_{EPISODE GUIDE}

The Sentinel

by Blair Sandburg

Bartley: Who's the hippie?

Blair: Blair Sandburg.

Bartley: Nice. Hey, keep him out of my television coverage, huh? Unless you want to shave your legs.

Blair: Look, mister-- It's Mr. Graham, right? You cannot show that to anybody. It was not meant to be read. Naomi acted without my permission.

Sid: I'd like to know more about this police detective Ellison. We want him to be part of the publicity.

Blair: No. He's not going to be part of anything. I'm not going to be part of anything either. You cannot publish it. And if you want to keep your friendship with my mother, I suggest you destroy the copy that you have. This is the end of the conversation. That's all I have to say about it. Thank you and good-bye.

Megan: You all right, Sandy?

Blair: Uh, yeah, it's just my mom.

Jim: How is Naomi?

Blair: She's doing just fine until I get ahold of her.

Naomi: Did you know that my son is brilliant?

Jim: Well, he does work pretty hard at keeping that from me, Naomi.

Naomi: What kind of trouble?

Blair: I can't tell you that. It's between me and Jim.

Naomi: Well, why would it bother Jim? I think Jim would be so happy that your work was being published.

Blair: No, I can pretty much guarantee that he wouldn't.

Jim: Chief, tell me you didn't.

Blair: No, no. I didn't do anything. Look, there must be some mistake here. I don't know where you got your information from...

Reporter: Your publisher sent us excerpts from the manuscript.

Blair: My what? I don't have a publisher.

Jim: You said this Sid is throwing a lot of money in your face, right?

Blair: Yeah.

Jim: All right, just to generate publicity for the sake of generating publicity without even having a deal because he wants to, what toss it, uh, in your face, like a dangling carrot?

Blair: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Stop. What are you trying to say, I was part of this from the start? You think that's what I'm about?

Blair: No, look, don't you try to run some interrogation on me. You're not going to find some weak spot in me, all right? Look, I'm not a perp. I'm your friend.

Jim: Chief, you got a great opportunity here. It's a once-in-a-lifetime play. Go for the brass ring. Good luck, huh?

Blair: This will never end. He thinks I've deceived him and, now, this crazy Sid Graham's got the offer up to three million dollars. I mean, that's everything I've dreamed of, but it's also my worst nightmare.

Blair: All right, now, you know he's not going to make it easy on you, so, uh, you should probably start by trying to isolate sounds.

Jim: I know what to do, Chief, all right? I know the drill. You don't have to quote me chapter and verse. Why don't you save that for your interviews?

Megan: Sandy didn't do this on purpose.

Jim: Oh, no? Hey, Chief, let me ask you something. How did you intend to protect my identity and still keep your research valid?

Blair: I don't know.

Jim: Ah! You don't know. That's a good answer, Chief. You couldn't have. You knew that and went ahead and wrote it down anyway.

Blair: If I was going to help you understand your abilities I had to track your development in a scientific manner and you know that, man.

Jim: Things happen, Naomi, you know? People change. You just got to go with it. This whole sentinel thing has just gotten too out of hand. I can't take this attention. That's not me. I just want to go back to the way things were.

Blair: You can't just turn it off.

Jim: Sure, I can. There's got to be some way for me to let them go dormant. Some meditation you can give me or I can find somewhere to tune out and turn all this off. I'm just done with it.

Blair: That's not who you are.

Jim: Well, you tell me who I am, then 'cause I have no idea. At one point, I had a reputation of being a pretty decent cop. Now, people look at me and they-they perceive me as some goofball comic book character. People are calling my father and my brother asking them what it's like to live with the freak. Now, how would you like that, huh? If I ever want to go back to being a good cop and live a simple life, it ain't going to happen this way. Your research is done, Chief. Why don't you just let it go? Thanks for the tea.

Jim: Captain, before we hear back from the review board or the brass tells us to go pack our bags, I'd like to go back to things the way they were before Sandburg, when I worked alone.

Simon: You talk to Blair about this?

Jim: It's not his call, Captain. This is my decision. His ride is over. I want to go back to being a cop, just a regular cop. And with this sentinel thing hanging over us, it's always right there and I...I'm tired of it. I just want out.

Blair: I mean, we were all doing what we thought was right. Right? Nothing happens in this universe randomly. It's all for a reason. That's part of what I was writing about. I always wondered if my work would ever amount to anything. If it's taught me one thing, it's taught me that Jim is right. I got it all. I got it all right here. The brass ring. And now I know what to do. So why don't you go call Sid?

Blair: However, my desire to impress both my peers and the world at large drove me to an immoral and unethical act. My thesis "The Sentinel" is a fraud. While my paper does quote ancient source material, the documentation proving that James Ellison...actually possesses hyper-senses is fraudulent. Looking back, I can say that it's a good piece of fiction. I apologize for this deception. My only hope is that I can be forgiven for the pain I've caused those that are close to me. Thank you.

Jim: I saw your press conference.

Blair: Oh, yeah, you saw it? It's just a book.

Jim: It was your life.

Blair: You know, you were right. I mean, uh, I don't know what I was expecting to do with it, and, uh...I mean, where do I get off following you around for three years pretending I was a cop, right?

Jim: This self-deprecation don't suit you, you know. You might have been just an observer, but you were the best cop I've ever met and the best partner I could have ever asked for. You've been a great friend and you've pulled me through some pretty weird stuff.

Blair: Thanks.

Joel: Hey, Blair, what you up to, man?

Blair: I'm taking a last look around.

Joel: Last look? You going somewhere?

Blair: Well, yeah. I cleaned out my desk over at Rainier. I thought I'd do the same thing here. I'm a fraud, man. I don't think Simon's going to want me hanging around.

Jim: You're, uh, you're finished in this department, Chief.

Blair: Yeah well, I-I sort of...well, I figured that.

Jim: As an observer.

Blair: This is, uh... what is this? This is a detective badge. What's going on? I don't deserve this.

Simon: No, you don't, at least not until you go to the Police Academy and complete firearms training. And if you do, Detective Ellison is looking for a permanent official partner.

Blair: Uh... yeah? So, uh...does this mean a paycheck?

Jim: Can you say "back rent"? Come on, what do you say?

Megan: Say something, Sandy.

Blair: I'm still not cutting my hair.

Jim: Ho-ho-ho...

Blair: I'm not going to do it.

Jim: That's what you think. They're going to love you at the Academy. Captain, I'm going to make a little Blairskin rug for you here...

Blair: You're not going to scalp me! Forget it!

Simon: We got to go down to the woods...

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