Working on his Sentinel notes was always a difficult thing for Blair - it had been ever since their 'new life' in Section began. Jim had consciously repressed most of his abilities almost from the time they had been taken, so the idea of 'expanding' on his talents was almost completely brushed aside in favor of keeping his secret a secret.

And now that Section knew about Jim's abilities, it made things all the more difficult. Every piece of information they had given Section about Jim's heightened senses led them to think that the senses were an asset, a weapon that could be used readily and indiscriminately as needed. If they ever found out about the zone-outs, or the possible ramifications of a food allergy, or losing his senses to an overload, then Section probably wouldn't hesitate to cancel - both- of them, heightened senses or not.

It was hard to get the results of MedLab's DNA tests out of his mind. Part of him was floored by the idea that he and Jim could actually be -genetically- linked. He wasn't a big believer in destiny, but there was something about the medical results that even the doctors in MedLab found too unusual to ignore. So what did it mean as a benefit to their partnership? No one knew, but Blair was determined to find out.

The one thing Blair -was- sure of, though, was the fact that Madeline released those test results to him constituted a warning. [Screw up, Sandburg,] his mental voice kept telling him, [and you and Jim are -both- dead.]

So he had taken to writing his journal in cryptic notes that would be almost impossible for anyone else to decipher, should they be so inclined. Typing furiously, he -almost- didn't notice the two-line partition creeping up on the bottom of his screen. [What the-?] His first thought was that maybe there was a computer malfunction, and he started to push his chair away from the computer to go talk to Birkoff when a message started to scroll across the bottom of the screen:

"...There's a saying old, says that love is blind...Still we're often told, seek and you will find..."

Memories of a certain song and a certain singer who was supposed to have long ago given him up for dead came flooding back to his mind. Blair shook his head to clear his vision. He -had- to be seeing things.

Another line to the song came on the screen:

"...So I'll seek a certain lad I've had in mind..."

Then a message scrolled across the bottom of the screen:

"...Is this the computer for a certain Shaman I used to know?"

Blair wanted to call Jim over to see this, but he didn't want to run the risk of being overheard by anyone watching the security tapes of his room. So when the computer posted a "?" prompt at the double line, Blair typed in:

"...Is that you, Tiger?"

At the end of 'computer canyon', Sharon yelped with delight, unable to contain her excitement. Confused, Simon asked her, "Share?"

Sharon started babbling, "Simon, only Blair would know that pet name for me. It's based on one of the animals I've studied in karate. He didn't even tell it to Jim...he only used it when we were alone. It's them, Simon! It's them! It has to be!" She nearly pushed Jay to the floor trying to get to the computer, typing as fast as she could get her hands to fulfill her heart's wishes:

"...Yeah, sweetheart, it's me..."

Blair could barely contain his excitement. He did his best to carefully control his physical reactions, but he was -sure- that Jim could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. True to form, he watched the reflection in the computer screen as his Sentinel woke up from a nap, the concern evident on his face as he tried to figure out what it was that was getting his friend so worked up. [Please Jim,] he thought, [just take a look at the computer screen...]

As if Jim had been reading his mind, he watched in reflection as Jim got up and walked behind him, peering over his shoulder just as a new message came in:

"...Is the panther with you?..."

The panther. A reference to Jim's spirit guide and the team's protector. Not a reference that Section would have understood, should they be monitoring. Blair typed in an affirmative response, and was rewarded with an exciting, but confusing challenge:

"...How would the two of you like to get out of Section?..."

Operations squeezed Madeline's shoulder as he walked in late to their customary breakfast meeting. Looking over that shoulder, he realized that she was going over Jim Ellison's file for what had to be the fifth time since they had found out about the man's heightened senses a week earlier. Sighing loud enough to show his displeasure, Operations exclaimed, "How many times are you going to go over that file? Madeline, you couldn't possibly have known that the Brackett's fantastic claims were nothing more than the ravings of a madman."

Sipping her coffee, Madeline calmly replied, "Marcus, we are in the business of dealing daily with claims the world would find fantastic, a fact that I didn't think I needed to remind you of. However, that's not the reason I'm looking over these files."

Curious, Operations questioned her as he sat down to his own breakfast, "Really? Has something happened that I should know about?"

Madeline shook her head. Thinking out loud, she continued, "No. There's just something about this that I'm missing..." Looking at the photo of Ellison and Sandburg's funeral, that 'missing something' finally clicked in her mind. Something about the blond-haired woman standing with the families at the head of the caskets seemed uncannily familiar... Punching a button at the side of the table she opened an intercom line to Birkoff, who she had passed on her way to her office, "Birkoff, I'd like you to run a check on a Sharon Driver for me. Last known location Cascade, Washington. Check first with the FBI personnel database."

Birkoff's reply came over the intercom, "Accessing..."

In the next few moments of silence Operations had little time to do more than raise a curious eyebrow before Birkoff came over the intercom with a response to Madeline's request. "I've found some information on Sharon Driver."

Madeline nodded, replying, "Go on."

"On the surface, everything checks out. However, I did some digging, and I found that a lot of the information in her file is bogus. The school her high school diploma is supposedly from doesn't exist, a lot of the companies she says she worked for before the Bureau went belly-up before her supposed dates of employment, things along those lines."

Madeline commented, "So her background makes her out to possibly be more than she is."

"That's correct. I tried to link up her picture with any known terrorist groups but came up with nothing. If she's a player, she's very new to the game."

Madeline smiled, oblivious to Operations' increasingly curious stares. With her listed skills and reputation from within the Bureau as listed in the personnel files she was reading from her terminal, she definitely was -not- a player in the game. In fact, there was only one person she could be. "Do we have a current location on Ms. Driver?"

"Negative," was the response over the intercom. "Three months ago she resigned from the FBI and dropped off the face of the Earth. We have no records on her past her resignation letter."

[Interesting,] thought Madeline. "Did anyone else in Cascade law enforcement 'disappear' around that time?"

"I'm checking..." After a few quiet moments, Birkoff replied over the intercom, "Captain Simon Banks of the Cascade Police Department resigned on the same day and has not been heard from since. His ex-wife reported him as missing a week later."

Politely, Madeline closed the intercom connection. "Thank you, Birkoff."

Once Operations was certain the intercom connection was closed, he asked Madeline, "So who exactly do you think she is?"

"Do you remember our first Josephine?"

"Your protege? Hard to forget."

"Let's just say I'm beginning to think the reports of her death were greatly exaggerated."

Operations nearly spit his coffee out over the table. "You can't possibly be serious. How would she have eluded us all these years?" As much as he understood he would probably have to cancel the woman the minute they got a location on her, it didn't hold down his curiosity as to how she managed to get away from Section's prying eye for so long. The dream of escape was something that, to his knowledge, had never been done before, but which every Section operative probably fantasized about at one point or another. If -she- had managed to do it, what's to say that someone else hadn't done it as well?

As Madeline took a small bite of her English muffin she replied, "I have a feeling we're going to get a chance to ask her that question ourselves."

"Really?" exclaimed Operations. Before he could ask how, he was able to put two and two together on his own. -That- was the reason why Madeline had asked if anyone else in law enforcement had disappeared within that timeframe. And the name that Birkoff had come up with was now coming back to him as well - Simon Banks was Daryl Banks' father, as well as Ellison and Sandburg's superior when they were working for the Cascade PD. Wanting to confirm his own suspicions, he asked Madeline, "How did you find out about this Sharon Driver, anyway?"

Handing him the pictures from Ellison and Sandburg's dual funeral, Madeline replied, "She is the blond woman standing with the families at the head of the caskets. I believe she may have been romantically involved with Professor Sandburg."

[So she knows Ellison and Sandburg...] thought Operations.

Madeline voiced the thought that was going through both of their minds. "I think that Josephine and our older Mr. Banks are going to try and stage a rescue attempt to liberate Ellison and Sandburg from Section."

"When?"

"I'm not sure. A lot will depend on where they've gotten their intel from. If Josephine is going on the standard two-year training timeframe, then Ellison and Sandburg will both graduate three months earlier than she will be expecting."

"So if we haven't seen her by the time they graduate," picked up Operations, "she may be staging a rescue to liberate men who won't be here. Any suggestions?"

"According to the Professor's reports, Ellison's abilities are tested far more effectively in the field than they could be in a lab. I believe we should give them what they're looking for."

"An early graduation?"

Solemnly, Madeline nodded. "They are ready, after all. And this way, we will be ready for Josephine as well."

The beep and whirring of a modem line coming to life brought Jay out of a sound sleep; the first one he had been able to have in the three months since he found out about Jim and Blair's descent into Section. He had never met them; never even seen them except in pictures, and yet he was risking his life to get them out of Section. But would he do it again? If Sharon asked him...absolutely. She saved him from them once - it was the least he could do to help her save someone else. But right now that wasn't the main thing on his mind.

The main thing on his mind was finding out what was so important that his computer was waking him up at three in the morning.

Bleary-eyed and slightly disoriented, Jay stumbled over to the computer and turned on the monitor. Reading the incoming information, Jay cursed in frustration and called out to his best friend, "Share! We've got trouble!"

Running through the canyon, Sharon asked Jay, "What is it, Jay?"

Turning to notice Simon quickly following behind Sharon, Jay told the team, "I set the computer to monitor all Section communications pertaining to Jim and Blair. This e-mail was just sent through Section channels." As Sharon and Simon moved to look over Jay's shoulder he read:

To: Michael From: Operations Re: Ellison and Sandburg

Since their training is complete and their talents would be best served in the field, I have an assignment for them. Please meet me in my office at 0800 tomorrow to discuss the mission profile.

Her face sagging with concern, Sharon sighed deeply and started pacing the room. Out loud she mused, "They're graduating early..." Muttering curses under her breath to try and work out her frustration, she asked Jay, "Do we have any mission profiles on file where they're listed as team members?"

Turning back to his computer, Jay replied, "I'll check..." Noticing the extensive list of files that just came up on the screen, he hit his hand on the table, expressing his own frustration, and he exclaimed, "I can't believe that I didn't see these sooner!"

Trying to calm Jay down he asked, "What are they, Jay?"

"Top-level files on Ellison and Sandburg. Dozens of them..." When he examined the files further he realized, "They're encoded...no wonder I couldn't get them on the first pass." Running his decryption program, he started to read the first file out loud. "Three months ago they were sent out on some big mission against a group they call Red Cell."

Sharon's eyes went wide. "As recruits?"

"Apparently. The top recruits and every active operative went to storm some castle. Apparently it was a trap...only Alpha team was lost, and they were all in abeyance anyway...wow."

Simon was beginning to get a bad feeling about this. "What do you mean, wow?"

"It seems that Ellison was the one who discovered it was a trap. The whole place had been rigged as a super-sophisticated bomb. Ellison uncovered the whole thing from thirty yards away - and he had refused night-vision goggles at the start of the mission."

Above Jay's head, Simon and Sharon looked at each other with obvious trepidation. Section knew. In Sharon's mind, that made the next question: how -much- did they know? Jim and Blair probably would have told them about Jim's Sentinel abilities after the mission, which allowed Blair the modicum of protection they thought he didn't have. But what else did they know? Had they found her? Were they setting a trap for her because they knew of her past involvement with Blair? Did they know that Blair and Sharon had been in communication?

Simon took one look at Sharon's expressive face and could immediately tell that a million and one things were running through Sharon's mind - none of them good. This could not possibly bode well for the outcome of their mission. Fear lacing the edges of his voice, Simon asked Sharon, "How much does this change our plans, Share?"

"Depends," mused Sharon out loud. Turning to Jay, she asked her old friend, "Jay, how secure was that line you got us into Section the other day?"

Looking up at her, Jay replied, "If I were trying to break into that connection from an outside terminal I couldn't have done it. Why?"

Sharon could tell that her old friend was trying to keep from taking that as an insult, and squeezed his shoulder in response. Tilting her face down to lock eyes with Jay, she smiled warmly, reassuring him, "I believe you. I just need to figure out how much Section knows."

Turning back to his computer, Jay started to type, commenting to the two behind him, "I'll see if I can get the mission profile off of Operations' computer..." Reading something coming in off the screen, he told the two behind him, "Got it. He must have just filed it before sending that e-mail. The mission seems simple enough: a retrieval of two women who are working on some sort of biological weapon."

"Retrieval?" asked Simon, "What does that entail?"

"Sending in a Section Operative to gain the trust of the target, then bring them into the Section for questioning."

"Why don't they just kidnap the person?"

"Depending on the person, it might cause too many unanswerable questions."

Simon shrugged it off. Sometimes he had to remember that he had very little idea of what was -really- going on here. "Oh."

Sharon, on the other hand, already had her mind on other things. "Do we have a location?"

Jay sent something from his screen to the printer. "Got it."

"I'll work on changing our flight plans." Seemingly realizing something for the first time, Sharon broke into a small smile. "Relax, gentlemen. This may be easier than I thought."

Blair sipped his champagne, fidgeting uncomfortably. The damp humidity of the mid-Spring evening was oppressive even for South Beach. And his uneasiness about this mission wasn't making things any easier to deal with. Less than two weeks ago he and Jim had been told that they would be in training for the next six months developing Jim's abilities, and all of a sudden they're put on their first mission where they're the primaries? Something about that just didn't sit right.

Perhaps it was because of their 'single-op' status. Normally they would have had to have two operatives as primary on a mission like this. No - that would be too easy of an explanation, and one thing he knew about Section was that there was no such thing as an easy answer. They could easily have sent two operatives on this mission; it certainly didn't call for someone with Jim's unique 'gifts'.

His breath caught in his throat as another possibility came to mind. Was this a trap? Did they know about his communications with Sharon? They had been flown out of Section so fast that he hadn't had time to let Sharon know they would be away. She seemed to always know when he was on the computer, so the chance of her initiating with someone else unknowingly didn't seem likely, but he couldn't be sure what type of equipment she had on her end.

He idly wondered how Sharon seemed to know so much about Section. Could it not have been Sharon at all, but a trap to see where their loyalties lie? That thought was immediately dashed - Section wouldn't have known about 'their song'.

His 'target', a beautiful brunette named Nathalie Martique, came up to him and whispered in his ear, "Is something wrong, my darling? You look troubled."

Trying his best to cover his apprehensions and look flirtatious, he wrapped an arm around her waist and purred in her ear, "Nothing you should be troubled with, my dear. Shall we dance?"

The distraction seemed to work, for Nathalie returned Blair's warm smile and allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. Scanning the room, he saw Jim walk Nathalie's partner, a tall, leggy blond by the name of Marianna Casanoff onto the floor as well. Then his breath caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of the tall black man who was walking out to the lawn where the party was being held. His was a face Blair thought he would never see again.

Simon pretended to adjust the cuffs on his tuxedo, while in reality he was speaking into his comm-link to Sharon, who was on the other side of the grounds. "Watcher in position. Have the Guide in my sights. How're you doing, 'Tiger'?"

Near the reflecting pool on the other side of the grounds, a beautiful blond fidgeted with her earrings and seemed to whisper into her bracelet, "Watch how you say that, Simon. If Blair ever knew..."

In her earpiece she could hear the former police captain chuckle slightly, replying, "You know he'll probably find out anyway, Share. Any sign of the Sentinel?"

[You mean he can't hear my racing heartbeat?] She thought as she tried to hide her nervousness while at the same time scanning the room. Locking eyes for a split second with Jim as he led his 'target' around the dance floor, she whispered her confirmation, "I've got him, Watcher. Any sign of the Empire, Obi Wan?"

From a small toolshed on the grounds of the house next door, Jay looked over his carefully placed surveillance monitors and replied, "Clear from my end, Tiger."

She acknowledged, announcing to the group, "Very well, then. Initiating contact." Crossing from the pool to the dance floor, the other partygoers around her cleared out of her way, subconsciously realizing that this woman had only one thing on her mind - or rather, one person.

Reaching that person, she let out in an excited squeal, "Stinky?! Stinky Ellison, is that really you?!"

Having recognized Sharon when he spotted her near the reflecting pool, Jim had had enough time to get over the surprise and prepare for whatever act Sharon wanted to try. Faking confusion, he asked her, "I'm sorry, Miss. Should I know you from somewhere?"

"My goodness, gracious me," Sharon drawled, faking a strong Southern accent, "You don't remember me? It's me! Mary Jo Baker from Spring Valley, Oklahoma? Don't tell me you don't remember me from high school, ya big lug!" Rudely barging her way in between Jim and his target, she proclaimed, "Excuse me, Missy, but you don't mind if I cut in here, do ya? So I can talk to my old friend? I promise I'll give him back to ya."

Jim faked exasperation well. Rolling his eyes, he forcefully grabbed her by the arm, declaring, "May I speak to you alone, -please-?" His tone turning markedly warmer, he then cooed seductively to the target, "Marianna, darling, I'll be right back. Wait here for me, won't you?"

Smiling seductively in response, Marianna kissed him on the cheek, purring into his ears, "Of course, William. After all, I don't have any intentions of leaving here alone tonight."

Jim smiled, knowing that Section was listening. In her ear, he replied, "Oh, I'm counting on that." He then grabbed Sharon by the arm in a hold that Sharon was able to forcibly break herself out of, but still allow her to be led to a spot away from Marianna.

Once he had assured them privacy from at least one set of prying eyes, Jim told Sharon, "Look miss, I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but I'd really appreciate it if you left us alone. You're cutting in on a very important business deal here." [Section business, true, but still...]

Sharon threw her head back and laughed like Jim had just cracked the funniest joke in history. "Oh, Stinky, I'm surprised at you! I thought we knew each other better than that." Reaching up in a move that looked like she was playing with Jim's short hair, the Sentinel felt her stick a tiny device just behind his left ear. As she took her hand away from his face, he felt a slight tingle. Looking down at his old friend in confusion, she simply replied, "A little jamming device. It should give us some time to talk away from Section's prying ears."

Now able to get down to business, Jim asked Sharon, "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of Section, Jim, like I promised."

"You know Section's watching as well as listening."

Sharon grinned wickedly. "Yes, but by the time they've realized what's happened we'll be long gone. Now c'mon."

With Sharon pulling him back toward Marianna, Jim stopped her abruptly and asked, "Wait, what about Blair?"

Sharon simply winked in response. "He should be with a mutual friend of ours."

Surprised by Sharon's statement, Jim focused his hearing in on Blair, wondering who it was that was with him. When he heard the voice of their 'mutual friend', he nearly zoned on it.