Disclaimer: We do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the canon book characters, nor do we own the Sentinel or any of the canon television characters, and are making no monies from this story. Any Original Characters belong to the author(s). Co-written with Talefeathers of the HDA.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Sentinel's characters, we hope this will be a pleasant introduction to them for you. For those of you who are already acquainted with Blair, Jim, Simon and the others – enjoy! Trying to fit these four stories into two different story arcs [Hardy Boys and The Sentinel] just barely worked. Band of Brothers and Welcome to Cascade take place before September Song [Hardy universe] begins, and any time after The Perfect Partner [Sentinel universe]. Missing Persons happens right after Fanfare for June [Hardys]; A Matter of Public Record takes place any time between Death on the Fourth of July and February Flirtations [Hardys], and before Remodel and Rebuild [Sentinel].

The stories in the series were written in 2006 and 2007. Technology does not match today's levels. Nor does airport security!

Thank you to Sarai for the kind comment on Chapter 1!

Welcome to Cascade

A Sentinel/Hardy Boys Crossover Story

By EvergreenDreamweaver and Talefeathers

Chapter 2

The Hardys weren't unfamiliar with the West Coast; they'd been to this part of the country before. But Cascade was new territory, and both boys looked about eagerly as Daryl Banks eased his father's car through traffic crowding the city streets. It reminded them of Bayport in some ways, for Cascade was a port city as well – just on a much grander scale! Puget Sound was considerably larger than Barmet Bay, after all.

Soon they were downtown, and Frank and Joe got their first look at the Cascade Police Department's Central Precinct. It was a large, modern building with sleek glass windows covering the outer walls, and an underground parking garage where Daryl sought out a particular parking place marked 'Captain Banks, Major Crimes.'

"We can just leave your stuff in the trunk for now," he told Frank and Joe as they got out of the car. "If we get a ride with someone else, or end up taking the bus, or something, we'll pick it up before we leave." He led the way to the elevator in the corner, and punched the button for the lobby. Here the Hardys presented their ID and got visitors' passes, and Daryl picked up one with his name and photo already on it; then they returned to the elevator, and Daryl pressed the button for the sixth floor.

"This is a big place!" Joe commented, noting the numerous floors. It wasn't like he and Frank hadn't been in large police stations before; they had. But this was definitely one of the biggest and most complex!

"Yeah," Daryl agreed. "Cascade does most of its police work outta here – there are smaller precinct stations in the city, but downtown's definitely Action Central!"

"What exactly does Major Crimes do?" Frank asked curiously. He knew that Ellison and Sandburg were detectives in the division, and Daryl's father was the captain, but he was a little vague as to what constituted a 'major crime.'

Daryl chuckled. "Well...if you ask my dad, he'll say they serve at the whim of the Mayor," he said dryly. "I looked it up one time, and he's almost right. It said they're responsible for 'providing personnel to accompany VIPs visiting Cascade, and for solving crimes at the discretion of the commanding officer'."

"Meaning, they can be called in on just about anything," Joe commented with a grin. "Depending on what the commanding officer – and that would be your dad, right? – wants!"

"Well, Dad answers to the chief of police, and the Commissioner," Daryl qualified, "so I suppose either of them would be the commanding officer. And yeah – they get pulled in on all the stuff like terrorists, bombings, jumpers, drugs, assassination attempts...Anything and everything, but definitely all the stuff with high-risk potential."

The Hardys exchanged sobered glances. No wonder Jim Ellison's usual expression tended to be grim...his job was super high-stress.

The elevator doors slid smoothly open, revealing a squarish hallway with multiple doors leading out of it, and a large seal of the Cascade PD embedded in the floor. Daryl led the way across the hallway towards frosted-glass double doors marked 'Major Crime Division' and stepped in confidently. Frank and Joe followed him, a bit more hesitantly.

"Hi, Daryl." An attractive blonde woman seated near the doors looked up and smiled as they entered. She nodded politely to the Hardys. "I see you brought some guests."

"Hi, Rhonda – yeah, this is Frank and Joe Hardy. They're visiting from back east – Bayport, New York." He tilted his head towards the pretty blonde. "Guys, this is Rhonda, my dad's secretary...administrative assistant," he corrected, grinning. "Is it okay if I show them around a little?"

"It ought to be fine. Things are fairly quiet right now." She smiled. "You know the routine."

Frank and Joe had been looking around with undisguised interest at the room, which was filled with desks and personnel both plainclothes and uniformed. Fluorescent lights and glass windows dominated; the whole place seemed to almost pulsate with brightness, accentuated by lit computer screens and punctuated by ringing telephones and conversations. Directly opposite the entrance doors was a private office with glass windows covered by miniblinds; evidently Captain Banks' domain.

Joe nudged Frank discreetly. Frank followed his brother's gaze to a pair of adjoining desks in the right-hand corner of the room. Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg were there, Sandburg seated, Ellison leaning over his partner with his back to the door, pointing out something to him in a file folder. As they watched, the older detective abruptly turned around and looked at them – and smiled.

"Well, look who's here," he said softly, and tapped Sandburg's shoulder to alert him.

Blair looked up, saw Frank, Joe and Daryl, and a bright, welcoming smile spread over his face. He got to his feet, and both detectives moved to greet the newcomers.

"Frank – Joe, good to see you." Ellison shook hands cordially with the Hardys, and lightly smacked Daryl's shoulder.

"Did you have a good flight?" Blair inquired, also shaking hands. "What do you think of Cascade?"

"This is awesome!" Joe answered, indicating their surroundings. "And Cascade's nice!" For some reason or other, he felt like Blair was studying him without trying to let on that he was doing so, and it made the younger Hardy slightly nervous. Why would Sandburg be looking at him in that assessing manner? But before he could decide whether he was imagining things or not, Jim Ellison had draped an arm about his partner's shoulders and pulled him into a casual half-hug, and the younger detective's attention was distracted.

"Daryl – introduce us to your friends." A new voice interrupted them, and Frank and Joe turned to see several of the plainclothes detectives encircling their little group.

Daryl grinned happily and complied. "This is Frank Hardy," he began, "and his brother Joe. Guys, this is Detective Henri Brown—" he indicated a hefty black man in jeans and a violently-garish Hawaiian print shirt, with a round, friendly face, who touched a finger to his forehead in a small salute. "His partner, Detective Rafe—" This man was so unlike Detective Brown it caused the Hardys' eyebrows to rise in surprise; apparently Cascade PD thrived on unlikely partnerships! Rafe was young, white, slender, good looking enough to be a movie star, and dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit. He offered his hand to each of the brothers.

"Captain Joel Taggart," Daryl continued, presenting another large black man in a suit, who greeted them warmly and cordially shook their hands. "And Inspector Megan Connor, an exchange officer from Australia," he finished.

Joe stared in fascination at the six-foot-tall, auburn-haired beauty who was smiling at them in welcome. "Oh wow," he murmured, "talk about shock and awe...We don't have police officers like you in Bayport!"

The whole group of detectives burst into laughter, and Frank nudged his brother's ribs sharply. "Joe!" he hissed in consternation – but Inspector Connor was laughing heartily, and didn't appear to be insulted by Joe's staring or comment.

"They don't have officers like me in Cascade, either, mate; I'm one of a kind," she said in a strong Australian accent – and then shot a sharp look at Jim Ellison, who had muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'thank God.' He smiled sweetly at her.

"You forgot one, Daryl," a new voice cut in. Frank and Joe turned towards the source – and both boys felt their jaws drop just a little. This had to be Daryl's father, Captain Banks – of that, they had absolutely no doubt.

The Hardys were rarely made to feel small and insignificant; intimidation was unusual, for both were tall and strongly built. But Simon Banks definitely managed it. Standing well over six feet, he was both taller and larger in bulk than Jim Ellison. His dark hair was close-cropped, and sharp brown eyes observed them from behind gold-wire-rimmed glasses. He wore dress slacks, a white shirt, and a suit vest, a shoulder holster complete with weapon – and a forbidding expression.

Despite his demeanor, Banks was ready to welcome his son's new friends without qualification. Unknown to Daryl, the police captain had discreetly checked the Hardys out, after his son's tumultuous visit to Bayport, and liked what he learned. He was suitably impressed with their background; although he had never had dealings with Fenton Hardy, the man had a stellar record both in police work and as a private detective. And the sons – a little digging had brought to light some pretty incredible things the two of them had done, despite their youth. And if that weren't enough, both Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg had spoken highly of them – and Simon Banks valued his detectives' opinions.

"Dad – meet Frank and Joe Hardy," Daryl said now. "This is my father, Captain Simon Banks."

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Frank swallowed hard and extended a hand. He lifted his chin and met the captain's keen gaze squarely.

"Welcome to Cascade, Frank. Joe, nice to meet you." Banks' smile was surprisingly genuine and welcoming, and Frank felt himself relaxing. Maybe Captain Banks wasn't quite the formidable martinet he appeared?

"It's a pleasure, sir," Joe echoed, and received the same warm grin and firm handshake.

"Daryl's been anxiously anticipating your arrival," Banks commented, and added with a grin, "and so have Ellison and Sandburg!"

"You got that right," Blair Sandburg said.

"Dad, do you mind if we hang here for awhile and wait for you? Or should we get a cab or take the bus home?" Daryl asked, as most of the Major Crimes detectives began to move back to their desks and resume their various tasks. Only Jim and Blair remained.

Simon frowned slightly. "I don't mind you staying, son, but we've got some business to conduct – something just came up before you arrived."

"What's going on, sir?" Ellison inquired.

Banks sighed. "I just got a call from the Mayor," he rumbled with irritation. "We're being put on a special security detail for a visiting celebrity."

"Oh? Who?" Blair asked, his eyebrows going up in anticipation. "Anyone interesting?"

"Well, you might say so, Sandburg. It's the musical group Valhalla, and their front man, Thor."

"VALHALLA!" "Thor! Dad, do you mean it?" "Oh man, I thought they were coming to Seattle for a concert, not Cascade—" "Uh...who's Thor?" Excited exclamations burst from several lips; the last query was Jim Ellison's, sounding rather embarrassed as well as curious.

"Who's THOR? Jim, c'mon, man, you've gotta have heard of Thor and Valhalla!" Blair expostulated.

"Sorry, Chief, but no. But I take it the rest of you have?"

"Yeah!" The response burst from three teenaged boys at the same time.

"Dad, can you get us tickets to their concert? Do you think you could?" Daryl bubbled with excitement.

"Is there any way we could help? We've worked security before," Frank found himself offering. The thought of actually seeing Valhalla and its famous lead singer, Thor, was tremendously exciting.

"It's security for the concert?" Joe asked, and was surprised to see Simon Banks shake his head.

"Not just the concert," the captain replied. "There's a black-tie fund-raising reception tomorrow night – evidently this Thor person is heavily into raising money to lobby for outlawing seal hunting, and it's not a completely popular cause, especially in the countries that do it. One of which is actually his home country of Norway! He's apparently received some threats in other cities on their concert tour. Anyway, for whatever reason – maybe the politicos pulled some strings – they've added Cascade to the tour at the last minute. I guess they had a couple free days between appearances. We've been tapped to provide security for the reception and for the concert as well." He looked keenly at his best detective team. "Jim, this is right up your alley, so I'm requesting that you be in charge."

Ellison groaned. "Simon...sir. Tuxedos? Little headphones and concealed mikes? Society matrons! Socialites!" He groaned again. "Fancy hors d'oeuvres?" Another heartfelt groan. "And a ROCK CONCERT?"

"Aw, Jim..." Blair patted his partner's back consolingly. "You look really, really good in a tux, man – and most hors d'oeuvres are great, you know that! And maybe you'll like the rock concert, you never know. Anyway, we'll deal." He grinned at their captain. "He'll be happy to, sir."

"Sandburg!"

Blair winked. "He will."

"SANDBURG! I will NOT be HAPPY ABOUT IT!' Ellison lowered his voice and heaved a pathetic sigh. "But I'll do it, of course, Captain," he finished.

Banks was having difficulty keeping his chuckles under control; the boys and the rest of the detectives in the bullpen weren't even attempting it. "Thank you, Detective. I'll leave it in your capable hands," he said, and retreated to his office,

"Jim, do you think we could go to the Valhalla concert?" Daryl pleaded. Since his father had departed the scene, he went for the next best bet, the new head of concert security.

"How would I know?" Ellison said. "I only heard about this five minutes ago, remember?" He glared down at his partner, who was making no attempt to keep the wide smile from his face. "You could look a little more sympathetic, you know," he growled.

"Hey, I happen to like Valhalla," Sandburg defended himself. "And I think Thor's efforts to raise money for fighting against hunting seals are great, Jim!"

"It's those pictures of the little white fuzzy babies, isn't it?" Jim sighed. "Just who IS Valhalla, anyway?" he added. If he was stuck with this idiocy, he wanted to have some idea what he was in for.

"They're a Scandinavian group," Blair explained. "From Norway. Hence the name Valhalla, and Thor. And they're VERY popular, world-wide."

Jim cringed. "Scandinavian? Like ABBA?"

His partner began to laugh. "ABBA was Swedish, not Norwegian. And they're pretty far from ABBA, musically speaking. A lot harder-edged. But still, you might like them, Jim, really!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Jim heaved one last 'pity-me' sigh, and moved towards his desk to get started on his new assignment. "Come on, we've got work to do, Junior."

"Jim—" Frank stepped forward, one hand extended. "I meant it – is there some way Joe and I can help? We have worked security before – and at rock concerts."

"That's right," Joe corroborated, "We'd be glad to pitch in..."

Ellison eyed them dubiously. "I don't like involving civilians in police work," he said flatly.

Beside him, Blair went into a coughing fit – an obviously fake coughing fit. "That's right, Jim – keep those civilians in the truck...*cough...cough*," he said, grinning.

The rest of the Major Crimes personnel within earshot were laughing too, as was Daryl, and Ellison flushed pink. He whapped his chortling partner lightly on the back of the head.

"Shut up, Sandburg."

Not quite understanding the joke, but smiling anyway, the Hardys waited, hopefully Jim surveyed them thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"There's no way you can attend the reception," he said at last. "I assume you didn't bring dress clothes along with you, and Simon said it was black-tie. Besides, you're too young. Even in tuxes you'd stick out like sore thumbs, and there goes the low profile we're trying to maintain."

"But the concert...?" Joe prodded eagerly.

"I'll think about it," Ellison half-promised. "You'd fit right in with the roadies and set-up crew, better than most police personnel. Let me do some work on it first, though, and see if we can swing it. You too, Daryl," he added with a smile, "IF it works out."

"Yesssssssss!" Joe and Daryl exchanged elated high-fives; Frank grinned with satisfaction. If Jim Ellison said he'd try to get them in on this, Frank was sure they were as good as in already.