The Shaman Must Guide, a sentinel fanfic

Prologue

It was late by the time the plane taxied away from the gate at SeaTac and headed towards its final destination of Cascade, Washington. The young man sitting near the emergency exit over the wing let out a relieved sigh as the plane once again lifted into the sky and turned towards home. He tucked an erring lock of curly hair behind his ear and nodded to himself as he pulled out his notebook and started writing.

Fifteen minutes later, as the flight attendant made her rounds he smiled at her, "It's been 10 hours; how can you still be smiling?" His tone was soft and gently teasing and his eyes sparkled as he spoke.

She laughed and winked at him. "You're a fine one to talk Mr. Sandburg."

"Amy, I've been telling you for at least eight hours now, it's Blair."

He shook his head as he realized the trip was finally starting to wear on him, but in less than an hour he'd be home and finally have a chance to process the trip.

The woman smiled at him and reached into the overhead compartment, pulled out a pillow and handed it to him. "Get some rest Blair," she urged. There was no reason for both of them to lose sleep over this trip.

He smiled at her and accepted the pillow. At least she'd finally called him Blair. With a sigh he let himself relax. Resting his head on the pillow he felt the enormity of what he'd done wash over him.. He'd been exited to go on this trip, but now that it was finally over, he was just as glad to be coming home. As he dozed off he remembered Jim dropping him off at the airport, almost as excited as he was.

Detective Jim Ellison smiled as he watched his partner fidget with his backpack. It was the odd combination of manic excitement and focused intensity he'd always associated with Blair Sandburg, PhD candidate, and it had been far too long since he'd seen this side of his partner.

"Jim, are you sure this is all right…" Blair asked as he came back down from the previous moment's excitement.

"Sandburg," Jim called in an almost exasperated tone. "You've been wanting this ever since you trashed your thesis. We've talked about it."

"I know but…" he paused, and as he looked up at his partner.

Jim gave him a calming smile. "No 'buts' about it, Chief. You deserve this— you've been working non-stop with the department ever since you joined, it's time to put yourself back on track."

He shifted in his seat and focused on Blair, his gaze quickly cutting through the layers of emotion Blair was feeling. When their eyes met Blair knew Jim had seen the fear lurking there.

He had to admit it was funny that he, Blair Sandburg, the Doctoral Candidate who had faced an angry mob of reporters and administrators and lied to them about lying, the same man who had held a chopper pilot at bay with a flare gun... the very same man who had just this morning talked a man with a gun out of killing himself, was scared of going back to school.

'Back to the merry-go-round,' he thought to himself.

"Sandburg," Jim groused in disbelief. "You may not have been at a university for the past five years, but you've been doing the same work you've always done- just with a different goal in mind."

Blair tilted his head as he gave his partner his full attention.

"You haven't been the only one who's learned about their partner over the years. I'd be a really poor detective if I haven't learned to read you by now."

Blair nodded as he relaxed into the molded plastic chair of the Airport Restaurant. "I keep forgetting…"

Jim shook his head as the waitress returned with two beers and served them. "Drink up chief," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Last cold beer you're going to see in a month."

Blair took the bottle and stared at it for a long while. "I just haven't… I haven't been in academia in so long Jim. Five years. Getting back into it could be… "

"Hold it right there Sandburg," Jim said in his 'I'm going to kick your butt if you keep being this stupid' tone of voice. "What do you think you've been doing these past five years? Three years as a beat cop, two as a detective… "

Blair was stunned by the look on his partner's face.

"What?" Blair asked. There was something in Jim's expression that told Blair he'd missed something very important.

Jim laughed. "Blair, how can someone as smart as you are miss something this big?"

Blair shook his head, feeling more and more confused until Jim had finally taken pity him.

"Sandburg… When we first met, you pointed out that what you did as an anthropologist was the same as what I did as a detective. Something about our jobs doing the same thing, just your scenes were a few thousand years older?' "

Blair chuckled as he remembered. They had just met and he had been trying to set Jim at ease and prove that a partnership would be mutually beneficial.

"Yeah, the work is similar but… Jim, I haven't written anything even close to an academic paper since the academy…"

It was Jim's turn to laugh. "Maybe you haven't written an academic paper since then Chief, but the papers you write get criminals convicted and while you may not have a panel of your peers judging if your research is sound, you have a judge making sure your work is sound and legal, and a defense attorney just waiting to pick it, and you, apart."

It had taken Blair a few minutes to finally accept what Jim had said. "I guess you're right."

"You guess I'm right?" Jim asked in disbelief. "I'm the senior partner here Sandburg, and you know I'm right."

And he had taken his partner's word on the matter.

The flight attendant smiled as she saw Blair drift off to sleep. There was an innocent quality to the man that she found far more endearing than several of the other passengers she'd dealt with on the long flight from Logan Airport.

While flirting wasn't uncommon, he actually managed to make her feel like a blushing schoolgirl. Several of the others on this flight could have taken a lesson or two from the man. As she passed through the curtain into first class and the man on the aisle seat tried to pinch her, she amended the thought: some people could learn a lot from that man.

As she began her final checks she noticed that Blair had shifted into an awkward position. She was about to gently wake him when he gave a violent twitch and groaned, "Jim!"

She wasn't sure what was bothering him, but she recognized the signs of a nightmare when she saw them. She slipped into the empty seat next to him and began speaking softly.

"Mr. Sandburg?" she called. When that failed she called him by name "Blair?"

He looked around the jungle in confusion. He was heading home. Jim was going to meet him at the airport only now... only now he was running. He could feel his sides aching as he tried to catch his breath but something behind him was catching up and he was fairly certain he didn't want to be caught.

He studied his surroundings and realized that everything was taller than it should be. He looked at his feet and gave an odd smile as he realized he was staring at two large wolf paws. He stood, separating himself from his wolf self. In human form, he stepped back to watch the dream as it unfolded. The pain in his side remained, but he was no longer running- the wolf was.

He could hear a pack of dogs baying in the distance but he couldn't tell at first if they were after him or if he was following them. He tilted his head as the wolf ran through the undergrowth. It knew it didn't belong there, but it was completely focused on the trail ahead of it.

As he watched, the wolf paused sniffing the ground it then raised its head and let out a mournful howl, which the dog pack answered in kind. Then the wolf was running again but the non-wolf Blair paused and looked at what the wolf had found... a gold shield, tinted red with blood.

"Jim!" he gasped as he turned to follow the wolf. He had to find Jim.

"Mr. Sandburg? Blair?"

Amy frowned as Blair grew more agitated. She reached out hesitantly before placing her hand on the sleeping man's forearm. "Blair, Mr. Sandburg... you're having a bad dream..."

She suppressed a gasp when he woke with a start. She could tell when he opened his eyes that he was still lost wherever his dream had taken him, but that only lasted a moment. She smiled when she saw recognition shining in his eyes. He let out his breath and gave her a charming yet sheepish smile.

"Man, that is the last time I let anyone talk me into Dill pickles and Garlic Pizza," he sighed as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.

Amy chuckled. "I'll have to keep that in mind- looked like it was a doozy."

He nodded his breath still shaky.

She gave a quick look around the cabin before focusing back on the man next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Blair looked at her and shook his head. "Just... one of those dreams where you're being chased..."

She chuckled. "That sounds like a typical day working here..."

When Blair didn't smile and return her joke she knew he was more shaken up than he was willing to admit.

"Who's Jim?" She asked trying a different tact.

"My partner," he answered absentmindedly.

"Oh," she said in a slightly surprised tone which melted into a shrug of acceptance. True to form, all the good ones were either taken or gay and in this case it looked like both.

Blair looked at her almost as if he could read her mind and shook his head. A friendly chuckle returned to his voice, the dream momentarily forgotten.

"I'm a detective with the Cascade Police Department," he told her. "Jim is my partner... not my... Partner..."

Then it was her turn to chuckle. "Oh."

He smiled. It amazed her how one word could communicate so much.

He gave her a hopeful smile as she slipped out of the seat next to him. "We should be landing in about fifteen minutes," she said knowing she had to finish her rounds and start securing the carts for landing. She kept an eye on the detective as she finished up. Fifteen minutes later she was standing at the door wishing everyone a safe stay in Cascade.

She reached for her bag as the last passenger strode for the door, backpack slung over his shoulder. It was Blair. She smiled at him. "Well Detective. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Blair caught her glance for a moment and smiled. "Thank you Amy... for everything."

She smiled back. "My pleasure- and you better stay safe."

He ducked his head slightly and gave her a sheepish, but totally charming smile. She let her breath out slowly then, blushing slightly handed him a card. "I'll be here until the 12th," she said in a rush.

"Maybe I could show you around some?"

"Maybe."

Blair headed down the ramp, a slight skip to his step. With his luck Jim had heard the whole thing and would be teasing him about it all the way back to the loft.

Only Jim wasn't there.

Act I

By the time he'd rounded up his luggage Blair had gone from bemused: to annoyed, to worried. There had been no messages from Jim and his calls to Jim's cell phone had gone directly to voice mail. After his third try he called the loft in the hopes that maybe Jim had just overslept.

He was relieved when the phone was answered on the second ring, but his relief was shortly lived when hear heard an all too familiar gruff voice answer the phone.

"Simon?"

"Sandburg?"

"What are you doing at the loft? Is everything all right? Can I talk to Jim? "

"Whoa there Sandburg, slow down son. One question at a time..."

"Alright," Blair agreed, then asked the most pressing question. "Where's Jim?"

Blair could almost see the pained expression on Simon's face as he tried to figure out what to say. "I don't know. I came here looking for him but when I got here the door was open and the place was a wreck. I have a team on the way," he finally answered with forced calm.

"You came looking for Jim?"

"He wasn't at work today. I knew he was rather stressed after this last case and I was hoping he was just taking an extra day off... Did he say anything to you?"

Blair paused, shaking his head. "I talked to him... Two... no three days ago."

He paused as he thought about the conversation. Jim had sounded tired, more than a little affected by whatever he'd been working on, but he had refused to talk about it. "Not over the phone Chief," he'd answered the unasked question. "I'll tell you about it when you get home."

"He said he was going to take a few days off... just him and some trout, promised me he'd pick me up at the airport. It sounded like he'd had a really rough week."

Again there was a pause on the other end. "Airport? What? Now?"

"Yeah Simon, now... " Blair sighed running his hand through his hair. "Oh man..."

"Sandburg, stay there. I'll send someone to pick you up."

"No, Simon... keep processing the loft. I'll get a cab and meet you there."

"Sandburg, wait. Did Jim say where he was going?"

Blair closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to remember. "He said... he just needed a little time away from it all."

"The Cabin?" Simon asked at the same time Blair suggested, "Lake Cooper?"

Blair could picture Simon nodding as he spoke. "That sounds about right. I'll put a call into the State Troopers and Kittitas County..."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Be careful Sandburg. I don't like the feeling I'm getting right now."

"You and me both...man..."

"Sandburg...Blair, are you going to be all right?"

Blair looked around the airport and shook his head. "No, but I'll be a lot better when we find Jim," he answered truthfully.

"I hear you."

Blair pocketed his cell phone and grabbed his bags. It was going to be a very long trip to the loft.

The first thought Blair had as he approached the loft was, 'Jim would hate this.'

It was bad enough that someone had gone through the loft, obviously in search of something- but the people processing the scene seemed bound and determined to make sure that every bit of privacy remaining was broken as well.

Technicians dusted for prints on every surface that could yield them while a uniformed officer led a dog up the stairs to Jim's room. He knew it was standard procedure but this was his home- and the missing officer was his partner, which gave it all a very surreal feeling.

He was numb by the time one of the patrol officers asked for his ID before letting him inside. He stood in the doorway, unsure where to start.

'No, Jim would not like this in the slightest bit,' he thought as the dog sat in front of Jim's dresser and looked up at its handler.

"Sandburg," he heard Simon call, giving him a sense of the familiar in a world that had been turned on its side.

"Anything?" he asked anxiously.

Simon shook his head, then handed Blair several folders. "These were the cases he was working on while you were gone. Go over them, tell me what you think."

Blair looked around the loft for a place where he could work- but there wasn't even a space where he could put his suitcases without them getting in the way. With a nod he slipped them into his backpack. "I'll go over them down at the office."

Simon nodded. "They won't be here much longer," Simon agreed. "But before you go I want you to talk to the K-9 officer. Jim was working with her- might help to get her insights into what was going on."

Blair nodded, feeling a little jealous as he studied the officer as she worked with her dog. She had worked with Jim while he was out of the country taking classes when he should have been here watching his back.

"Don't go there Sandburg," Simon groused as he pulled out a cigar. "Jim wanted you to go and there's no telling if things would have changed or you'd be missing too."

"At least I'd be with Jim," Blair objected. "Do you know how annoyed he's going to be when he has to deal with how many people were in the loft without his permission? Let alone a dog..."

Simon gave him a sidelong glance unsure how to take his comment.

"Simon, he's going to find a way to make this all my fault- I just know it."

Simon chuckled. "Don't worry... if it comes down to it, I'll help him hide your body."

"Good to know," Blair answered as he watched the K9 officer signal one of the technicians to collect whatever it was her partner had found. Once she was satisfied, she reached down and praised the dog, ruffling his fur before ordering, "seek!"

Suddenly bits of his dream started to come back to him. Dogs: there had been dogs...

He was in the jungle... the endless blue that seemed to mirror Jim's eyes... the eyes of the panther... the eyes of the wolf. He looked around, but the panther was gone. He bent down, shifting from human to lupine as he followed the panther's trail.

He didn't belong here, but he had to find the panther. He had to find Jim. Suddenly there was a pack of dogs in his path. The wolf growled, ready to fight if need be, but instead the pack greeted him like a long lost brother before taking off, each following a different trail.

Again he separated himself from the wolf and followed the trail alongside the wolf. This time when the wolf found the shield, it stopped, pawing at the ground before raising its muzzle and giving a plaintive howl.

The howl was answered... by a dog, standing in the middle of the loft.

"Sandburg?"

Blair gave a startled shake of his head before meeting the Captain's gaze. "Weird shit," he muttered under his breath, knowing the captain really didn't want to know.

Captain Banks gave a curt nod before quickly focusing on the other officers swarming the loft and then giving the K9 officer his full attention. "Johnson," he called. "What's he got?"

The K9 officer tilted her head as she studied her dog for a moment before ruffling his fur. "Stress sir," she answered. "Mike doesn't like it when he comes up empty."

"If you're done then, I was wondering if you could talk to Sandburg here."

"Yes sir," she answered then nodded for the dog follow her into the kitchen area.

Blair felt an odd chill as he watched the large Alsatian pad towards him, then lay prone at his handler's feet. He knew he'd seen that dog before.

"Detective Sandburg?"

Blair looked up, oddly relieved to see that the officer was slightly shorter than he was. "Yes," he said trying to sort out what was going on. "Captain Banks tells me you were working with Jim on a recent case."

"Yes sir," she answered. "Do you think this is related?"

"I don't know- but I would like to get your impressions from the case and..." he paused, knowing this was the hardest part of the job for him, divorcing himself from the very human side of this case: Jim.

"I need to know Detective Ellison's state of mind"

The officer nodded then looked around the loft. "Can we do this at the station?"

Before Blair could ask her why, she nodded towards her dog. "There's a little too much going on for Mike right now. I need to get him somewhere neutral, especially if I'm going to discuss the case we worked on."

Blair hesitated. Jim was going to tell him what was going on- and now he was missing. The thought of losing a possible lead was unacceptable. "How about the balcony?"

She followed his gaze then gave him a single nod then focused on her dog.

Blair watched with interest as she placed her palm on her thigh then rolled her fingers in and pointed towards the glass doors. The dog immediately stood and walked to the door and waited for them.

Blair watched as Corporal Andrea Johnson, A.J. as she introduced herself, ran a soothing hand along her partner's back as she gathered her thoughts. Looking at them he realized she was soothing her own nerves as well as calming the dog.

He was about to prompt her when she began. "What do you know about K9 units?"

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he knew she felt it was pertinent so he let her set the direction of the interview.

"Like any partners, you depend on each other," he began. "But I think it's deeper than that."

A.J. rewarded him with a slight smile and nodded. "Some people see the dog as a tool: a detector, and maybe a weapon, but there's a lot more to it. The canine half of the team depends on the handler to keep them focused and to watch out for them. The handler depends on the dog to be consistent and even a little protective of them."

Blair nodded, realizing that aspects of what A.J. described were mirrored in his partnership with Jim, though he was fairly certain Detective Ellison would not approve of the analogy.

"There is a very strong bond between the two… trust… loyalty… and it goes both ways. I think your partner was beginning to see that."

She sighed and rested her head against the dog's for a moment before continuing. "It's why the case was so hard for me… the idea of using that trust… breaking it." She shook her head then started again.

"A dog's hearing is very sensitive," she stated.

The seeming change in topic threw him for a moment, but he nodded and allowed the anthropologist within take over. He knew that if he let her tell the story her way, it would reveal more than just answering questions that he asked. The anthropologist knew and understood, but Jim's partner just wanted to know what was going on then and there. It was a hard battle to reign in that part of his psyche. .

"Man has used that in the past, a dog whistle is a good example."

Blair nodded, cringing inwardly at the thought of what such a whistle could do to Jim if he wasn't ready for it.

She sighed. "There were a series of dog attacks. Detective Ellison came to my Captain wanting to borrow a dog."

Something in her tone of voice told Blair it wasn't an easy start. 'Borrowing' a dog to a K9 officer was akin to asking to take their first born out for a joyride.

"It took a little convincing on the captain's part and mine for him to accept that when you 'borrowed a dog' you got a K9 unit."

Blair nodded. "So you started working with Jim."

"The first week we didn't get very far," she admitted. "It didn't help that we had to leave Mike behind more often than not. It's not really wise to bring an eighty-seven pound dog with you to interview someone who'd just been mauled or witnessed a mauling."

She paused, obviously thinking over the case and remembering things she really didn't want to think about.

"Detective Ellison had noticed a pattern in the attacks… multiple attacks, multiple breeds- always within a three block radius of each other."

Blair looked at her encouragingly as he pieced together where this was leading. "Someone was using the dog's senses to control them?"

Even as he spoke, Blair felt a pang of concern for Jim. Had the sound affected him the same way?

The officer nodded. "They'd been watching us as we worked on the theory and figured out what was going on. I thought it was far fetched until they actually used it on us. The lab says the device used subsonic frequencies, modulated in such a way that the intervals between the tones were so close together as to be unbearable. Even I could feel it… but Mike…"

Blair reached out to place a reassuring hand on the officer's shoulder but her partner reacted first, placing a paw on her forearm and head-butting her hand.

A.J. smiled and obliged Mike's demand for attention, her fingers running along his ears as she spoke. "The sound nearly drove him mad… and… I'm guessing it's no surprise to you that your partner had problems with it as well?"

Blair tensed slightly as memories of the dissertation fiasco surfaced. It must have been bad if Jim had reacted that noticeably.

"Detective Ellison was on his knees… Mike was ballistic and about to break free… and it just kept getting worse."

She shook her head, looking out at the city, but not really seeing it. Blair could tell she was forcing herself back into the moment, analyzing what had happened, reliving it in order to help him understand what had happened.

"For me it was like… you know how your hearing is when you're dehydrated… and everything has a thrumming noise that just wouldn't stop, but for them…"

She shook her head and paused, obviously shaken. Mike let out a slight whine and a very human sigh.

Blair could see where this was going, but he knew he had to hear it from someone who'd been there, and Mike wasn't going to be able to tell him anything.

"I think for your partner, the worst of it was loosing control. For me it was being completely ineffective and having to choose between your partner and Mike…"

"Then what happened?"

"They started shooting. That gave Mike something else to focus on, and me something I could do something about. Training took over. I got Ellison someplace safe and sent Mike in. When I went to follow Detective Ellison stopped me. The sound… He said I couldn't trust Mike as long as the device was active, but I couldn't leave him on his own. I send him in, I follow. It's what you do it's what I had to do. Detective Ellison went with me to find them, to stay with Mike."

"Even knowing that this sound generator had caused countless other dogs to attack?"

"Yeah, I know it wasn't the brightest of things… but Mike's my partner... I raised him from a pup… trained with him so long. I can't, not trust him. It was a good call, but it was close—they almost got the response they wanted from Mike, fortunately it was directed at them."

"Man's best friend," Blair stated with a nod. Someone had indeed used that trust and loyalty and turned it into something lethal. He could definitely see how that would have hit Jim, how it did hit the officer. "Thank you A.J."

She gave him a grateful smile. "If there's anything else I can do…"

Blair tilted his head, and then nodded towards the loft. "Can you tell me what Mike found upstairs?"

"Bits of a cigarette filter… could be nothing. Could have been tracked in by whoever trashed the place, but it could have just as easily been tracked in on the treads of your partner's shoes."

Blair shook his head. "Jim leaves his shoes at the door… excuse me."

That said he headed back inside.

Simon was just signing off on the scene when Blair re-entered the apartment. It was obvious to Blair that he was glad the worst of the processing was done by the time he had finished his interview with Corporal Johnson.

Blair stood beside him, watching as the rest of the forensics team began filtering out of the loft.

"Hell of a homecoming," Simon sighed.

Blair simply nodded, his mind obviously going in several different directions at once.

"Why don't you stay with me until this is over?"

"Simon, this is my home," he answered, not willing to admit that without Jim it wasn't the same.

"Sandburg, the place has been…"

"Ransacked and whoever was looking for something and either they didn't find it and they won't come back or they found it and they won't come back. I'll be fine."

"What if they were looking for you?"

"Then they'll be back and I'll have a little 'talk' with them."

Simon did a double take at the barely controlled growl that accompanied the statement. Ellison had definitely rubbed off on Sandburg.

"You're going to need…"

"A new door."

"I was going to say 'backup'," Simon corrected, beginning to weary of Blair finishing his sentences for him. "You know… I could order you."

Blair met Simon's gaze with an intensity that rivaled any Ellison had ever given him.

"Not that you'd listen, which is why you're coming to the station with me and we're going to go through that paperwork, and then you're going to review the cases that both of you have been working on."

He paused for a moment then nodded towards the departing K9 team. "Was Johnson able to tell you anything useful?"

Blair nodded. "She gave me some things to think about, and a good idea of what got to Jim. I'll tell you about it downstairs, soon as I call the locksmith."

"I've already called."

Blair gave him a sideways glance, to which Simon simply shrugged. There were advantages to being the Captain of Major Crimes.

Blair had just finished reviewing the other cases Jim had worked on while he'd been gone, and of the seven of them, the dog attack case was the most involved, taxing and unsettling.

He updated a spreadsheet on his computer before beginning the review of the cases he and Jim had worked over the past 5 years, eight if you included his three years as an observer. After each review he marked the status of the case, and the suspect.

He shook his head as he closed another folder and placed it on the 'finished' pile, and reached for another. There were just so many of them.

"Are you all right Sandy?"

Blair looked up and smiled at Megan. Even if the accent hadn't identified her, her insistence on calling him 'Sandy' was a dead give away.

He nodded then shook his head. "You know, we've worked on some pretty hairy cases... I guess I never really thought about it."

"They do add up," she agreed. "Look… I just finished up with the Brothers' case… would you like another set of eyes to go over this?"

Blair removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a moment and nodded. "At this point I could use another set of eyes myself," he agreed.

"We'll find him."

Blair looked at her, the day obviously taking its toll. "I hope so, because right now we don't have a clue."

He was walking through a fog, but it was hard to tell if it was real or all in his head. Everything seemed off: the sun was too bright, and his hearing seemed out of synch with what he was seeing.

'This is classic,' he thought to himself. 'No doubt about it Ellison, you have a concussion.'

He tried to focus on his surroundings, but everything kept coming in and out of focus.

'Yep, definitely a concussion.'

He needed to find shelter, and soon. 'Think," he muttered to himself. Something had happened.

'Brilliant, Ellison… but what?'

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

Dirt… blood… cordite…

His eyes opened wide as he processed the scents and a flash of memory came to him. The chopper, the sound of metal bending as it plowed into the trees. They'd been shot down, but why hadn't he stayed with the chopper…with his men?

His shoulders sagged as he looked down at his hands. He had to leave—it wasn't safe and there was nothing he could do for the others. Hell, in his current condition he couldn't even do anything for himself. He needed time to heal, to regroup and the insurgents weren't going to give him that luxury—not if he didn't find a place to hunker down and wait. Then he'd contact the Chopec and finish his assignment. He owed his men that much.

With a determined nod he pressed on.

"So," Megan said as she finished reviewing Blair's notes and the other folders. "We don't know where Jim went for the weekend, just that he was supposed to be back in time to pick you up at the airport at 11:30 last night and no one's seen him since he left work Friday night.."

Blair nodded.

"He worked as the primary on eight cases while you were gone, assisted on an even dozen more…Of the cases you worked on together… we have a pool of forty seven cases where the people involved might want to hurt you or Jim.

We've got 3 upcoming cases where Jim is a witness for the prosecution, two grand jury testimonies and an appeal."

Blair nodded glumly. "From no clues to too many."

Megan sighed. "It will fall into place."

Blair pushed his hair back from his face and nodded. The question was 'when'. Something told him that Jim was running out of time.

Blair looked at the clock. It had been fifteen hours since he'd gotten back to Cascade and they hadn't gotten any closer to finding Jim. As he yawned he looked over at Simon's office.

He wasn't surprised to see Captain Banks staring back at him. He tilted his head, only to see the Captain shake his head. There had been no word on Jim.

He gave a resigned nod and started calling the hospitals for any recent John Doe cases. To his relief, he'd come up empty. He was about to update Simon, he saw the Captain take a call.

There was something in Simon's posture that alerted Blair. He felt a chill go through him as Simon looked first to his desk and then Jim's. The concerned look on Simon's face did nothing to allay his fears.

"Thank you sir, we're on our way."

Simon hung up the phone and exited his office. He looked around the bullpen briefly before calling them all together. "Listen up people…"

"I just got a call from the State Police. They found Jim's truck out on Highway 5 near Bradford. There's no sign of Jim, but it looks like someone had forced him off the road. They are saying that it looks like foul play. Whoever was driving was injured when the truck crashed. They're calling in search and rescue. I'm heading over there now.

Wrap-up whatever you're working on, because as of now, the only case we're working is this one. Sandburg, you're with me."

The room grew silent at his words and as he turned to see how Blair was taking it. He wasn't really surprised to see the younger man already putting on his coat and heading for the door.

Act II

Simon gave Blair a worried look as he drove up the interstate towards the command center. The younger man had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole way up. Simon nodded almost to himself. Quiet reflection was one way of dealing with this sort of situation, but the last time Jim had gone missing Blair was active and very loud about every possible theory no matter how bizarre, the silence was unnerving.

"We'll find him," he said softly.

Blair gave him a weary look but remained silent.

Simon was about to try and draw the detective out of his introspection when he noticed Blair's jaw was twitching. It was the sort of thing he'd seen Jim do when Sandburg was the one missing. He was beginning to wonder if this was a good thing or not, but he knew if Blair called him 'Chief' he was going to turn the car around and take Blair to the department shrink.

As they crested the hill, there was no mistaking the fact that they'd arrived at the staging area.

"Are they going to let us run the scene?" Blair asked as Simon found a place to park the sedan in the line of patrol cars and SUV's.

Simon looked over and shook his head. "Crime Scene: yes. Search and Rescue: no."

Blair nodded, but Simon could see the conflicting emotions as they played across the younger man's face.

"Are you ready for this?"

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for this," Blair admitted. "But at least…"

When he cut off his sentence Simon's gaze fixed on him with a startled clarity. He knew without a doubt that Blair's thoughts included an 'at least they hadn't found a body.' It was cold, but it was true and it was his thought too. A body would end the search—end the hope that they'd been clinging to.

"Let's find out what we're up against," he suggested as he got out of the sedan and waited for Blair to join him.

Blair stood to the side watching as the forensics team processed the scene. Judging by the damage to the side of the truck and the streaks of red paint along the side of the blue truck, he guessed that someone had used the pit maneuver to send the truck careening off the road into the woods.

The sheer distance from the road indicated that the truck had been driving at full speed when it had been forced off the road. It was amazing the trooper had found the truck in the first place.

The damage to the windshield was consistent with the driver's head hitting it, and the sheer amount of blood was worrying.

One look at Simon and he knew the Captain shared his concern.

Jim wasn't just missing. He was injured and missing.

"Captain Banks?" One of the Troopers called. "Lt. Cooper is ready for you."

Captain Simon Banks watched Blair Sandburg as he paced the confines of the command post with an intensity he would have expected more from Ellison than the former anthropologist.

"Sandburg, get yourself a coffee and sit down will you?"

"I should be out there," was the soft yet determined answer.

"Blair, listen to me. It's going to take a couple of hours to get all the people from search and rescue together. In the meantime they have the helicopters searching the area with FLIR and there are three K9 units preparing for a preliminary search. Get some sleep while you can."

Blair shook his head. "Simon, I can't sleep, not now."

Simon reached out and placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Let me talk to the OIC."

"Thanks."

He studied Blair for a moment before nodding and moving on. He understood Blair's need to do something, he just wasn't sure it was the wisest thing.

It didn't take him long to find Lt. Cooper, but getting the man's attention was another matter entirely. He was delegating assignments to members of his squad and integrating members of the Major Crime's unit into the support team according to their abilities.

He was thankful that they were being included. It was one of the 'good' things about this whole nightmare: when an officer was involved everyone pitched in, regardless of department.

He was pulled out of his reflection when the Lt. turned towards him. "Captain Banks?"

"Lt. Cooper," he said in acknowledgement. "I was wondering if Detective Sandburg could help with the preliminary search. Detective Ellison is his partner and he does have a good feel for the way the man thinks."

Lt. Cooper thought about it a moment and looked back towards the group of officers he'd assigned to work with the K9 teams. "We do like to have at least one officer backing up each team," he stated as he turned his focus back to the pacing man.

"What is your assessment of his current state?"

Simon paused for a moment. "The kid's a nervous bundle of energy right now. He needs something to give him direction."

Lt. Cooper nodded. "If he's willing to follow their lead then I have no problem putting him to work."

Simon nodded. "I'll send him over."

Blair watched as Captain Banks talked to the OIC. He knew it was proper protocol and they belonged to different departments so rank really didn't come into play, but somehow, it still seemed strange having a Captain ask a Lieutenant for permission do anything.

Under normal circumstances he'd have wanted to study the phenomenon, but right now all he wanted to do was find Jim and get rid of the visions that had been haunting him.

When Simon signaled him to come over he was more than ready to oblige. The forensics team had already guessed that the truck had been run off the road sometime during the night, though they weren't sure if it had been last night or the night before. That meant that the trail may have gone cold before they'd even had a chance to investigate, but it was something.

When he reached the truck he was more than a little surprised to find Corporal Johnson and Lieutenant Oliver of Cascade PD were two of the officers involved in the preliminary search.

"A.J., Lieutenant." He said in greeting, before approaching the group. He wasn't sure if there was some sort of protocol when approaching a K9 officer when they were with their dog. Last night he'd let A.J. control the situation and that seemed like the best bet this afternoon as he saw the way Mike was pulling on his lead.

He'd seen Lieutenant Oliver at work before though, as he recalled, his dog was a German Shepherd mix, and the dog he was working with was a blood hound.

"Detective Sandburg isn't it?" The Lieutenant asked as Blair approached.

"Yes."

He nodded. "Ellison's your partner." It was a simple statement to which Blair nodded again.

"Do you have anything of his?"

"There should be something in the truck," he answered trying to think of what would still hold his scent.

The Lieutenant nodded. "If you could get it… What we're going to do is split up. Oscar here is a ground dog, so he'll follow the trail from the truck. "Mike and Bear… they're more of what we call air dogs, so if we can get them to track your partner's scent, they'll try and find him their way.

Blair nodded, and headed towards the truck only to be stopped by A.J.

"Where's your vest?"

He looked at her and noticed the bright orange 'SAR' vest she wore over her black BDU's.

"I've got a traffic vest in the truck would that do?"

She rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head. "Your ballistic vest…"

"That's in the truck too," he answered sheepishly.

"You're going to want it… and I'm guessing we're going to need to try and separate your scent from your partner's."

As she said that she looked towards the other two handlers.

"Have him wait to get his vest and Jim's things until after I've left with Oscar," Oliver suggested. "Trooper Martinez, I think you should be next so we'll know immediately if Bear is looking for Ellison or has Sandburg's scent… A.J. you'll start after that?"

A.J. nodded then turned back to Blair. "Looks like you're with me detective."

Blair gave a slight nod. At least he'd be working with someone who'd worked with Jim, even if it was only for one case… and he hadn't been able to just 'borrow a dog' for it.

Blair felt an odd kinship to A.J. as he watched her work with Mike. She was watching out for her partner, allowing him to focus on his job—using his senses to find Jim Ellison. He could also see why the OIC had insisted that an officer accompany the K9 team. A.J. attention was split between her surroundings and Mike, leaving her more than a little vulnerable.

After a half an hour she called a halt. Before Blair could ask about it she'd slipped off her pack and had set up a water bowl for Mike.

"Basically when I need to drink, I make sure Mike does too," she explained.

Blair nodded. He'd seen a piece on the learning channel about blood hounds where they'd said that a blood hound could be so focused on the scent he was following, that he would have to be forcibly stopped or he would quite literally work himself to death. He guessed the same held true here, though he figured Mike was just a little less OCD about it.

He tilted his head slightly to the left so his ear was near his radio's microphone, as he heard the chopper report in and frowned. They reported finding a pair of hikers in the area and nothing else. They should have been able to pick Jim up on Infra-red if he were still in the area and still alive.

Almost as if she'd read his thoughts A.J. handed him a map. "There are a lot of caves around here… he could have taken shelter in one of them and that could block the FLIR."

Blair looked at the map and nodded. "Are we going to check the caves?"

"Search and rescue will do that with a grid search—we're trying to track Jim by scent but it seems we've got a lot of traffic through this area."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning Mike's hit on a lot of different scents other than Jim's. He picked up the scent of deer hunters, a grow patch, several other people who were probably just hiking…"

Blair tilted his head, trying to figure out when Mike had sensed these things but there had been no barking, no signs of him being on a trail other than the way he pulled on the lead as if telling them to keep up.

"When?"

"Just about every time he stops and looks at me, he's found something. That's the way he was taught to 'hit' on something. Guns, munitions… things that go boom, he sits and remains silent. Drugs… he sits and lets out a whine."

Blair nodded. It made sense: you didn't want a dog barking at something where sound could set it off. "Are all dogs trained to respond the same?"

A.J. shook her head. "Oscar is strictly a tracking dog. He's trained to bay when he finds the scent especially after loosing it… probably to call the pack together to hunt with him… Bear was trained to lie down when he finds something… I know one dog that does a full body snort when he finds drugs…"

Blair chuckled at the imagery, but it never reached his eyes. Things were seriously beginning to wear on him.

"We'll find him," A.J. stated softly as she ran a hand through Mike's fur.

Blair turned surprised she'd read him that easily.

"When you're partner is as furry as Mike and can't talk… you learn to read body language," she explained.

Blair nodded. It made sense.

Simon stared at the radio in disbelief when he heard the chopper report in. There had been no sign of Jim within the search area. His detectives paused as each one processed what had been said.

Joel Taggart moved first, walking up to the topographical map he began tracing the terrain looking for something.

"Joel?"

"Simon, look, there are caves and waterways, a lot of things that could block a heat signature," he stated than turned towards the OIC. "Maybe your men should…"

"Search and rescue will be on it as soon as they're ready to deploy," the State Trooper answered with a nod. It was obvious he had been prepared for this, and that he didn't want to give them false hope, but he didn't want them to give up either.

"Have the pilot expand the search," the Trooper added to Megan who'd been manning the radio.

Megan nodded. "Chopper SP23, expand your search area," she paused as she looked at the Trooper who nodded and mouthed the word 'one'

"One Kilometer," Megan relayed with a nod.

The OIC gave Simon a questioning look then shrugged, accepting Simon's people's way of doing things.

Jim moved deeper into the cave. He'd heard the helicopter circling overhead and knew it wasn't military. Civilian craft meant either the insurgents were better equipped than he'd been led to believe or, more likely, someone was running drugs in the area.

Either way it wouldn't help him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the cave, but he had managed to collect some water His head still hurt, but his vision wasn't blurring as much. His one attempt to contact the Chopec had been a failure. He had escaped leaving one of the insurgents dead, but they'd managed to shoot him in the process.

He need to find help and soon, but that would have to wait until the chopper had cleared the area.

With a sigh he eased his weight off his injured leg and waited.

Blair checked his watch as they continued through the woods, following the ridge of a ravine. It would be dark in another hour, and there had been no sign of Jim. There was no way of knowing for sure if Jim had even made it into the woods. For all they knew whoever had forced the truck off the road had taken Jim with them.

He shook his head. The bloodhound had followed the trail from the truck into the woods, not back out to the road. So where was he?

As he wondered he saw Mike sit, let out an uncomfortable whine and then sneeze.

There was something in the way A.J. reacted that indicated that the scent that he'd 'hit' on was not making his handler happy.

When she turned, he could tell by her expression that it was not good.

"Where," he asked suddenly feeling completely drained.

A.J. signaled Mike to continue and the dog took one step towards the edge of the ravine and then sat down again. She closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at Blair.

"At the bottom of the ravine. I can't see anything and the incline's too steep to walk down there. We're going to have to climb down.

As she pulled out her climbing gear, A.J. activated her radio.

"Cascade Search, this is City PD Unit King-178 in grid sector seven, over."

Simon sat up, suddenly his attention focused on the radio and Megan as she took the call. 'Let it be good news,' he prayed. 'Let Jim be all right.'

"Copy King-178, go ahead."

Simon could tell by the tone of Megan's voice she wasn't the only one ready for some good news.

There was a long pause before the answering voice came over the line. "I have a cadaver hit in the north east quadrant of map sector H-7, do you copy?"

Megan looked up from the radio, a shocked expression on her face. She quickly forced herself to focus on the matter at hand and activated her mic. "Cascade Search, we copy... do you have an ID on the subject?"

"Negative. Subject is at the bottom of a ravine. Will need coroner and transport. Recommend approaching from the north copy?"

"Copy One-Seven-Eight," she paused wanting to ask more but afraid of what the answers might be. "We'll dispatch along with someone to ID..."

"Negative Cascade Search. If this is detective Ellison I can perform ID... "

Everyone could hear the resignation in the officer's voice as she told them to stand-by.

"Copy One-Seven-Eight, standing by…"

Simon stood and rested a hand on Megan's shoulder as he looked around at the bowed heads of his detectives. "We don't know anything yet," he said softly. "Let's not assume the worst just yet."

As he looked around he realized they were all still hoping it had been some kind of mistake.

Blair watched as A.J. prepped her lines and tied them off with a bowline around a large sturdy oak and tested it.

"Do you have another set?" he asked as she stepped into her climbing harness and attached the rope to it using a D ring.

A.J. looked down the ravine and then back at him. "Just one set, and wonder dog over there isn't going to be much help. Let me do this Blair…"

He looked at her and nodded. It was the first time since he'd met the K9 officer that she'd called him anything other than Detective. "It's just…"

"Jim is your partner. This man may not even be him. And if it is…this is not something you need to put yourself through right now," she said sympathetically.

He thought about that as he watched her coil a small cord loop around the rope and then gather it up with another locking carabiner and attach it to the leg loop on her harness. Then she pulled out her helmet and goggles out.

"Besides… It's my climbing gear," she said with a slight nod to break the mood. "Just watch over the fuzz bucket will ya?"

"I doubt I could stop him if I wanted to, but I'll try."

She gave him a slight nod. "Mike, stay!" She said backing the command up with a hand signal. Once the dog lay down she nodded and began her descent.

He tracked the climber's progress with the sights on his pistol. Too bad they'd found the body.

He'd been hoping they'd be able to collect Philips' body and be out of the woods before the police realized that their two hikers weren't anything other than they appeared. Too bad the K9 cop had discovered it.

He gave a slight smile as he sighted in and prepared to fire. It really was too easy.

As the would-be rescuer pushed free of the rock wall, he fired there was no way he could miss at this range.

Act III

A.J. barely had time for the sound of gunfire to register before she was slammed into the rocks, her shoulder feeling as if someone had pulled it out of the socket. The impact caused her to loose her grip on the rope, causing her to drop another foot and a half before the autoblock took effect and stopped her descent with a sharp heart wrenching jerk.

The double impact knocked her breath out of her as momentum carried her into the rocks for a second time. She heard someone shout her name, but she was in no shape to answer. Everything was swimming around her and she could feel her back muscles tighten.

Part of her wanted to reach for her microphone but she knew if the people who'd shot her thought she was still alive they'd start shooting again and she didn't think she'd be as lucky the next time.

She closed her eyes as she heard Detective Sandburg call her name and was met with a hail of gunfire. She held her breath, praying that he had the sense to take cover and that they wouldn't decide to shoot at her again.

"A.J.?" Blair called as he drew his gun and went prone before inching his way to the edge.

He only had a moment to assess the situation before someone was shooting at him. He managed to get off a quick shot before being forced to retreat from the edge and out of the line of fire.

Once out of range he grabbed his microphone and reported in. He felt like a coward but he knew there was nothing he could do for A.J. right now. Any attempt to help her would only make things worse.

He could barely hear Megan's voice on the radio as he reported what had happened. "This is CPD Two-Seventeen, Shots fired… we have an officer down. I repeat officer down."

"Copy Two-Seventeen. State Police helicopter is on its way."

Blair nodded, not trusting himself to speak again. He turned his attention to Mike and could see the tension in the dog's muscles as he fought to follow A.J.'s command to stay.

He moved closer, to the edge knowing it wasn't the brightest of things, but he remembered how A.J. had said that she 'couldn't not follow Mike'. It was a partner thing, and his current partner was in danger.

He slipped further along the ravine before looking over the edge. There was no sign of the men but he did have a good view of A.J. as she hung limply in her lines.

"Oh god… "

Simon grabbed his coat. "Megan: stay with the radio, and keep us updated. Use our tactical frequency."

"Captain?"

"Simon do you think it's the guys who forced Jim off the road," Joel asked finishing Megan's question for her.

"Someone's just shot at search and rescue that soon after the chopper reports finding nothing? I don't believe it's a coincidence…."

Joel nodded grabbing his coat as well.

"Henri, Rafe… Take the road south, look for pull offs, picnic sites… anyplace they could have stashed a car around here. The car that hit Jim was most likely burgundy, but don't rule anything out. If you find anything, call us on our tactical frequency—I don't want these people knowing what we're up to. Joel, you and I will head north."

He gave a grim nod satisfied that they were finally doing something. As his men carried out his orders, he gave Megan an apologetic smile. "Connor, they've heard your voice on the radio, I don't want them knowing anything's changed… understand?"

"I don't appreciate it, but I do understand."

Simon nodded. "Thank you."

"Just…" She paused. "Find those bastards."

Blair let out his breath slowly as he heard the chopper approach. It had been less than five minutes, but it seemed like he'd waited hours for it.

'Come on…' he urged under his breath. 'Come on… we can't leave A.J. out there like this.'

"SP23 to CPD Two-Seventeen."

"CPD Two-Seventeen go ahead." Blair had never been so happy to hear from the State Police.

"CPD Two-Seventeen, your area is clear. SP units are about ten minutes from your location. Break."

Blair gave a relieved sigh as they gave him the all clear, but there was more.

"SP23 continuing, paramedic units have been keyed to your frequency and will be calling. We will remain in your area until back up arrives, do you copy?"

"Two-Seventeen, copy… And thanks."

As he spoke into his radio he could see A.J. start to move and then swear.

"A.J. help is on the way, but you need to remain still. You've been injured…"

'Duh Sandburg' he muttered to himself.

"You?"

"I'm fine. Mike is fine. But you're hurt and we don't want to make it any worse…so just hold on."

"Hard to breathe."

"Okay… don't try and talk… Just relax and let the ropes do the work for you, don't fight them. You're doing fine."

"You're doing fine."

He blinked.

The voice sounded like it was inside the cave, inside his head. He knew that voice but he couldn't quite place it.

"Hurts."

Somehow he knew that voice too.

"Take it easy A.J. You're doing fine… just hold on."

'A.J. Corporal Johnson… '

He paused as he thought about it and realized that there hadn't been a Corporal Johnson on the mission.

"Stay with me A.J. Try and stay awake…."

He shook his head as he tried to remember where he'd heard that voice before. The calm reassuring tone and then he heard it, not from outside the cave but from his own memories.

"You're doing fine Jim, just focus on the sound… tune everything else out… just picture a dial…"

Sandburg?

He was almost sorry he had to shoot the Search and Rescue officer, but it had become necessary. It didn't matter if the cops knew that Ellison had been attacked, they just couldn't know who had done it.

His original intent had been to keep the officer from discovering or more importantly identifying Philips' body but now it served another purpose. The cops would never leave one of their own that exposed, not while they could do something about it.

That gave them time to escape before the chopper resumed its search. Ellison was gone, and soon they would be too.

"We're almost to the car," he said as he studied his companion, who now had Philips in a fireman's carry.

"Just get us there… I don't think I can carry him much longer."

Blair watched as A.J. fought to remain still but he could tell even that was hurting her.

"A.J.," he called. "It's going to be all right. Paramedics are on their way…"

"Shoulder… feels like they dislocated it."

"Dislocated?"

"Caught it in my vest, but… also hit the rocks pretty hard… caught me mid-swing."

Blair breathed a sigh of relief. He knew a hit to the vest, while painful, was much better than taking a bullet.

"CPD Two-Seventeen, This is SR-Medic Nine, copy?"

Blair immediately grabbed his mic. "Two-Seventeen, go ahead Medic-Nine."

Two-Seventeen, can you give us a full description of what to expect?"

Blair took a deep breath and relayed the information to the paramedics. After several questions back and forth he nodded and called out to A.J.

"They'll be here in about five more minutes… Just five more minutes and we can get you taken care of…"

He could see the slight nod A.J. gave as she again fought to remain still.

"Talk to me Blair."

"About what?"

"Anything, as long as it doesn't involve being shot, in pain or dangling from a rope with orders not to move…"

Blair laughed, recognizing the tone in her voice. She'd had enough. "I don't know. Some of my best stories involve most of the above."

"Don't make me laugh."

"See, that right there rules out most of my stories," Blair answered as he worked his way closer to the injured officer. Looking at AJ., he could tell she needed to focus on something other than her current situation so he launched into the story of his first arrest as a rookie police officer.

"I wasn't exactly your typical rookie… I mean I'd been a police observer for almost three years, but it was my first official case. My T.O. took his job very seriously and figured that it was his job to set me straight…

He and three other officers figured on setting me up one of those trick arrests…."

Sandburg….

The voice was like a balm on his injuries: helping him focus on what was happening around him, anchoring him.

Police officer… Patrolman Sandburg?

What was a Police officer doing in the Amazon?

"What they didn't know was that at the same time they were posing as a couple of escaped felons, two men were robbing the bank behind them…"

Bank robbers… First Cascade… Blair had been a rookie and he wasn't even supposed to be there, definitely not as first responder. His Training Officer and his friends were trying to ride Blair, but Sandburg had seen through their game… straight through the set-up to a very real situation…

Looking out from the cave he realized he wasn't in Peru, but the national forest north of Cascade.

Blair turned when he noticed Mike sit up and focus his attention on the woods behind them. He drew his pistol, but kept talking. There was no way whoever was approaching couldn't have heard him and any change now might warn them.

"I mean, how was I to know that the bank robbers would decide to 'rescue' my escaped felons?"

As he spoke he saw Trooper Martinez break cover with his dog, followed by Trooper Davis. He holstered his gun and nodded. "Am I glad to see you," he said

"I don't know… Anybody whose stories end with him in the hospital… You're going to be a bad influence on my wife."

"Wife?"

Martinez just smiled at him before calling out, "A.J… if you didn't want to cook dinner tonight, you could have just told me…"

"Andy?"

"Yeah hon. I'm coming down to see about getting you out of this mess… "

As Rafe drove the car, Brown scanned the area for any sign of a pull off. They were approaching the third picnic area when Henri spotted a burgundy town car and signaled Rafe to stop.

They approached the vehicle cautiously with their weapons drawn. If this was indeed the suspect vehicle then the owners had already done enough damage to their team.

The last thing they wanted was to give them any more targets. As Rafe covered him, Henri moved forward. When he saw the tell tail signs of front end damage and blue paint, he nodded. They'd found the get away car.

He pulled out his radio and switched to the Major Crime's tactical frequency.

"120 to 13: mile marker 40."

He smiled when he heard Joel respond with a simple "Copy."

For the first time since the nightmare had begun, they were getting somewhere.

Simon gave Joel a grim nod as he turned the car around and headed towards the 40 mile marker. It had been a hunch, but it seemed to be paying off. It was bad enough these people had forced Jim off the road, but they'd also declared open season on at least one Search and Rescue officer.

It didn't help that that officer had been accompanied by another member of his squad, no this whole thing was a nightmare from the beginning and he had every intention of ending it, or at least their part in it all.

There would be time for questioning later, but 'why' was not nearly as important as keeping them from hurting anyone else.

He knew Henri and Rafe would maintain radio silence and not take unnecessary risks but after everything that had happened lately the line between necessary and unnecessary was starting to blur. If these men knew where Jim was…

He let that thought pass. He'd settle for keeping his people safe and eliminating the threat.

Blair did what he could to help, but it quickly became obvious that the rescue team knew their job, and more importantly were used to working together. While he couldn't help with much of the preparation or securing A.J., he was more than capable of helping pull her back up to the top of the ridge.

Blair knew she'd been injured, but seeing her immobilized on a stretcher made it look that much worse. The Paramedic nodded towards the tree line, and Blair joined the others in helping carry her back to the clearing where the mercy flight crew was waiting.

"It looks worse than it is," A.J. said softly. "Just, these guys have all this training and like to show off."

Blair smiled and shook his head as they handed the litter off to the waiting helicopter crew he heard one of the medics grumble. "Johnson, should have known you'd try and make this trip interesting."

Blair could barely make out her response, but he caught enough of it to laugh. Something about not wanting them to feel left out. As he backed away from the chopper he felt a hand on his shoulder, helping guide him away from the blades.

"Don't worry 'bout A.J.. She's in the best of care."

Blair nodded, not surprised to see Trooper Martinez standing next to him.

"You ready to get back to work?"

Blair let his breath out and nodded again. They still had to find Jim. "Do you think he's out here?"

Martinez nodded grimly. "No way to candy coat this I'm afraid," he said as he handed Blair a black case. "Found this when we were working on getting A.J. out."

Blair could tell by the tone of voice that Trooper Martinez was worried, and disheartened by what he'd found. He could barely feel the leather as he held it. He knew what it was and knew what he would find inside. He'd seen it so many times in the visions he'd been having.

He opened the case and saw Jim's gold detective's shield.

He was about to say something when Mike sat up, staring at the helicopter as it lifted off and began to howl. Sitting next to him Bear, Trooper Martinez's dog joined in. Blair felt a cold chill run through him. Jim's time was running out.

"Where did you find it?"

"Bottom of the ravine. How are you at climbing?"

Blair looked over the ledge and shook his head before sighing. "Trail's down there."

Trooper Martinez nodded. "Sorry."

"Story of my life," Blair grumbled.

Blair closed his eyes briefly fighting off a sense of vertigo as he was lowered to the ravine floor the same way the dogs had been lowered. He hated the fact that he was slowing down their progress, but grateful they hadn't sent him back to the command center. What had saved him was the fact that sending him back would have slowed them down any more, and they still needed to find Jim, and the men who'd attacked A.J.

When he finally climbed out of the harness he looked at Trooper Martinez. "What now?"

"We split up again. Davis and Saunders will follow Oliver. Oscar should have a good trail on the men who shot A.J. You, me and the boys'll keep looking for Detective Ellison."

Blair nodded. It made sense, but he's already let down at least one partner.

"Detective, what happened was not your fault," Trooper Martinez stated. "Those men were waiting there, could have just as easily been me, or Lieutenant Oliver. If it's any consolation, the odds are the cadaver Mike found wasn't Ellison. If it was, Mike would be sitting closer to the spot and sneezing."

Blair nodded, then tilted his head. It was an odd way to 'hit' on a cadaver. "Why was he trained to indicate a cadaver that way?"

Martinez laughed. "He wasn't trained to do that… he just hates cadavers and pretends he's allergic."

Blair had to laugh at the look Trooper Martinez gave Mike and the way his ear cocked when they were talking about him.

As they were preparing to split up, Lieutenant Oliver came up. "Andy, Ellison's track has been all over the place… sometimes it looks like he was wandering aimlessly… other times… it really looks like he was evading."

Blair latched onto what the K9 officer said. "Evading? As in: trying to cover his tracks?"

Lieutenant Oliver nodded. "This means something to you?"

Blair gave a frustrated sigh. "Jim served in the military… special forces. If he's covering his tracks… either he was trying to evade the men who shot A.J. or he's running on training and not really aware he's doing it."

"Either way, it means our job just got that much harder," Martinez stated.

Blair nodded. If Jim was trying to hide his trail and was using his sentinel abilities to verify it was hidden, then the dogs didn't stand a chance.

"We'll find him."

Blair looked at the Trooper and nodded, but he knew better. If Jim was hiding, there was no way they were going to find him.

"Damn it Jim," he swore under his breath. "Where are you?"

"Damn it Jim, where are you?"

Sandburg was looking for him, but that also meant the insurgents would be looking for Sandburg. He winced as visions and sounds began cascading around him. Memories surfaced in a jumble that left his mind reeling. He could see it all but he couldn't put it into order.

Memories of the helicopter crash, going to Peru to find Simon and Daryl, Sandburg being questioned by the drug lord… they didn't fit together and yet somehow they did.

"You could be the real thing…"

It was Sandburg in another place and time, explaining what was happening to him. He shook his head. Incacha had explained it all.

He paused. Somehow he knew Incacha was dead, was that why he now looked to Sandburg for advice? But if Sandburg needed to find him, wouldn't his spirit guide lead him here? Incacha had always known where to find him.

"Enqueri, he is young and does not fully understand the path before him."

Jim nodded, but as he tried to stand his leg went out from under him. The pain gave him a moment of full clarity. They had run him off the road, hunted him relentlessly. He'd found some shelter, but then he'd been shot.

'Not insurgents,' he muttered to himself. 'Rizz's knee breakers.'

He had to get to Sandburg, but a second try only brought with it more pain, and this time oblivion.

He wasn't in any shape to find his Shaman, the shaman would have to find him.

Act IV

It was getting dark. They'd broken out flashlights, but it was only a matter of time until it was too dark to see, worse the lack of sleep was beginning to play havoc with Blair's co-ordination.

When Martinez signaled a stop and began to water and feed the dogs, he looked at Blair.

"When did you sleep last?"

Blair gave him a sheepish shrug. "On the plane."

"Moonrise will be in about an hour," he offered. "We'll rest until then."

"No," Blair said wearily. "We have to find Jim."

"Detective, trust me on this: you will do him no good looking for him in this shape. The dogs are tired, you're tired and it's dark. This is a very bad combination. His scent went this way… the men who shot A.J. went the other way."

On one level Blair knew the man was making sense but ever since Trooper Martinez had handed him Jim's badge he'd felt the urgency growing. He had to find Jim.

"Trust me on this," the trooper urged. "We will do much better after some food and some rest. The time will be well spent."

Blair looked up at him for a moment and A.J.'s words came back to him. "Basically when I need to drink, I make sure Mike does too."

'It seems bloodhounds and police dogs weren't the only ones who had to be forced to rest before they killed themselves,' he thought and finally accepted what Trooper Martinez was suggesting.

It was dark by the time they arrived at the car. The helicopter had been forced to refuel, leaving the way clear for them to get to the car and get out of there. He smiled and pulled out his cell phone. It was time to report their success.

"Boss? It's Danzig. Philips didn't make it… but your pest problem is taken care of." He nodded as his companion put Philips' body in the trunk. "Are you sure?"

He nodded again. "It's as good as done."

He hung up the phone and drew his pistol. 'One last loose end…'

He raised his pistol and aimed at the man he'd only know as 'Richards' head. "Nothing personal."

Simon was beginning to wonder if they'd made a mistake with the car. It was entirely possible the men had abandoned it, or had another car waiting elsewhere, something that wouldn't have tied them to Ellison.

It was dark by the time he heard movement. In the still night air, it was easy to pick up their voices.

Simon quickly scanned the area to make sure everyone was in place. Satisfied, he waited hoping the suspects would give them more to go on in.

He watched as the first man unlocked the trunk and pulled out a cell phone. He stiffened as the second man hefted whatever he'd been carrying into the trunk. He was about to signal the others when he saw the first suspect draw his gun and aim at the second main. He responded without thinking.

"Cascade PD. We have you surrounded."

The man who'd identified himself as Danzig on the phone reacted quickly, aiming at his companion, but he never had the chance. A bullet from Rafe's direction hit him in the leg, while one from Brown's hit him in the arm, but not before his companion had seen that he was going to kill him.

The second man reacted without thinking, trying to run back the way he'd come only to find they way blocked by three rather angry men with a dog. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Good to see you gentlemen," Simon said with a nod as he recognized Lieutenant Oliver.

"Scent trail from the shooting leads here," the head of Cascade PD's K9 unit stated.

"I didn't do it," the man with his hands raised stated. "It was him."

The Lieutenant gave the injured man an almost apologetic smile. "Sorry son, but you're going to have to wait for the ambulance to get here. Some idiot shot my medic."

Simon gave a slight nod of approval as he made his way over to the trunk—he had to know before he said anything else. He let out a relieved breath when he realized the body in the trunk was not Jim's. Only then did he activate his radio.

"Connor, we're going to need a medic dispatched to the 40."

"Captain?"

He could hear the worry in the woman's voice, even distorted over the radio. "We're all safe."

"Very good sir."

When Megan put the call out over the search and rescue channel Simon nodded. Now all they needed to do was find Jim.

He continued to cover the suspects as his men secured the scene. Once they'd secured the suspects, he went to give a better check on the body in the trunk. One look and he knew why they didn't want the body found. He was a well known enforcer for a loan shark known as 'Rizz'.

"Connor," he said curtly over the tactical frequency. "Does the name Anthony Rizant sound familiar?"

There was a pause before he had the answer. "Jim was due in appellate court tomorrow for a case involving Anthony Rizant."

Simon shook his head in disbelief. Now at least they knew why Jim had been attacked.

"Get Sandburg on the horn, have him switch to tactical."

"Copy…"

Dinner was cold trail fare, the sort of thing that could keep you going, but did little else. Blair tried to help Trooper Martinez with the dogs but the man waved him off. "Get some rest Detective. You're running on fumes. It doesn't take much to care for these two right now, and I'll be resting soon as they're fed and watered. "

Blair nodded. He knew the man was right, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He managed to find a vaguely comfortable spot and before he knew it the day's events caught up to him. He shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, his wrist somehow getting pinned beneath him.

When he awoke, the moon was already out and there was no sign of Trooper Martinez, but the dogs sat there watching him. He sat up, trying to figure out what had happened to the Trooper, but as he stood he realized he was once again in wolf form in the spirit world.

"Where's Jim?" he asked the dogs, but they didn't move. They just looked at him, waiting for him to lead them.

'Figures,' he thought to himself.

He stood separating himself from the spirit wolf. He had to find Jim, but how?

'Think Sandburg...'

He looked at the sky and the stars and shadows seemed to shift. One minute he was standing in the middle of the Peruvian Jungle the next he was standing on the edge of the ravine where A.J. had been shot.

This made even less sense to him, until he realized that he was, once again the wolf. He was searching for Jim using everything he knew, but this was something he had only read about. Plenty of books had been written about the path of the shaman, but he had always read them from the viewpoint of an anthropologist.

Sure, he'd meditated but this was nothing like trying to center himself to help Jim focus his senses.

"Stop thinking and do."

The voice was deep and though he had never heard Incacha speak in English, he knew it was the shaman's spirit that guided him now.

"The shaman must guide the sentinel home. He is injured… let your spirit animal show you the way. Find Enqueri before it is too late."

Within his dream he followed the wolf, allowed himself to become the wolf, and share what the wolf knew. He looked along the ravine and then, silhouetted against the night he saw the panther. He stood still, as if transfixed as a large shadow moved towards the Sentinel.

In wolf form, Blair bayed a warning but Jim seemed to have zoned out on something.

He ran without thinking, the wolf moving with desperation howled, calling the pack to the hunt. Then he saw the dogs again, moving with him, his goal becoming theirs. As he approached, Jim became a panther, standing at the edge of an abyss. The wolf hit the panther full force, its energy pushing the panther away from the edge.

Although the Panther had been pushed away, the impact drove the wolf to the edge. He began to fall, only to have Jim reach out and catch him by the wrist. Pain shot through his hand and he tried to scream.

Blair Sandburg, PhD Candidate, Detective, Shaman of the Great City woke with a start.

"Sorry, moon's out and its time we got moving," he heard Martinez say.

Blair nodded as he tried to re-orient himself. The first thing he noticed was that his left hand had fallen asleep. As he tried to bring the circulation back, he looked back the way they'd come.

"I was thinking about what Lieutenant Oliver said."

"You think he doubled back?" Martinez's voice was matter of fact and accepting.

"Yeah, I do."

Martinez nodded then called out, "Bear, Mike Hierr!"

For the first time since the search had begun Blair knew he was on the right trail.

"...escue Base to CPD-Two-Seventeen come in please. Search and rescue base to CPD-Two-Seventeen."

Blair quickly activated his radio. "Go ahead for Two-Seventeen."

"Two-Seventeen, switch to tact 3. over."

"Copy."

Blair frowned as he switched the radio to the Major Crimes' tactical channel. "CPD-Two-Seventeen…"

"Sandburg, the shooters were monitoring the SAR channel… We have them, but be careful… with the search ongoing, more may be sent."

Blair shook his head in frustration. Hadn't they done enough already? "Copy that Simon…" He paused looking at Martinez for a moment. "Any word on Johnson?"

"None yet."

"Copy."

"Be careful."

Blair nodded as he focused on the trail ahead of him.

Blair surveyed the area from the bottom of the ravine, trying to line up the landmarks with those he'd seen in his vision. It had taken them over an hour to get back to this point and something told him they were running out of time.

He pursed his lips and scanned the horizon. A slight smile came to his face as he thought about his vision. In the past he had always separated himself from the spirit wolf. He had taken an analytical approach, searching for symbols instead of just allowing the spirit to guide him.

He had been trying to think about where Jim would go under his present circumstances instead of just… letting his spirit guide actually guide him.

He drew a deep breath and let the knowledge sink in. He looked up, seeing as the wolf saw, seeing how the panther would have seen.

"He needed a place where his back was protected, where he could control the situation..."

He could see Martinez listen and signal the dogs to sit and wait.

"Notice how that hill bends… that would make it easier to climb."

He paused remembering the map A.J. had shown him. "I think he found a cave up there…"

"I'll get the ropes."

Blair shook his head. "Jim didn't have ropes… if we need them to climb to a cave… he's not there."

Matinez nodded. It made sense. "Let's start with that hill you pointed out then."

Blair shook his head in frustration as they finished exploring the cave. Jim had been there, he knew that much—but he wasn't there now.

"Damn it!" he swore as he ran a hand through his hair.

Martinez knelt down, inspecting the ground.

"You were right about the cave," he said calmly. "He's moved on, but he was here. Call search and rescue, have them call the helicopter and get them back here. Meanwhile I'll see if the dogs can pick up his trail from here…"

Blair shook his head. "The men who shot A.J. were monitoring the SAR channel."

Martinez let out a frustrated sigh. "So the choices are… call in the chopper and maybe find him, but we alert whoever hired his attackers that he's still alive or risk his life looking for him this way."

Blair nodded. "See what the dogs can find, I'm going to look around and try and see this all through Jim's eyes. If we come up empty, then I'll request the chopper."

He let out a deep breath, trying to reign in his frustration. They were getting closer, but something told him they weren't nearly close enough.

Over the next few hours, Blair felt himself pushed beyond anything he'd ever experienced before. He would follow Martinez and the dogs

along a trail, and when the dogs stopped he would move to the front and survey the routine trying to find the most likely path Jim had taken.

Three times he had found the trail again only to lose it. They were still behind Jim, but they were getting close.

Wearily he raised his head and scanned the horizon, "Come on Jim…."

As he spoke he could hear an echo of Incacha's voice from his vision.

"The shaman must guide the sentinel home. He is injured… let your spirit animal show you the way. Find Enqueri before it is too late."

"That's easy for you to say," he muttered to himself as he studied the horizon. As he looked a smile came to his face as he saw the silhouette of the panther near the mouth of a cave. He was about to say something when he heard the cat's cry.

He froze. It was not the cry of a panther, but a cougar. Suddenly the pieces of his vision fell into place. Jim was injured and the cougar was an opportunistic hunter.

"Oh hell," he swore softly as he began running towards the cave.

Martinez froze a minute when he saw Blair's goal and then he let out a string of explicative as he sent the dogs after him and followed, pistol in hand.

It was dark, but his eyes adjusted, making the moonlight filtering into the cave that much brighter. He could hear someone closing in on him, two some ones. He clutched his gun tightly praying he wouldn't have to use it again.

He was barely aware of the cat's cry, but he could hear the distress in the voice he'd heard earlier. He focused on the sound of the approaching men until nothing else existed.

Blair ran towards the cave trying to get between the cougar and the mouth of the cave. The dogs over took him going after the large cat.

The cougar, sensing a meal nearby stood her ground, ready to fight the dogs for her rightful kill.

Blair moved as quickly as he could, but as he neared the mouth of the cave the ground beneath him gave way. He cried out in pain as the sharp edges of the rocks sliced into his hand and wrist as he tried to catch himself while still holding onto his gun with his right hand.

He tried to sight in on the cat, his vision growing fuzzy. Part of his brain registered that he was loosing blood, but he forced himself to focus on the threat.

His impatience had endangered himself, another 'partner' and the dogs and he was determined to make it up.

As he fired, he heard two echoing shots, as the dirt was kicked up around the cat. Between the dogs, the noise and the projectiles flying towards it the cat's agitation grew. It closed in on Blair, who was starting to feel less and less sure of his surroundings.

As he sat back, two more shots were fired, this time taking down the cat.

Blair felt the world around him swirl as everything began to jumble in his mind. He felt a sharp pain as Trooper Martinez quickly worked to stop the worst of his bleeding. "You are definitely not to go anywhere near my wife," he swore as he worked on the injury. "She's bad enough on her own without you as an example…"

He was barely aware of Trooper Martinez calling for paramedics, his entire being focused on Jim as he stood leaning up against the cave wall.

Anthony Rizant suppressed a smirk as the court was called to order. He had slept like a baby after Danzig's call and very soon, he would be heading home.

He stood with the others as the bailiff called the court to order and the judge took her seat. Everything was going according to plan. He smiled innocently at the D.A. as he sat down. The man was, after all, just trying to do his job.

The introductions were made more for the court record than anything else, a formality nothing more. The important part would be the cross examination of Detective James Ellison, a cross examination he knew would never happen. It was so perfect—if Ellison didn't show then the D.A.'s case against him would fall apart. It had all hinged on Ellison the first time around and with Ellison gone, the case would soon follow.

"The court calls Detective James Ellison to the stand," He looked up when he heard the bailiff's call and the silence that answered it.

Rizant sat forward as he looked around the courtroom, a smile coming easily to his face.

As the bailiff called out a second time his smile froze.

The doors to the courtroom opened to admit a very haggard looking Detective Ellison. He leaned heavily on a cane as he approached the bench.

Rizant watched as the detective was followed by his partner, a uniformed officer and Captain Banks.

"Detective Ellison, would you care to explain this… dramatic entrance?" The Judge asked indicating the new arrivals and Jim's current state.

"I'm sorry your honor," Rizant heard the detective reply. "It's a long story."

Rizant watched as the Judge waved off his explanation. "Does it have anything to do with this case?"

Rizant froze at the predatory glint in Ellison's eye as the man smiled at him. "I believe it has everything to do with the case."

Epilog

Jim sighed as he eased himself back onto the couch and propped his leg up. It had been an eventful week, but he was finally home. He smiled as he thought about the surprised expression on Rizant's face when he'd entered the courtroom.

He'd been forced to go directly from the ER to the courthouse to make it in time, but it had been worth it just to see the shock on the man's face. That shock had grown as Sandburg had begun to read the list of new charges against him as Corporal Johnson handcuffed him.

Conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of attempted murder, assault: it had been a good collar considering it was Blair's first day back on duty for a month, and that he and Johnson each had an arm in a sling.

He turned as Blair entered the main room and looked around. The Sentinel's eyes were drawn to the white bandage that cushioned his partner's injured wrist. All things considered they'd gotten off lucky.

He shook his head slightly as he realized that Sandburg was heading for the door.

"Where are you headed Chief?"

Blair smiled. "Well, there was this Flight Attendant on the way back—and she's never seen the sites of Cascade…."

Jim smiled and shook his head. Some things, thankfully, would never change.

Finis