- blood tests...]

Peter looked up from his morning coffee as the two men came off the elevator. He was getting used to seeing the wolf keeping a close eye on Blair, but Peter had to keep from raising an eyebrow in surprise when he realized that Jim's panther was nowhere to be seen. He knew he wasn't imagining things, because his father had seen the animal as well. So where did the big cat go? And why did he leave?

The younger Caine was so caught up in his musings that he didn't realize that Jim and Blair had said hello to him. The two men were now sitting at the kitchen table next to him, Blair waiving a hand in front of Peter's face to see if he was actually awake. Shaking himself out of his musings, he looked up at the two men and greeted them, "Hi guys? How're you doing this morning?"

"I'm cool," replied Blair, "Looks like you could use another cup of coffee, though."

Peter simply shrugged, smiling sheepishly. [You have no idea, Blair. You have -no- idea...] Out loud he told the two men, "Sounds like a good idea, Blair. Would you like some?"

"Definitely. What about you, Jim?"

Now it was -Jim's- turn to be in a bit of a stupor, having tuned out the other men in order to focus on fighting another tingling attack in his hand. The intermittent pains were getting stronger now, and he had to turn down his sense of touch so much that the suffering hand was now almost numb.

The fight in Jim's eyes was not lost on his Guide. "Jim? You okay, man?"

Shaking off his own musings, Jim replied, "I'm fine, Chief. Just a little tired, is all." Drawing in a deep breath of the pleasant aroma, he told Peter, "Coffee would be great, thanks."

Blair raised a skeptical eyebrow in response. He could tell when his Sentinel was lying, and he -knew- that Jim was doing so right now. The young Guide could only hope that Jim would swallow his pride and tell him whatever it was that was -really- bothering him before too long.

Before Blair could try to prod the older man about what was -really- bothering him, Sharon came out of her bedroom, fully dressed in her 'agency' garb, which she always wore when she was trying to look professional or intimidate the hell out of somebody. When she noticed what Peter was doing, she asked the younger Caine, "Could you get me a cup of coffee, too, Peter?"

Pouring a fourth cup into a nearby coffee mug, Peter replied, "Coming right up, Share."

Striding confidently up to the kitchen island, Sharon gratefully took the mug of steaming liquid and acknowledged her server. "Thanks, Peter."

"No problem, Share. So when are we leaving for Seattle?"

Jim replied, "Soon as everyone's ready to go, I suppose."

Almost immediately Kermit and Caine entered from opposite sides of the room. Caine, who had been meditating, calmly responded, "I am ready to go whenever you are."

Kermit, in turn, responded, "Just give me one good dose of caffeine for the morning and I'll be ready to go too."

Peter started to pour a cup for Kermit when Sharon stopped him. Going around to the kitchen herself, she asked Peter, "Allow me?"

Nodding his response, he watched as Sharon poured Kermit a cup of coffee, then went to a cupboard and picked out an odd looking container. Opening the container, she dumped two spoonfuls of the container's contents in the cup. This rewarded Jim with a slight change in the coffee's aroma, adding undercurrents of cinnamon and almonds. After throwing in two spoonfuls of sugar, Sharon handed the cup to Kermit, all the while grinning like an idiot. "Here ya go, Kermit. Let me know what you think."

Kermit took a sip of the drink, and his eyes widened in pleased surprise. "Where in the -world- did you find this stuff? I haven't had this in -years-."

"In a little market in Chinatown. I remember you mentioning it when you told me about your mission in Kuala Lumpur. So when you told me you were coming, I picked some up."

Jim was curious as to exactly -what- was this stuff that Sharon poured into Kermit's drink. He was about to ask her about it when a terrified shriek rang in his ears. Standing up, he pinpointed the location as being a few blocks from Sharon's loft. Not noticing that no one else had heard what he heard, he simply drew his gun and started charging down the stairs, his Guide (as always) close on his heels.

Realizing that something had occurred, Caine quickly got up to follow the two men. Sharon, as well, was halfway out the door, having already recognized the look Jim got on his face when he heard something. She was surprised, though, that Caine had actually gone after them -before- she had. Catching her breath quickly, she asked the priest, "Are they in danger?"

Caine nodded again, replying, "More than you know, Sharon. Now come, we must hurry."

Having taken off after Caine and Sharon, Peter and Kermit emerged onto the street moments after the others, and took off behind them.

*****

Two blocks away from the loft, Jim finally stopped. Within moments, the group caught up with him, and Blair asked, "Jim, what is it?"

Not stopping to notice everyone else who was around, he told Blair, "I heard screaming. It was coming from this direction."

Before anyone could ask exactly -how- Jim had heard the screaming, Blair asked him, "Do you remember the voice?" Jim nodded. Ignoring everyone but his Sentinel, Blair asked, "Can you focus on it? Do you hear it in the area?"

Extending his hearing slightly, he heard the voice of the woman who was screaming, now letting out muffled sobs less than a block away. Pinpointing the direction, he led his partner, "This way, Chief."

Jim was only able to take a few steps before the smell sent him reeling, and he cursed his rotten luck. Just when it looked like they were going to get a concrete lead, someone else decided to drop dead. Once he turned down his sense of smell, he pulled out his cell phone and handed it to his partner, ordering Blair, "Call it in, Chief. And request a HazMat team."

Blair paled, the shock evident on his face. [Dear God...] "We've got another one, Jim?"

Wordlessly, Jim nodded, and took off for the crime scene, wanting to get to the woman before she ran off. Hopefully she could provide them with -something- ...

*****

It took almost an hour to get a HazMat team to the tiny alley that early in the morning. Simon Banks followed closely behind the HazMat truck, annoyed that not -only- did he have to be out this early, but that he had to be out this early for yet another smelly, heavily rotted corpse. At this rate, he was bound to be skipping breakfast for life.

As he got out of the car, he tried desperately to keep his composure even as the smell threatened to make him pass out. Two guys in HazMat suits shoved a suit into his hands, and he quickly started to put it on. Looking up to ask the two men where the officer in charge was, he soon realized that he -was- looking at the officer in charge, followed by his partner.

The captain resisted the urge to simply get back in his car and drive back to the station. He did -not- want to get sucked into whatever these guys were getting involved with, but it looked like he didn't have much of a choice. Once he had his HazMat helmet on and could breathe freely, he asked Jim, "So what have we got here?"

Jim replied, "Another John Doe, this one's Asian. Trixie over there found him as she was walking home from her job as a bargirl at Roxanne's around the corner. I heard her screaming and got here just before she was about to run off. Blair called it in."

"And how, pray tell, did you just happen to be in the area for this one?"

Before Jim could answer the question, Simon's memory answered it for him. Sharon only lived three blocks away from here, and they were going to meet there to drive over to Seattle this morning. Realizing it would have been perfectly feasible for Jim Ellison (but -only- for Jim Ellison) to have heard screaming at that kind of a distance, he held up a hand to the detective, signifying that he had already answered his own question. "Does our John Doe have any identifying marks or I.D. that could link him to -anything-?"

In response, Jim led Simon over to the body, turning the forearms over to reveal two burn scars, one in the shape of a tiger and one in the shape of a dragon. Blair explained, "These scars are the marks of a Shaolin priest."

Jim added, "Peter's father has the same type of marks on his arms, but he says that he doesn't know who this guy is."

Simon's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

Jim shrugged. "I'm positive. He's not the type to lie, especially on something this important, without good reason."

Blair asked, "Aren't Shaolin priests are supposed to be the good guys, though? Up to this point, this guy has only killed small-time criminals."

Behind them, Caine answered, "The Sing Wah consider themselves to be the mortal enemies of the Shaolin. The killer was probably trying to inflict the curse on someone else, and this poor man was in, as they say, the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Both Blair and Jim jumped involuntarily, having been so focused on getting to the scene that neither man was aware that anyone followed them from the loft. Scanning the area, both men quickly realized that Peter, Kermit and Sharon were standing behind the police tape, watching the scene carefully. Somehow Caine must have gotten there before the others and talked one of the Forensics techs into giving him a HazMat suit.

Looking down at the body, Blair thought out loud, "So our only lead still lies in Seattle."

Caine nodded. Jim knelt back down next to the body, trying to see if he could get anything new from it. Noticing small marks on the inside of the man's elbow that were similar to the ones on Jason Shin's hands, he opened up his sense of touch and tried to filter out the material from the HazMat suit when agonizing pain shot up his left arm. He reeled back from the body, nearly knocking over Blair in the process.

This was something Blair simply could not ignore. "Jim? Tell me what's wrong. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Holding his arm and trying desperately to control the pain dial, Jim could only grunt out, "...arm...hurts..."

Ignoring their surroundings, Blair ripped the HazMat glove off of Jim's left arm, trying frantically to evaluate the situation. He could feel the cold even through his own gloves, and he looked up to face his Sentinel, eyes wide with fear. Blair began to practically drag Jim away from the scene. "We gotta get you to a hospital, man."

Walking with the two men, Caine stopped Jim, grabbing the arm to examine it for himself. Recognizing the early signs of the curse, he realized that the vision he had in Sloanville was now coming true. Looking up into Blair's fear-filled eyes, Caine directed him, "We must get Jim back to Sharon's apartment immediately. We don't have much time."

By this point, Blair's fear was rapidly evolving into all-out panic. He started babbling, "No! Jim needs a hospital...he's gotta go to a hospital for something like this..."

The forensics team had heard the commotion and figured that Jim was suffering one of those peculiar 'allergy attacks' he got on occasion. Peter, on the other hand, took one look at his father's stern expression and realized that Jim was in trouble--had he become a victim of the curse? Noticing how Jim was clutching his left arm, fragmented, disturbing images from his dream came rushing back to him. He jumped the tape, flashing his badge to get past the crowd control officer and hoping the guy wasn't paying enough attention to recognize his badge wasn't Cascade PD. Praying he could get through to calm Blair, Peter tried to soothe the younger man, "It's all right, Blair. My father's a healer. He can help Jim, let him help Jim." But Peter's words fell on deaf ears, and the young Shaman tried to continue to lead Jim away.

The hairs on the back of the wolf's neck were bristling, and the animal seemed primed to run away--something that Caine could not allow. Grabbing both of the younger man's shoulders, he tried to impart some calm to Blair, who relaxed, but only slightly. Glaring into the deep blue eyes he commanded, "Blair, listen to me! This is the curse, Blair. If you take Jim to a hospital, -he- -will- -die-. -You- are the only one who can help him now."

The idea of Jim dying shook Blair out of his panic. Confused, he spoke in barely a whisper. "Me? How can -I- help?"

Simon's eyes flew wildly between Caine, Peter, Blair, and Jim, whose face was contorted in an agonized expression of pain. Caine was trying to take control of the situation, but apparently Blair was barely listening. Obviously Blair needed to hear this from someone he'd listen to... "Sandburg! Snap out of it! You can't help Jim like this. Caine, since you're the expert here, get Jim whatever help you think he needs. Sandburg, unless you want Jim dead, you - will- listen to this man, understand?"

Weakly, Blair nodded as the captain's words were finally getting through. "Yes, sir."

Simon turned to Caine when he realized that Blair had finally calmed down. "You'll be at Sharon's?" Caine nodded, and Simon continued, "Do what you have to do, but just remember that I -will- hold you responsible if he dies."

Caine could see the fierce protective streak in the other man's eyes, much like what he would often see in the eyes of Karen Simms. [This man must be a good Captain...] "I promise I will do everything in my power."

Simon let out a deep sigh. He hoped that would be enough. "Go. I'll be over as soon as I can get away."

As Caine led both Blair and Jim away, Simon breathed out a silent prayer that Jim would not become another victim of this insane 'curse', and a silent oath that whoever was behind this was going to pay with his life if Jim died. Of that, Simon was sure. Turning around, he recognized Sharon and Detective Griffin, who were still watching Caine lead the two men away. Making his way over to them, he took off his HazMat helmet and asked the trouble-making young profiler, "So, Sharon, who's this lead you found in Seattle?"

*****

Caine, Peter, Blair and Jim rushed out of the elevator, the pain in Jim's arm growing stronger by the minute. The tingling sensation had spread, as well, and was now amplifying his sense of touch beyond control. The Sentinel could feel the air on his body, the fibers of his clothing only adding to the discomfort. Sensing this, Caine ordered Blair, "Take off Jim's clothes. They're making him uncomfortable, and he can't concentrate."

Complying without thinking, Blair removed Jim's shirt, pants, shoes and socks, leaving him clad only in his boxers. Caine then ordered, "Lead him to the bedroom, and get him to lie down on the bed."

Blair complied, grateful that Sharon had just bought new silk sheets, which Jim would be able to find comfortable. Whatever this curse was doing to him must have overloaded his tactile senses.

It was agonizing to watch. Just as Jim seemed to be getting comfortable, another wave of pain would send him screaming. Blair couldn't stand it anymore. "Tell me what I have to do, Caine."

"Lie down on the bed next to Jim, on his left side, and grab his left hand. This will calm him, for now." Wordlessly, Blair complied. Some of the tension seemed to leave Jim's face, and he was able to rest the cursed hand on the bed. Blair, however, was wound up like a bomb ready to explode any minute. Caine continued, "Blair, you -need- to relax. I am going to need you to send your chi to Jim to help him fight this, but you can not do it in the state that you are in. I believe you know this."

Sighing, Blair nodded. Taking deep breaths, he tried to relax, and found it surprisingly easy. Caine came close to his ear, and quietly instructed him, "That is right. Continue to relax. Feel the chi flowing throughout your body. Start to gather it, focusing all of the energy in the palm of your right hand."

On the other side of Jim, Peter watched in fascination as Blair's body completely relaxed, while his right hand tensed noticeably. When Caine saw that what he needed to happen was indeed happening, he ordered Blair, "Now, send all of that energy into Jim through his left hand." Blair complied, and his entire body tensed, his life energy fusing with Jim's to give his Sentinel the strength to continue the fight.

When the transfer was complete, Blair's body was left lifeless on the bed, barely breathing. Taking Blair's left hand in his own, Caine directed his son, "Peter, take Jim's hand, and let your chi fuse with theirs."

Frightened, Peter looked into his father's eyes for guidance. "Will they make it?"

With quiet strength, Caine nodded once. "They will, but only if we are there to help them."

Peter did as instructed, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, preparing. As Caine did the same, within moments both men felt the familiar jolt as they traveled from their own bodies and into Jim's mind.

*****

While the drive to Seattle would have taken three hours, the helicopter flight took only one blessedly quick hour. Kermit, Sharon and Simon silently watched the ground fly beneath them, each person lost in their own thoughts. This trip had taken on an entire new sense of urgency when they realized the information they got in Seattle could mean life or death for Jim. Now, each one knew they had to find out who the killer was, because if Jim died, then Hell better claim the man quickly or he was going to suffer a lot more up here on Earth than he ever would down there.

The minute they touched down, a re