Cutting it close this time. Sorry about that!

Enjoy!


Jim stood on the roof looking over his city. It filled him up with something hard to identify, something potent. Cascade wasn't just bricks and buildings and streets and bridges and lights. It wasn't just neighborhoods and politics and parks and factories. It wasn't even just the people who lived there – though they in themselves were clearly the most important part of it.

But Cascade was also a collective will, a force to which thousands and thousands of minds and souls bent their strength. From different walks of life, different financial realities, different perspectives, different religions, different cultures came this one whole. This one city of people who dared to make a home between the sea and the mountains, on a relatively narrow strip of land, a permanent precipice. This one city of people who scoffed at forest fires, tidal waves, and a possible volcano to the north. Crime was a problem here, but the law-abiding citizens of Cascade had not been cowed or frightened away by it – they poured their resources into stronger police presences and neighborhood watches and soup kitchens. Like most human settlements, Cascade had started as someone's dream to build a community that would last against danger from within and from outside, a dream shared by many from the entrepreneurs to the dockhands, a dream that had lasted until its towers spired high and its suburbs scattered widely.

Jim loved Cascade. He loved the winds that blew in from the sea and smelled like morning and vastness (and a great many other things he carefully filtered out). He loved the city's ardent, passionate support for their basketball team – indeed, it was perfectly reasonable to declare Jags Basketball as one's official religion for the truly dedicated. He loved the city's mix of populations and cultures, from the Russian neighborhood to the Chinatown to the Mexican quarter. He loved the mountains that leaned over them to the east like sheltering arms, cupping a treasure and hiding it from the rest of the continent. Even if Jim would have happily rattled the teeth of a not-insignificant portion of the population for their illegal acts or their sheer stupidity or uselessness, he could not stop loving the city as a whole.

The instant he'd stepped outside where he could see through the air to much of Cascade, he'd felt better. The twitch remained, but it was no longer so angry. Now it was a call to focus, to seek.

"There's something," Jim said. "I'm just not sure what."

"Okay," Blair nodded. "Let's see if we can figure it out. I want you to close your eyes for a minute."

Jim sighed but obeyed.

"Clearly something is registering on your senses somewhere," Blair reasoned, "and since it was bugging you downstairs where Simon has his blinds drawn, it's probably not something you can perceive visually. Somewhere you're aware of something. So let's see if we can figure out which sense it is."

With his eyes closed, Jim automatically focused on his sense of hearing and of smell – they carried the city to him in a cacophony of input, but all of that was familiar. With the ease of long practice, he let each scent, each sound, filter through his mind – recognized, assessed, and dismissed without conscious effort in fractions of seconds. But the sheer volume of it started to overwhelm him and he tensed against a flood of sensations.

"Easy, Jim," Blair said soothingly, catching his arm. "Don't focus so hard. Try to relax. Just let things come to you."

He felt like growling back to his Guide that it was not that easy, but that would break his concentration so he instead redoubled his forcible deep breathing. He was so caught up in it, he didn't even hear the unexpected beep from the phone in his pocket.

There's definitely something, Jim thought to himself. I almost know this feeling. It's like hearing part of a song and knowing the riff is familiar but not from where. It's almost like

Another beep, but this time of both phones. Jim was so caught up, he didn't even notice Blair checking his own phone.

It's not a sound or a smell at all! Jim realized with a start. It's something else.

With that thought, the blue jungle crashed into his awareness.

Jim rolled his eyes at the jaguar that met him but he no longer fought against it so firmly. Not only had he promised Sandburg not to resist this aspect of himself as a Sentinel, but, more importantly, the jaguar had proved to be helpful a time or two. It was as if the jaguar, and Blair's wolf too for that matter, was more aware of the world than even Jim; as a Sentinel, he could still miss clues or signs of danger, but if those clues or signs were really important – read, relevant to the safety of either the Sentinel, the Guide, or their city – the spirit animals would drop hints. Cryptic, nonverbal, subtle hints, but hints nonetheless. Jim had begun thinking of his jaguar like a really well-developed avatar for his natural cop instincts, and that helped.

The jaguar this time looked relaxed, even nonchalant. Its tail was up and curved in the way of contented house-cats, and as Jim looked at it, the jaguar actually yawned. But it did turn its head to look deeper into the jungle, and as it did so, Jim's gaze followed it.

Oh. Yeah, that would explain it.

Jim opened his eyes to find himself on the roof again. "I figured it out!"

"Me too!" Blair grinned.

Simultaneously, they declared, "There's another Sentinel in town!"

Jim frowned but Blair bounced happily. "Man! How'd you know? Something mystical, right? But not like Alex. You got all paranoid and angry then, but you seem okay now, so I'm seriously hoping this guy isn't like Alex."

"Yes, it was mystical, no, I don't think it's going to be like her all over again, and how do you know?" Jim asked testily. It figured that the time he actually used that enhanced sixth sense awareness Sandburg would do an end-run around him anyway.

"Because Jonny and Hadji met him already and they let us know," Blair shrugged brightly.

Jim pulled out his phone to look at his messages. There were two. The second was from Jonny, telling Jim and Blair both that he'd encountered another Sentinel, an old friend. The message itself was brief, but even so Jim could tell from the tone of Jonny's words that he was comfortable with this particular person, from which Jim inferred Jonny and he had already figured out their relative status and all that stuff. Jim didn't really understand all those nuances yet, but he'd had the advantage: with Jaga and Jonny both, Jim had clearly been the alpha of the pack, so he hadn't had to posture or anything.

"Sandburg," Jim said, eyes flicking over the first message, "call up those kids and have them come down to the station as soon as they can get here. I want to see this Sentinel for myself before he gets any deeper in here."

"Sure thing," Blair agreed. Then, with a shrewd look, "Why come here, Jim? We could just as easily drop in on them?"

"Because I'm going to have to have a long conversation with Simon first," Jim said. He turned his phone to show his partner the message that hadn't come from Jonny. It was from Benton.

Situation has changed. Contact me immediately. Likelihood we will require your presence here shortly.

-==OOO==-

Jim was just walking back to his desk when Rhonda waved him over. He'd sent Blair ahead to wait for the kids and taken advantage of the isolation of the rooftop to put in his call to Benton and do some thinking. What had started as a sinking feeling had settled more into irritated resignation.

"Jim, Blair just went down to the lobby to get some kids?" she asked.

Jim glanced around the bullpen. Joel was nowhere to be seen – Jim's hearing told him he was a few doors down getting coffee. Rafe and Brown were at their desks helping to organize the piles of receipts Joel would be sorting through from each of the two arson crime scenes to see if they could match any customers. Daryl had already started compiling a list of businesses around the 221 bus line's various stops so they could cross-reference the receipts. Simon was in his office.

"Yeah," Jim answered. "You missed Jessie this morning? The kids are friends of ours. They're thinking about going to Rainier next year, and Sandburg is showing them around."

"Well, Simon said it was okay for them to come up," Rhonda shrugged. Then, with a wink to Daryl, who'd taken up residence at a table beside her desk for his internship, "If we get any more young people in here, we could open a college of our own!"

Daryl grinned at her. "Better than spending all day buried in a phone book!"

Jim caught Simon looking through his open door and smiling slyly. I wonder if Operation Get Daryl Into School And Out Of The Academy is starting to work, Jim thought.

The elevator dinged and Blair appeared with the three kids Jim already knew and one new face following in his wake. Jim regarded the new Sentinel carefully. Dark skinned, tall, face marked with pronounced cheekbones and intelligent eyes, the young Sentinel's gaze landed on Jim instantly as if drawn magnetically. Jim noted that his Guide and the Quests had all moved subtly to both get out from between them and also to slightly shield the new Sentinel from other curious eyes.

Jim was suddenly aware of two things. First, that this Sentinel was young, younger than Jonny, even, and a little afraid. And second, that this Sentinel was part of his tribe, had to be part of his tribe. Just like Jonny and Hadji. That he fit against Jim' senses as easily as Simon, as easily as the Quests.

He waited until the group reached him, but his smile was all for the new Sentinel. "I'm Jim Ellison," he said with deliberate warmth. "Welcome to Cascade."

"My name is Ngama Zimbati," the youth answered, cautious but polite as he shook hands. "I have heard much about you, sir."

Jim put a hand on Ngama's shoulder. He glanced to Jonny who nodded with a grin. Hadji and Blair were smiling, too; Jessie's smile was more confused. But clearly the other Sentinel and Guides could feel what Jim could feel – Ngama was comfortable. Even Jaga had not fit so easily somehow. But then, Jaga had been angling for Hadji as a Guide, which had caused more than a little friction. Jonny's comfort with him demonstrated that Ngama had already passed that test.

"Good to have you aboard. You seem to fit in around here pretty well," Jim said. At that, Ngama relaxed.

But before anyone else could speak, there was the sound of a throat being pointedly cleared. "Ellison? Want to tell me why my bullpen is full of teenagers?"

"Yes, sir," Jim said, turning. "Mind if we take a few minutes?"

Simon frowned. "I guess not," he said, clearly expecting the worst.

"Jonny? Hadji? Jessie? Got something to talk to you about," Jim said as lightly as he could. Even so, all three tensed.

"Is everything okay?" Jonny asked quickly.

"Yes," Jim affirmed staunchly. "Just a change of plans."

"I believe I will wait here," Ngama said, looking between his friends and the elder Sentinel.

"Good idea," Blair agreed. "Hey, Daryl? Come on over."

Blair made quick introductions, an arm familiarly around Daryl's shoulders. "These are Jonny and Jessie and Hadji and their friend Ngama. Jim and I know Jonny and Hadji's dad and Jessie's dad. We need to talk to them with Simon for a bit. Can you keep Ngama company?"

"Sure," Daryl shrugged, putting a hand out to the taller boy. "Nice to meet you. I'm Daryl Banks. My dad's the captain."

"Oh, you're Daryl!" Jessie smiled at him. "I think your dad said you might play some basketball with us sometime."

"Um, yeah, okay," Daryl was caught off-guard.

Jonny grinned wickedly. "Yeah! Let's do it! Ngama, you play?"

"Yes," Ngama answered with a nod. "Though perhaps not well."

"Yeah, well, Jonny's no good either so that's fair," Jessie taunted him.

"That's it!" Jonny leaned to face her. "Me and Daryl against you and Ngama! You're going to eat those words!"

Blair noticed that Jonny had wisely put himself and the other Sentinel on opposite teams. That was a real act of fairness, because even though his own senses were still largely out, he was decidedly the only one to match a Sentinel for potential advantages.

"Um, hello? Are you coming in or not?" Simon called. "I could wait all day but, oh, wait, I'm the boss around here!"

"Yeah, we're coming," Jim said over his shoulder with a smirk.

"Be right back," Jonny assured Ngama. But it was Blair Ngama's eyes landed on as they all began to move. When alone in the elevator, the trio and Ngama had spilled a quick explanation of things to Blair, including Ngama's situation with his father and his desire to find Blair specifically for help.

Blair squeezed Ngama's shoulder as he went by. "You're among friends, here. Don't worry."

They disappeared into Simon's office and shut the door.

Daryl and Ngama stood regarding one another for a moment before Daryl smiled and shrugged. "Who knows what they're talking about? Wish I could listen in, but I'm just the lowly intern with the phone book."

"May I be of assistance?" Ngama offered. "I have little else to do while my friends are here."

"Help with this boring stuff?" Daryl huffed a laugh and practically threw his new friend into a chair. "If you want to numb your brain, go ahead!"

As Ngama listened to Daryl explain what they were doing and began to assist, however, he kept a part of himself doing just what Daryl had said – listening to the conversation in the office beyond.

"Okay, so who's going to tell me what's going on?" Simon sat back, looking at his crowd. They'd settled around the table where there was room for everyone to sit.

"Two things," Jim said. "First, Simon Banks meet Ngama Zimbati. Ngama is a Sentinel."

"What? Another one?" Simon glanced out the window before turning back. "Really?"

"Yup," Jessie nodded. "Jim wanted to meet him, which is why we came."

"And we're going to try to help him," Jonny added firmly.

"His home situation is not entirely amenable to developing his potential," Hadji said. "We encountered him entirely randomly, but given the situation, I believe this is further proof that nothing is ever truly random and that this is all as it should be."

Simon just sort of shook his head at that but did not argue – he'd only met Hadji the one time and found the kid was more confusing than Sandburg with all the solemnity of a sage. It would be like trying to argue with a waterfall.

"Okay, well, that only explains half of it," Simon said. He pinned his best detective with a look. "What's really going on, Jim?"

"I got a call from Benton," Jim said, instantly stilling the Quests. "He's okay. They both are," he amended quickly.

"But what?" Blair asked.

Jim took a breath. He had to play this carefully to preserve the slight untruth Benton and Race had told their kids while simultaneously making the case he had to make.

"They're abroad right now, meeting a contact about SELF," he said after a moment. "And he's asked me to fly out and join them."

"Why?" Blair asked.

"Now?" Simon frowned even more. "In the middle of a case?"

Jim decided to go with a straight truth. "Benton and Race are having trouble convincing their contact that it really is possible to achieve independent control over Sentinel senses. This contact has been in the system over there so long, they've only ever seen Sentinels who were, you know, struggling."

Even Simon had been briefed on what the group had learned earlier in the summer about how some governments kept Sentinels like trained dogs, but rather than collars and leashes they used psychological conditioning and learned helplessness to maintain control. A Sentinel could use their senses fully, but they were kept from ever figuring out how to use them independently.

"So he wants you to come show them for sure that SELF really can help them," Jonny concluded. "That makes sense."

"Do you have to go right now?" Jessie asked.

Jim nodded. "Benton thinks their negotiations are dead in the water unless they can actually prove that freedom is possible for Sentinels."

"How am I going to explain you jetting off to wherever they are?" Simon wanted to know.

"Oh, that's easy," Blair spoke up. "He'll go with me."

"Chief…" Jim began.

His Guide fixed a fierce blue gaze on him. "No way, Jim. I am not staying behind. Unknown situation abroad, almost certainly running into another Sentinel? I'm going with you. Plus, I might be able to help, too. I can tell them what I've learned, even take you through a few exercises so Benton's friend can see it for himself."

"It might not be safe," Jim cautioned.

At that, Simon laughed. "It's never safe with either of you around."

"Besides," Blair ignored them, "remember that I've got actual clout now. If it's me asking Jim to go with me, the Commissioner can't say anything about it. I could even get the DHS to put in a formal request if it would help." He grinned. "The perks of working for SELF just keep on giving!"

Simon sighed heavily. "If he plays that card, I really don't have a leg to stand on. So you two are going to go out to Russia and hobnob with somebody." His eyes shifted across the table. "Where does that leave you three?"

"Oh, we'll be fine," Jonny said with a shrug. "Dad doesn't know we're here, actually."

"He doesn't?"

"Nope. And you won't tell him, right?" Jonny looked to Jim.

Jim shook his head. "You should tell him yourself. But no, I won't do it for you. It's your business."

"We've got some schoolwork still," Jessie put in. "And we can tour the university on our own. We can even get back up to SELF if we need to."

"And there is Ngama," Hadji said. "I may not be you, Blair, but I can at least begin to help him with his Sentinel abilities until you return. We shall have plenty to keep us busy."

"There is almost no part of this that I like," Simon grumbled. "I'm losing my best detectives in the middle of a case where I really need them, and they're leaving you three terrors loose in my city."

"If all goes well," Hadji returned politely, "we shall be here permanently next spring."

"Don't remind me," Simon groaned.

"We could help with your investigation," Jesse said sweetly.

"And don't start that again," wagging a finger at her. "For that matter, I'm going to assign Daryl to stay with you kids to keep you from getting anywhere near the investigation." He smiled. "Call it a cultural exchange."

The trio traded glances. Investigating with Daryl around would be harder, not to mention it would curtail anything they might want to do at the SELF location. Plus, of course, they couldn't talk about Sentinels with him, nor begin helping Ngama. But on the other hand, that only gave them some new ideas.

"Okay," Jonny agreed. Only Simon didn't know him well enough to know his easy acceptance was too easy.

"If we're done," Jim said, "Blair and I need to pack. Benton was going to call in a favor to get us on a flight tonight and we don't have a lot of time."

"Go, go," Simon waved at the door imperiously.

But when Jim and Blair rose, they faced the three Quests for a moment.

"It'll only be a few days," Jim said a little stiffly. "We'll be right back to help."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Blair asked with genuine concern.

"All is as it should be," Hadji said serenely. "You will be where you are the most needed. We are in no true danger here, and should anything prove too much, we will retreat to the lodge. We are well capable of managing longer than a few days alone in a city."

"Take care of our dads, okay?" Jessie asked. "Doctor Quest wouldn't call you in if he didn't really need you."

Jim surprised them both by giving the girl a hug. "I know that. I'll look out for them." His eyes landed on her and they exchanged a knowing look. "Take care of these boys for me."

"You know I will, Jim."

"Hey!" Jonny laughed. "I can take care of myself."

"We know," Blair said with a grin. "Don't think we've forgotten who we're dealing with here."

"As you shouldn't," Hadji said brightly.

"Simon," Jim said, resting a hand on Hadji's shoulder and cheerfully ruffling Jonny's hair, "look out for these three for us. They'll be staying at the SELF house near the university, but you can call them any time." He glanced down at the younger Sentinel. "Check in with Simon twice a day and with me once a day at least, okay?"

Simon and Jonny rolled their eyes in perfect sync.

"Blessed Protectors," Blair sighed to Hadji. "What are you going to do?"

"We can but endure," he answered with a small smile.

-==OOO==-

The Quests opted to remain at the police station until dinner time, ostensibly to help Daryl with his tedious task, but they ended up assisting Joel as well with his own analysis. Jim's long-ago offer to Jonny that he would be welcome at the station with his computer abilities came to pass when the trio worked their magic to use the Quest system to import the data directly and begin the analysis of thousands of receipts. By morning they would not only know who, if anyone, was a common shopper at either of the two scenes of the fire, but they would also have cross-checked employment records against any likely offices on the 221 route.

And even Simon's grumbling couldn't obscure the fact that they were actually moving the investigation forward by leaps and bounds, so he allowed them to remain. Under supervision.

The real reason the Quests stayed at the station, though, was to get to know Daryl and Simon a bit more. Simon was a part of the secret, of course, but they'd had limited interaction with him. He and his son felt like unknown pillars, part of that which held up their futures and kept it standing strong, but they didn't know exactly what weight to put on them. When Simon offered to order pizzas for the lot of them before their basketball game at a park near the SELF house, they accepted excitedly.

A comfortable, casual dinner over some pizzas was exactly the introduction they needed.

The six of them sat on the back porch of the SELF house, looking across the tiny patch of yard to other yards and houses in the neighborhood, many of which were owned by Rainier University or affiliated groups like the fraternities and sororities. It was a lovely evening and half the block was out grilling or gardening or throwing frisbees or balls around.

"So, Ngama," Simon said politely, "I hear you're interested in Rainier as a possible school?"

"Yes sir," Ngama replied. "It has a very strong medical program as well as certain extra-curriculars that interest me."

"Medical, huh?" Simon eyed his own son. "It's a great path, you know. Becoming a doctor. You'd be out there helping people, curing cancer, and earning pretty well, too."

"Yeah," Daryl rolled his eyes at his father, "but not everybody's cut out to be a doctor, dad." He looked to Ngama. "It's cool if you think you can hack it, though."

"Ngama's father is one of the foremost medical researchers in the world," Hadji said. "But the path of a father does not always determine the path of his son."

"Yeah," Jonny smiled. "Good thing, too, or I'd be in big trouble. Maybe you'll live up to dad, Hadj. We both know I won't."

"So what do you hope to major in, Jonny?" Simon wanted to know.

"I'm not sure yet," he shrugged. "I haven't figured out what I'm going to do afterwards."

"What about you, Daryl?" Jessie neatly deflected the conversation from Jonny and what could be an awkward half-conversation about SELF around the one outside the secret. "Are you planning on any further education?"

"I'd like to go to the Academy and be a cop like dad," he answered with his head up proudly.

"And I'd rather he go to college like all of you," Simon said with a slight glare.

"I want to help people," Daryl protested. "The stuff I've seen, the stuff you've handled with Jim and Blair. You've saved lives, dad. It's important."

"Those who choose to stand as guardians over their people have a tireless, thankless job. It requires the highest honor and the deepest courage," Hadji said.

Simon turned his glare onto the Indian young man. "It's also dangerous, it doesn't pay well, and it makes it hard to have a life outside of the job."

"There are other ways to protect people," Jessie pointed out. "My dad was in the Navy for a long time before he became a bodyguard to Doctor Quest. He's saved lots of lives and not just ours."

"No. Absolutely not," Simon denied. "From what I've heard, being a cop is like kindergarten compared to the trouble your family gets in."

"He's got a point, Jess," Jonny laughed.

"Maybe," she nodded, "but I still think it's important." She shrugged at Daryl. "There are lots of ways to help people in the world. You've just got to figure out what you're willing to give up to get there."

"Speaking of giving up," Hadji said, "do you still intend on your tournament of basketball tonight? It is beginning to get late."

"Oh, we are so on!" Jonny said, bouncing to his feet. He looked to the others. "Are you in?"

"I'm ready to take you on," Jessie returned. "Ngama, you with me?"

"A man should never refuse a challenge, particularly when he is also defending the honor of a lady," Ngama said regally.

"Well, when you put it like that," Daryl laughed, "we'd all better go through with it!"

"I notice you're leaving me and Hadji out of the running," Simon said slyly.

Jonny looked at him in surprise. "You wanna play?"

"I may not be as young as all of you," Simon retorted, "but I still know my way around the court. Hadji? You in?"

"When the stars are aligned against you, you must adjust your course to compensate," he said.

"I think that means yes," Jessie translated.

It took only a few minutes for the group to clean up their food and for those not already in appropriate clothing to change. They walked a few blocks to a park where an empty court sat waiting. Jonny spun the ball expertly up onto one finger.

"So, Daryl, do you want your dad or Hadji with us?" he asked.

Daryl grinned. "No offense to you, Hadji, but I've seen my dad play and I definitely want him on my side. Plus, he's way taller than all of us."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, son," Simon couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at this affirmation from Daryl.

They lined up – Jonny against Ngama, Daryl with Jessie, and Simon against Hadji. Without someone to tip off, they gave the ball to Daryl to start. He shot a perfect opening, the ball bouncing off the rim making it anyone's chance to start the game. They played until a score, when the team that hadn't scored would take the ball to the top of the key to begin again.

"It's too bad Jim and Blair aren't here," Simon said at one point as he dribbled to the line after a successful 2-pointer by Ngama. "They both love to play, and they're not half bad, either."

"Neither are you, dad!" Daryl cheered.

They played three games to 21 points. In the end, it was Jonny, Daryl, and Simon who just squeaked by in the final game by winning 21-19. By that time, all six were exhausted. But they had also learned about one another. The Quests learned that Ngama was not as aggressive as the other Sentinels they had known, but he had a keen awareness of his surroundings and an almost prophetic ability to anticipate the moments of his teammates. They learned that Simon was everything they'd ever heard about him – strong, fair, funny in his own dry way, and a very good sport. And they learned that Daryl was much like his father, more than he might realize, but he also had a burning desire to prove himself, to stand up tall against not only his father's shadow, but these intimidating peers he found himself surrounded by. To the Quests' eyes, he did not disappoint.

Daryl regarded the Quests as he rubbed a towel over his head, watching the way Hadji anticipated Jonny's search for the water-bottle before he'd even begun to glance around for it, the way Jessie casually refolded a long piece of white material for Hadji to replace his sweat-soaked turban, the way Jonny teased Jessie even as he congratulated her. He'd heard of Doctor Quest a little – anybody who followed any kind of news would have – and after his dad had mentioned the Quests to him, he'd done some more research. For all that Doctor Quest seemed like some sort of mythical hero of the intellectual word, these three seemed...normal. The kinds of people he would want to befriend, actually. Ngama too.

"Well," Simon stretched, dropping an arm around his son's shoulders, "we should get going. Another long day ahead of us tomorrow, I think."

"We'll come by the station in the morning," Jessie offered. "We should at least make sure we get you all the results of the computer analysis."

"That would be great!" Daryl said, maybe a little too eagerly.

"What do you have planned after that?" Simon wanted to know. He knew Jim was counting on him to watch out for these three, and, if he wasn't mistaken, Jonny was still technically underage.

"Well, we have a few things to handle," Jonny glanced at Hadji briefly, "but then we thought we might start touring the campus a little. Maybe meet a few professors or something. Get used to Cascade. That sort of thing."

"I would like to accompany you, if you don't mind," Ngama said.

"We'd like that a great deal," Hadji assured him. "In addition, if you would like to share in our accommodations at the house, you are more than welcome."

Ngama's smile was brilliant. "I will gladly accept your hospitality."

Simon glanced to his own son. The flash of yearning on Daryl's face gave him all he needed. He cleared his throat. "You're all newcomers to the area, right? And Jim did ask me to watch out for you." He looked sideways to Daryl. "If you wanted to take a break from your internship tomorrow afternoon, I could spare you around the station. These guys can find their way on their own, I'm sure, but they'd have a lot more fun with a native Cascadian."

"Yeah?" Daryl grinned. "That would be great!"

"We'll catch up with you tomorrow, then," Jonny smiled at Daryl. "You can show us all the stuff that isn't on a map."

"Count on it."

-==OOO==-

They settled into a routine over the next two days. In the mornings, Jonny, Jessie, Hadji, and Ngama would start their day with Sentinel work, primarily to help Ngama begin to attain a new level of control, but also continuing to attempt to reignite Jonny's lost senses. Around mid-morning, they made their way to the police station to check in with Simon and offer what computer assistance they could to Joel's ongoing investigation. Their original analysis had far too many people on it to be any help, so they began attempting other avenues of inquiry from recently fired individuals to scanning for purchases of items that could have been used in the detonator.

At lunchtime, Daryl would join them and the five of them would head back towards Rainier. The first day Daryl focused on giving a basic tour of what he knew of the campus, but the second day he connected with a friend from high school who was already a student on campus and enlisted her in giving them a more complete overview. Daryl found he enjoyed his time as a tourist, particularly because the Quests made it so interesting. Daryl had lived most of his life in Cascade, so when Hadji talked about a childhood in Calcutta, or Jonny recalled an adventure at the North Pole, the places came alive for him through their vivid stories. And he found he could listen to Jessie talk for hours about all the places she had been and adventures she had had.

But there was also a secret they were keeping and he knew it. After the second day, he resolved to ask them about it for sure – as Blair was always telling him, you never learned anything if you were afraid to ask questions. Even though he would have bet his entire meager savings that they wouldn't share with him.

But that didn't prevent him from starting with his own father. Who was also keeping secrets.

"Dad?" Daryl plopped on the couch after his third night out with the Quests. He normally stayed with his mom during the week, but with the internship it had made sense for him to be at his dad's house for a while. He'd timed his question perfectly – his father had been home for a couple of hours nursing a short glass of beer before bed. Daryl had waited until quite late in the evening when his father was mellow and beginning to think about sleep; it was when he was relaxed, open-minded, and the most at ease.

"Something on your mind?" Simon asked, setting down the page of newspaper he'd been reading.

"What's SELF for?" Daryl asked.

Simon let out a long breath. He'd known this would happen – his son was sharp to begin with and it wasn't like anyone was trying to hide the existence of the Foundation. "It was set up by Doctor Quest for the study of the human capacity to perceive stimulus," he repeated the simple answer.

"Yeah, that's what Jonny said, too," Daryl frowned. "But you know what it kind of reminds me of?"

Oh, lord, here we go, Simon thought.

The ringing of his cell phone broke the moment. With an apologetic glance to Daryl, Simon grabbed it from the table. "Banks."

"Captain Banks! It's me, Jessie! We need your help!"

"Jessie! What's going on?" Simon was on his feet in a flash, already striding for the door and stepping into his nearest pair of shoes. He wasn't even aware of Daryl listening after him.

"There's a fire at a computer lab at Rainier University and Jonny and Ngama are inside it!"