To Simon's surprise, Jay did not live in Cascade, but almost an hour's drive away in Tacoma. He spent the drive trying to process the flood of information he had received from Sharon at the cemetery. His mind flashed over events of the past year - fleeting moments where he expected either Jim or Blair to burst through his office door, only to be staring an unknown rookie in the face. Times when he would look at a case file and immediately want to assign it to Jim. It even got to the point where he missed Blair's incessant chatter and constant nervous energy.

By that point, he was convinced his sanity was gone, or at the very least going. He had lost friends before, many of them in the line of duty. And he had always been able to go on. Sure, with a sense of sadness and loss, but that was to be expected, wasn't it? So what was it about losing Jim and Blair that felt like his soul had been ripped out from under him-to the point where the slightest glimmer of hope that they might be alive would have sent him racing to the other side of the moon if necessary?

Part of it, he knew, was that the two men were the last living link to his son. Even if his son was dead, at least finding Jim and Blair might give him that sense of closure he had never been able to find when it came to Daryl's death. Although he continued to try and remind himself of Sharon's warning that Daryl probably did die in the accident, a very, very, small voice inside of him wanted to hold out the hope that somehow, maybe, the life of his son had been spared as well. That he was being held hostage as a way to make the two men behave. No matter how much he rationalized, though, that small voice had resolutely decided not to shut up.

Yet even with that hope, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the force that drove him to immediately jump into Sharon's scheme without hesitation was his connection to the Sentinel and his Guide. Outside of Sharon and Diane, he was the only person to participate in one of the best-kept secrets in the world. Not to mention the fact that he was an -active- participant in that relationship: he was their Watcher-it was his job to make sure that both of them were at their best. It was their agreement that if anything should happen to either Jim or Blair, Simon would keep the surviving one from eating a bullet.

He laughed bitterly as he realized that -that- was what was probably drove him over the edge. They were the ones he worried about, so when they were both taken from him at the same time, who would be the one to save him from eating a bullet? Everyone probably thought he would have gone on to make sure he could be there for Daryl, but Daryl was gone too. So when Sharon walked up to him and asked him to help her get them back, it was like throwing a drowning man a lifeline: he doesn't argue; he simply grabs it and holds on before the water pulls him under.

The Watcher was pulled out of those thoughts when he noticed Sharon pulling into a driveway. When he gave Sharon a questioning look, she simply responded, "We're here, Simon. C'mon."

Simon was trying to shake the philosophical thoughts from his mind, but one question about the meeting in the cemetery just could not be ignored. As Simon followed Sharon around to the back of the house he asked her, "Share?"

"Yeah, Simon?"

"How did you know that I would know that Blair and Jim were alive?"

Sharon smiled enigmatically. [Man, I'm an -outsider- and I'm more comfortable with the Sentinel-Guide thing than he is!] "You're their Watcher, right?"

Simon agreed, "Yeah?"

"So have you ever heard someone say that if their husband or wife or child died, they would -know-, no matter where or how the other person died?"

Again, Simon agreed, "Yeah?"

"Same principle. You've always been more connected to those two than you'd like to think, Simon."

Simon let out a small chuckle at Sharon's perceptiveness. As he held the screen door open for Sharon to walk through he told her, "I'm beginning to understand that, Share."

Simon had to fight the urge to gawk at the canyon of papers and old computer equipment they were walking through. At the end of said canyon was an office that seemed to look astoundingly similar to Blair's old 'hovel' at the University, with the notable exception of a window. Sitting in the middle of the chaos was a Filipino man who appeared to be roughly Sharon's age. Not looking up from his work, the man glanced in the mirror next to the computer and called out to his friend, "G'day Share! Who's your mate?"

"Jay Cho Keung, Simon Banks, formerly of the Cascade PD. He's going to help me rescue Blair and Jim. Any news?"

"Hang on a minute..."

As Jay typed something into his computer, Simon tapped on Sharon's shoulder and mouthed, "Formerly?"

"In for a penny, in for a pound, Simon," replied Sharon. "While we're here you can call Diane and explain to her what you're doing. She'll understand."

Simon shrugged. "Even if she doesn't, I think she was about a week away from firing me anyway."

Sharon looked up at her friend, her whole being practically radiating empathy. "That bad, huh?"

In response, Simon squeezed the smaller woman's shoulder and sighed. "Yeah."

By this point, Jay found the information he was looking for at his computer, and he called the pair over, "Okay guys, I just got something."

As Sharon and Simon made their way over to stand behind Jay, the techno-geek pulled on a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and announced, "Here's their info..."

Before Jay could launch into details, Simon asked, "First of all, can we check and see if these are really our guys? Do these files have photo shots?"

Turning to look up at the man behind him, Jay shrugged and replied, "Sure." Punching a few keys on the keyboard, he pulled up the photo files on recruits Ellison and Sandburg.

Simon nearly hit the floor when the file photos came up to reveal Jim and Blair, their faces staring back at him as if they had just posed for Cascade PD IDs yesterday. "When were these taken?"

When Jay replied, "Last week, actually," Sharon nearly hit the floor herself. Up until now, she was 90% sure that they were chasing after Jim and Blair, but she had no definite confirmation. Now that she had her definite confirmation, she was suddenly scared out of her mind. Was she willing to risk her freedom, maybe her very life to get them out of there? Thinking back to her tiny apartment in downtown Cascade, she realized that she didn't -have- a life anymore anyway. Regaining her composure, she began to pace the tiny room, trying to formulate a plan of attack. She asked Jay, "How far along are they in their training?"

"Let's see..." As Jay typed furiously, bypassing multiple security systems to access the needed information, his eyes widened in surprise as he read the last report filed on Sharon's friends. "Wow...they're about three months shy of completing their training."

Sharon almost shook her head in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"No-take a look for yourself. Apparently their combined backgrounds gave them quite a leg up on the other recruits-"

Simon cut Jay off. "Wait a second, did you say, -combined- backgrounds?"

Jay nodded. "That's the kicker - their file states that they should be treated as one operative."

Over Jay's head, Sharon and Simon looked at each other with trepidation in their eyes. Does that mean they -know-? Sharon spoke first. "Jay, can you check their file for any mention of heightened senses, or the words Sentinel or Guide?"

If Jay was confused in any way by the request, he didn't show it. Instead, he simply responded, "Hang on just a sec..." After a few tense seconds, Jay came back with, "Nope...those words aren't mentioned anywhere in their records."

Simon and Sharon let out a simultaneous sigh of relief, when Sharon stopped suddenly, exclaiming, "Wait a minute - what if they suspect something?"

Simon thought for a moment, then replied, "I don't think they do. Don't ask me -why- they've kept them together, let's just assume that's going to be the way it stays for now. What next?"

Sharon thought for a moment, then declared, "Well, we can't go in there with what we have now...we need supplies. Jay, know anyone who could get us what we need?"

Jay glared over at his friend, then declared, "Of -course- I do. Go show the man where he can make his phone call. I'll have everything you need lined up in about fifteen minutes."

Smiling, Sharon squeezed his shoulder. "Thanks for your help, buddy."

"Anytime." Turning Simon, he told the former policeman, "Share'll show you where the phone is. I'll see you in a bit."

Simon agreed, "Okay, I'll see you soon. Thanks again for all your help. You don't know how much I appreciate it."

Jay shrugged off the gratitude. "Hey, any friends of Share's are friends of mine. And I do a lot for my friends." Jay then chased the pair off with, "Now will you -go- already?"

Laughing, Sharon led Simon back through the paper canyon to the secured phones.

Fifteen minutes later, the former Federal Profiler and the former Cascade Police captain emerged from the canyon free to the last ties to their old lives. Jay was just getting off the phone as they came in. Hanging up the receiver, he announced, "All right, I just secured us an unmarked van and enough weapons for the three of us to blow up Fort Knox if we needed to. Hope you don't mind, Share, but I used your Geneva account."

Simon turned to his young partner in surprise [this shock thing is getting old fast...] and watched her simply shrug it off with a, "S'ok. That's what the money's there for." Feeling eyes bearing down on her, she turned to Simon and asked him, "What?"

"You have a Swiss Bank account?"

"Where'd you think I put all the revenues from the record?"

Remembering the grand prize deal from the Cascade of Stars show [God, it seems like that was a lifetime ago...], Simon simply mouthed a silent "Oh" and resolved to not let anything surprise him anymore. After today, it would be hard to do anyhow.

Sharon, however, had just received her own surprise when she caught on to the last of Jay's statement. "Wait a second, the -three- of us?"

In response, Jay shrugged. "You don't think I'd let you go back there -alone-, now do you?"

Moved beyond words, Sharon simply ran to her old friend and hugged him fiercely. She knew he was giving up his life for her and her friends. Looking at him with tears in her eyes, she was barely able to choke out, "Thank you."

Wiping the tears away from his friend's eyes, Jay simply replied, "Hey...what would I do for fun without you around anyway?"

[Incorrigible...] Sharon playfully hit him on the shoulder as she slipped out of his arms. Composing herself quickly, she announced to the group, "All right, next is travel and strategy. We have less than three months to figure out where they're going to end up, and how to get them out of Section. And believe me, that time's going to go faster than we'd like. Ready, gentlemen?" When both men nodded confidently, Sharon declared, "Then let's get started."

It took two days of almost non-stop work, but Jay and Sharon finally felt they had a plan that could work. Looking over the paperwork one more time, Simon peeled the borrowed reading glasses and sighed. He asked his fellow co- conspirators, "You mean I have to -memorize- all this stuff?"

Sharon nodded. "We can't leave any evidence behind - once we pull all these plans together in our minds, we have to incinerate them." Seemingly realizing something important, Sharon got up and paced the small length of the office. Looking over Simon's physical condition, she realized the former police captain probably hadn't seen the inside of a gym in a long time. From behind him Sharon asked, "Simon?"

Trying to concentrate on the floor plans for Section Headquarters, Simon replied, "Hmmmm?"

"When's the last time you worked out?"

Simon looked up from the papers. It had been a long time since he was concerned about whether or not he was in shape.

Sharon took one look at the embarrassed look on Simon's face and almost laughed. Sitting to face him, Sharon confided, "To be perfectly honest, Simon, you're beginning to look like Joel's kid brother." Her tone turning serious, she then told him, "Simon, we're going to be facing an entire armada of trained killers. If we're not in top shape, we won't stand a chance."

Simon sighed again. He knew she was right.

Sharon chuckled in response. Grabbing her friend's hand, she started to drag Simon toward the workout room that Jay kept clear for her. "C'mon. We're got work to do."

Blair woke immediately, wincing at the piercing alarm that blared through their quarters. Realizing this was some sort of emergency, he instinctively looked to Jim to see what to do, when he realized that Jim had not moved from the bed. He moved quickly to Jim's side and whispered directly in his Sentinel's ears, "Jim man, turn down your hearing. I need you to get up and get moving. Something's up here, and I don't know what's going on."

Shaking away the panic and disorientation from his out-of-control hearing, Jim turned to his partner and asked, "What's going on, chief?"

Blair could only shrug his response until Michael opened the door, carrying two sets of clothing. Seemingly unperturbed by the emergency, he ordered the two men, "Get dressed. Briefing in five minutes."

Shrugging, Sentinel and Guide complied as ordered. Five minutes later they walked to the briefing room and were surprised to find every operative in Section trying to cram themselves into the small space. There were other recruits there, but not many. So what -exactly- was going on?

They soon found out when Operations announced to the group, "All right, people, we have reason to believe that we have uncovered the location of Red Cell's main headquarters." A holographic projection of a mansion's floor plans came up on the screen, and Operations directed, "We have been monitoring Red Cell's communications for the past two months, and finally we were able to trace their origins to a computer room located," he pointed to a red spot on the map as he indicated, "Here."

At that point Birkoff took over. "We have reason to believe that the basement rooms are storehouses for large quantities of chemical weapons. The doors to each of these rooms are rigged top to bottom with laser and infrared motion detectors. According to our intel, all of the higherups within the organization have gathered this weekend to plan strategy for another attack against us."

Operations picked up immediately. "Which is why we're going tonight. Your team leaders have the orders each team will be responsible for carrying out. Recruits, work with the operative who is training you. Any questions?"

Naturally, no one asked any questions, so after a few brief moments of silence, Operations announced to the group, "Very well then. Report to your transports."

As the room dissolved into the organized chaos of the operatives preparing to leave, Jim spotted Michael talking to Operations, across the room from where they were standing. As Jim ushered Blair over to their mentor, the Guide took advantage of the chaos to talk to his partner. Blair spoke low enough that only his Sentinel could hear, "Keep your radar up, Jim. I've got a bad feeling about this one."

Just before they found Michael, Jim replied, sighing, "Me too, chief. Me too."

They never left the transport for a plane, so wherever they were, Jim found it safe to assume, then, that this Red Cell was not too far from Section's headquarters. They had both been issued standard night-vision goggles along with their regular equipment, goggles which Blair kept, but Jim quickly ditched as soon as it was convenient. The consequences of that, he decided, were something they could deal with later. Mission comes first.

Their team had the toughest assignment: bypass the security systems on the lower level, disable the chemical weapons and attach a transmitter to the mainframe computer so that Birkoff could siphon off their information before they blew the place up. Blair and Jim waited in the shadows for the front line teams to begin the assault.

The castle was surrounded by thick woods that came as close as thirty yards away from the building, so Jim and Blair made their way to that section of the woods to wait and prepare. As soon as they got that close to the building, though, Jim stopped, tilting his head in a way that Blair quickly recognized. The Sentinel was on to something. Placing a hand on Jim's shoulder, Blair leaned in and whispered, "Jim? What is it, man?"

"I hear something. I can tell it's important, but I can't quite pinpoint it."

Automatically Blair slipped into Guide mode. "Deep breaths, Jim. Filter out the noise made by the other teams. Focus on the sound and piggyback your sight so that you can determine the source of the problem."

Jim complied quickly, and, even in the dark, Blair could notice Jim's eyes widening. He whispered to his partner, "Jim? What do you see?"

"Some sort of device, but I can't tell its origins or purpose. I think this is a trap, chief."

"All right, Jim. Scan for any life inside the building."

Jim opened his hearing, trying to catch heartbeats, voices, or breathing inside the castle. "Nothing. It's a trap all right."

Blair let out a deep breath. He whispered to Jim, "Birkoff's detecting life in the building, Jim. Something has to be faking out his systems. Any ideas?"

Jim thought for a moment, then whispered to his partner, "Keep me from zoning, Sandburg." Focusing all his senses in examining the devices on the walls of the castle, he realized what they were: holographic generators that could create fake life signs in the building. He had heard the generated heartbeats, but they sounded fake enough that his Sentinel hearing filtered past them out as noise outside of the castle.

It was the backup security on the system, though, that had him worried. Each device was sending an infrared signal diagonally across the walls of the castle. If any of the walls were disturbed, the device would be triggered, and something would happen. What, Jim didn't know.

His sense of smell was detecting faint traces of something familiar, but he couldn't place it. Could it be coming from the devices? Grabbing his partner's shoulder to prevent himself from zoning, he focused sight, hearing and smell even more closely to one of the devices, and realized what he was smelling.

The bricks around each of the transmitters had been mortared together not with standard building mortar, but with highly concentrated plastique. Scanning each of the devices, he realized that the setup was the same as far as his eyes could see. Any person who got within two feet of the building would set off an explosion that would destroy the compound.

Jim cursed his frustration. Pulling his senses back, he whispered to his partner, "Chief, we've got a big problem here. The walls of that place are one big bomb."

Blair cursed himself in agreement. If someone accidentally tripped one of those sensors, half of Section's operatives could be lost within seconds. If Jim was worried, that meant that whatever he saw was most definitely -not- in Section's intel. He asked, "What do we do, Jim?"

"Wish I knew, Sandburg. Wish I knew."

After a few tense moments, Jim came up with a solution. Michael was a few yards away with an attractive blond woman. They could only assume that she was Michael's partner for his role in the assault - planting the modem device for Birkoff and starting the downloading sequence. Michael was also in a position that the Sentinel could use to his advantage - even though the operative was about ten feet further back from the castle than Jim, the moonlight reflected off the castle in just such a way that one of the triggering devices was just barely noticeable. [Or, at least,] Jim hoped, [It's noticeable enough that Michael might think something's suspicious...I hope.] Over the headsets, Jim asked their mentor, "Michael, I think I can see something suspicious about the walls of the castle. There might be something jamming Birkoff's computers. Can he find some way to compensate for it?"

Unbeknownst to Blair or Jim, Birkoff had been monitoring all communication from the transport and heard Jim's request. Concerned that there might be indeed something he missed, he called out over the headset, "I'm adjusting to try and compensate for any known jamming frequencies..." After a few minute of furious typing Jim heard Birkoff respond, "If this isn't legitimate, then I can't tell how they're doing it."

Coolly, Michael weighed the comments around him and decided, "We'll proceed as planned."

Jim nearly cursed in frustration, knowing that everyone was walking into a trap. Picking up on his friend's frustration, Blair then asked Michael, "Wait! Michael, Alpha team is all from the abeyance pool, right?" [At least, I -think- that's what Jim told me earlier...]

Over the headset, Michael agreed, "That is correct, yes." [How in the -world- did a couple of recruits find out about the fine details of the mission?]

Blair then asked, "What about sending them in earlier than the rest of the teams? If it's a trap, we'll know without risking the lives of every operative here."

"And if it isn't?"

Blair looked over at the conviction in his friend's blue eyes as he silently listened in on the conversation. Hoping that Jim's faith in him was as strong as his faith in Jim, Blair declared over the headset, "Then you can cancel us."

Jim nodded his agreement. He knew, without a doubt, he wasn't wrong. And if they had to sacrifice a few to save everyone, then...so be it.

Michael was surprised by the conviction in young Professor Sandburg's voice. Whatever it was that they saw, apparently they were willing to stake their lives on it. He turned to Nikita for her advice, and the look on her face told him to do what he thought best. Drawing in a deep breath, he let it out slowly and silently, then opened his channel to the other teams and ordered, "Alpha team, proceed. All other teams hold your positions."

Jim let out the breath he had been inadvertently holding. Indicating to Blair to follow his lead, he turned away from the castle and started back toward Michael's position.

Because, even as the castle erupted in flames behind them, taking the members of the Alpha team to a quick and violent end, Jim knew that Michael was going to want an explanation.