Rafes cell phone rang and a heavy silence fell in the room
He picked it up and pressed the keypad. "Rafe."
"Hi Rafe, it's Blair. We're okay so far," the familiar voice settled the detective's stomach before he answered.
"Thank god. Is Jim with you?"
Blair couldn't help but snort at that.
"Rafe do you honestly think he'd let me out on my own?"
"No, I suppose not," he said pulling a rueful face at his own stupidity. "Let me speak to Jim."
"Sure man."Blair replied. Rafe heard him give the handset over to Jim.
"Rafe how are things there?" Ellison demanded straight away. Rafe recognised the totally focused tone in his superior officers voice.
"The Feds appeared 20 mins after you left. Six of them. They were not happy when they left believe me. And our duplicitous Captain planted the seed that Sandburg could be using his own contacts to leave the U.S. – ALONE." He informed the older man with a smirk.
"Very slippery our captain," Jim responded with a laugh in his voice. But it didn't last; with his next sentence he was back to business. "I think someone should have a look at that SVD file Joel spoke of…"
"Its already been requested," Rafe assured him. "So where and when do you want to meet?"
Rafe heard Ellison take a deep breath before he spat out his answer.
"Lash's duck pond, midnight day after tomorrow."
Rafe felt all the blood run from his face, as the line went dead. He had really hoped that he would never see that damn place again.
He took the cell away from his face and began to delete the call from the memory. Every movement he made on Autopilot as his brain fed him images from the pest.
"Well?" Simon barked impatiently.
"Lash's duck pond. Midnight. Day after tomorrow," Rafe repeated not looking at anyone.
He remembered that that was the first time he had seen the killlook in Jim's eyes. And he was not ashamed to say, it scared him then and it scared him now.
It was just so vacant and cold.
"Why the hell would he choose there?" Joel whispered in shock.
No one answered him.
Megan looked at her colleagues and saw lots of bad memories being relived.
"I'm sorry but I'm lost here," she stated hoping someone would fill her in.
Simon took the plunge.
"David Lash was a serial killer. Who drowned his victims in a duck pond after drugging them just enough to subdue them. Then he would return their bodies to their own bathrooms with a yellow ribbon round their throats. Lash's deal was that he would take on the victims personality and wear their clothes etc." Simon found himself nauseous as he recalled the rest of the tale.
"Lash kidnapped Blair, chained him up at a derelict warehouse, drugged him intending to kill him. Then take on his life." Simon recalled Ellison walking out of the warehouse bleeding but refusing to hand over Blair's unconscious body to anyone but the paramedics.
Megan shook her head, and then smiled.
"I don't see anything remotely funny Connor," Rafe snapped glaring at the Aussie beauty.
"I'm sorry Rafe. Don't think that I was laughing at the incident. I swear I'm not…Its just that it kinda explains something that's been niggling me all day." Connor explained quickly upon seeing the thunderclouds.
"And that would be?" H enquired quickly not liking the anger in his partner's eyes.
"If any other civilian or even a rookie had to deal with the day that Blair has had, I'd expect them to be a basket case or catatonic. But not our Blair, he deals with his demons head on. Sure he'll land on his butt, he just wont stay there…and will he very glad when he's back full time. Where he belongs," Megan replied.
"I agree whole heartedly. But I don't get the connection to Lash," H said extremely puzzled.
"Can you think of a bigger fear for Blair to deal with than total lack of control?" Megan enquired with a grin.
Simon and Joel nodded as Rafe said softly, "That would be Blair's idea of Hell. I remember him telling me, early on, that he needs at least one thing in his surroundings that he can control."
"I bet the little reprobate chose the meeting location," declared Simon gruffly.
"No bet," Joel replied rather sadly. "That kid is gonna give me an ulcer."
Megan giggled, her eyes sparkling as she declared, "Gee-whizz! I think I'm actually feeling sorry for Ellison. Sandy will have him Grey or totally bald within five years."
"That's nasty," Simon said, but didn't dispute her statement.
