IN THE PUMA'S PATH - PART TWO

“So, what are we going to do next?” Megan asked Jim as they walked into the bullpen.

“Well,” Jim said, sitting behind his desk. “We have the list of all the new cleaners that came to the cascade pools in the last weeks, and now we’ll try to find if any of them has a record.” He smiled at her. “In other words, Connor, police work.”

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to make fun of people with guns?” Megan answered, going back to her desk with half of the name list in her hands.

“What did I say?” Jim called after her, an innocent look on his face.

“Jim!” Simon’s voice roared at the bullpen.

Jim raised his head and looked at his Captain who stood in the door of his office. A chill ran down his spine when he saw the look on Simon’s face. Something was wrong. He got up and in less then five seconds he was in Simon’s office, the door closed behind them.

“Simon,” he said, waiting to hear what his Captain had to tell him.

Simon took a deep breath and looked at the cigar that he held in his hand, avoiding Jim’s eyes for a few seconds. Then, he looked straight at Jim and said, “A bomb was discovered in Sandburg’s car. For some reason, which I still don’t know, he got suspicious and called 911. The bomb was connected to the door; if he had opened it…” Simon looked again at his cigar. “He’s a lucky kid.”

“So, he’s okay?” Jim asked, his body tense.

“Yes, he’s fine. A bit shaken, as can be expected, but he’s fine. I sent him home, didn’t see any reason to keep him here.” Simon paused for a second before saying, “look Jim, I know that you’re working on the case right now, and I know how much it’s important; but I think that you should go home and talk to Blair. He looked so distressed; God only knows what’s going on in this kid’s mind. Your shift was over twenty minutes ago. Go home, talk to him.”

Jim sighed. “My thoughts exactly, Sir.” He turned to exit the room but then turned, telling Simon, “we’ve got a list of possible suspects. Megan will keep working on it.”

“Good,” Simon said. “Now go and be with your partner,” he added with a softer voice.

“Sir,” Jim said and nodded in acknowledgment before going out of the room. Closing the door behind him, his hyper hearing picked up Simon’s sigh of relief.

Becky entered her house and closed the door behind her. Sighing, she dropped her backpack on the lobby floor and made her way to the living room. Suddenly, she stopped in her place, her hyper hearing picking up a heartbeat from the room. She stood silent for a few seconds, concentrating on the noise and then shook her head and entered the room.

“Dad. What are you doing here? How did you get into the house?”

David smiled at his daughter, a smile that sent a chill down her spine. “You gave me a spare key. Don’t you remember, kiddo?”

“I gave you that key for emergency, Dad,” Becky said, tiredness in her voice. “Would you mind going now? I don’t feel so good; I want to go to sleep for a while.”

David Anderson got up and in two steps came near his daughter. “This is a time of emergency, kiddo.”

Becky held her breath and retreated a step back. She could feel her father’s breath on her face, smell the alcohol in it; a smell that her hyper senses amplified to the point that it was hard for her to breath and she started coughing. She fall back to one of the couches, gasping for air.

“I watched you today, kiddo,” David told Becky, bending over the couch until his face was only a centimeter from hers, his voice ice cold. “I watched you when you went to launch with that kid. And I watched you when the cops came and found that bomb. How did the kid knew that there was a bomb in the car?”

Becky managed to get her breathing back and looked up at her father. “I don’t know, father. He just did.”

“Don’t you lie to me!” David’s voice roared and he caught Becky’s arm, shaking it hard. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him nothing, father,” Becky said, her face flinching from the pain.

“Don’t lie to me, kid. You know that I hate it when you do that.” David twisted Becky’s arm in a dangerous angle.

“Stop it!” Becky cried, tears wetting her face. “It hurts.”

“Then tell me what you said to him! Tell me what you told him!” David shouted at his daughter.

“I told him the truth! I told him I’m a sentinel!” Becky yelled in her father’s face; her eyes narrow, filled with determination. “He was about to open the door, Dad. He was about to get himself killed. I had to stop him, I had to; and telling him was the only way. You have to believe me,” Becky pleaded.

“You did what?!”

The loudness of her father’s voice hurt her ears, and Becky closed her eyes, knowing what will follow.

The door of the elevator opened and Jim stepped out of it and approached the door of the loft. He extended his hearing, as he so often did, to hear what was happening inside the apartment. He found it useful after walking in a few times and finding Blair kissing some girl in the living room. This time Jim’s ears picked up Blair’s heartbeat and some electronic music with sea sounds. ‘Better be quiet when I enter; sounds like Sandburg’s meditating.’ He turned the key and opened the door, trying to be as quite as he could. But when he entered the loft he didn’t see Blair in the living room. The music filled the room, and the candles were the only source of light; but there was no Blair. Jim extended his hearing again and picked up Blair’s heartbeat and slow breathing from his room. Shaking his head, he headed to the closed french doors. He opened the doors and found Blair sitting on his bed, elbows on his knees, head in his hands.

“Blair?” Jim asked quietly, not wanting to scare Blair who obviously didn’t hear him come in. When he didn’t get any response from the younger man, he called again, this time a bit louder, “Blair.”

Blair’s head snapped up. ”Jim,” he called surprised, putting a hand on his chest, “You scared me.”

“Sorry, Chief. I tried not to scare you but you didn’t hear me.” Jim apologized. “So, are you trying to burn down the house so you wouldn’t have to pay me rent?”

“What?” Blair asked, puzzled.

“The candles in the living room.” Jim said pointing at the room behind him. “I don’t think that it’s such a good idea to leave them without supervision.”

Blair shook his head and got up, going to the living room, Jim barely managing to move out of his way to prevent a collision between them. He watched as Blair closed the music and blow out the candles, collapsing into the couch and staring at the open window when he finished. Jim followed his friend into the living room and sat beside him on the couch.

When he saw that Blair wasn’t going to talk, Jim asked, “you okay, Chief?”

Blair shrugged. “Well, I’m still here; I didn’t get blown up. So I guess everything is okay.”

Jim looked at Blair and saw something in his expression that bothered him. “It’s not the first time that you’ve been so close to death, and you never reacted like this; not even in the beginning. You want to talk about what’s really bothering you?”

Blair looked at Jim and started to chuckle, the familiar spark appearing again in his eyes.

“What’s so funny?” Jim asked, a bit worried from the radical change of Blair’s feelings.

“You asking me if ‘I want to talk about it’”, Blair answered, trying to control his chuckle with little success. “It’s usually the opposite, and it ends with me forcing it out of you.”

“I’m glad you find this amusing, Chief.” Jim said, getting up. “I’ll be up in my room if you change your mind.” He was about to leave when Blair grabbed his arm. When he turned and looked at him, he saw in his eyes the same desperate look that they held before.

“Don’t go,” Blair almost pleaded. “I really need to talk. We need to talk.”

Jim sat back. “Okay, I’m listening. Tell me about the bomb.”

Blair looked at his hands. “There’s nothing to tell actually. The short version is that I went to launch with Becky, we discovered that there was a bomb in the car and I called the police.”

“Well, I’m just glad that you found the bomb before it had a chance to blow,” Jim said. “You were really lucky to find it.”

“Yeah, I was,” Blair said quietly.

“How did you find it?” Jim asked, curious. “What made you suspicious?”

“Well actually,” Blair said, still avoiding Jim’s eyes. “Becky’s the one who told me about the bomb. I was about to open the door when she warned me. I guess you can say she saved my life.”

“Remind me to thank her for doing that,” Jim said, smiling. “But how did she know about the bomb? Don’t tell me she’s the bomber, Chief. You know, we never did that check on her.”

“No, nothing like that.” Blair ran a hand through his hair. “She smelled the bomb.”

That took Jim by surprise. “Smelled it?” he asked confused. “How can she smell a bomb? I’m the only person that I know that can smell a bomb and that’s only because I’m a sentinel.”

“Yeah, well, guess what…”

He didn’t have to finish the sentence; the meaning of the event was suddenly clear to Jim. “Ho.”

“Yeah, ho.” Blair repeated, looking at Jim.

“So all the dreams that you’ve been having the past week…” Jim said.

“Yeah, I guess she’s the puma.” Blair said. “I wonder if she knows that the puma is her animal spirit…she probably does.” He lowered his head. “I’m sorry Jim, I didn’t know she’s a sentinel.” He got up, went to the open balcony and leaned on the rail.

Jim looked at his friend and shook his head. ‘He’s blaming himself for something that he shouldn’t. What is going on in this head of his? I don’t know if I’ll ever understand him.’ He got up and walked to stand beside Blair. “What do you have to be sorry about?”

“After what happened last time, with Alex, I promised myself that I will never let anything like that happen again. That I will never hide from you things as big as this,” Blair said, staring at the dark sky.

“It’s not your fault, Chief. You didn’t know she’s a sentinel. You said so yourself.” Jim reassured him.

Blair finally looked at Jim, smiling a faint smile. “Thanks man.”

“Don't worry about it,” Jim said, smiling back. His face turning serious again, he asked, “what are we going to do about this?”

“I don’t know,” Blair said honestly. “I don’t know why she did it; why she lied to me the all time. I really thought that we had something special; I fall in love with her.”

“You don’t know that she lied to you; maybe it’s all a coincidence,” Jim offered. “After all, she doesn’t know I’m a sentinel. Does she?”

“Jim!….”

“I’m sorry, Chief.” Jim apologized. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes you did,” Blair said. “But it doesn’t matter now. And to answer your question, if she knows that you’re a sentinel, then it’s not from me. But you have to keep in mind that my thesis went public. She’s a sentinel, so she knows that there is a good possibility that I wasn’t lying and that you really are a sentinel. Besides, it can’t be just a coincidence.”

“Why not?” Jim asked. “It was with Alex.”

“But things have changed since then,” Blair said, looking at the sky again. “Like I’ve said, the all sentinel thing is out on the open now. It can’t be a coincidence that she came here to cascade and got my old job at Rainer; it’s the perfect way to meet me, she had the perfect excuse. I didn’t suspect her for a minute. But what I don’t understand is why she did it, why did she lie to me?”

“At least we know that she doesn’t want to hurt you,” Jim said. “If that was her intention she would have let you die from the explosion. Instead, she saved your life even though it meant telling you her secret.”

“I know why she did it, she did it to get close to you,” Blair said, walking back into the loft. “She probably thought that getting close to me would be the perfect way.”

Jim followed Blair inside. “But why would she want to get close to me?”

“I don’t know,” Blair said, sitting back on the couch. “The puma killed you in my dreams. Maybe she wants to hurt you; maybe she wants to kill you.”

“She doesn’t seem the type,” Jim dismissed the idea. “What I still don’t understand is why I didn’t feel her coming, like with Alex. Why didn’t I feel towards her what I felt towards Alex when we were face to face? And why did you had the dreams instead of me?”

“I can’t really explain it,” Blair admitted. “Like I told you before, this all thing is way beyond my knowledge. I can only guess.”

“Then guess.”

Blair sank into the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “I think that it’s because this time you’re the one in danger, not me. You had the dreams when my life was in danger because of Alex. This time I think that the dreams are a warning for me that your life is in danger, that Becky is going to hurt you. I’m supposed to stop that from happening.”

Jim shook his head. “She doesn’t seem the type.”

“You already said that,” Blair said, frustration in his voice.

“Yeah well, she really doesn’t…”

“Jim!”

“Okay Chief, relax. “ Jim held out his hands in a manner of defense. “So what are you…what are we going to do about this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you at least hear what she had to say for her defense?” Jim asked, getting closer to the couch.

“No,” Blair admitted.

“No?”

“What did you expect?” Blair looked at him, anger filling his eyes. “I was almost blown up and just found out that the woman I was falling in love with deceived me, and you think I waited around to hear what she had to say?”

“Shhhh!” Jim ordered him, putting out a hand, sighting him to be quiet.

“Don’t shhos me!” Blair called. ”What do you….” But then he realized that Jim wasn’t looking at him; He was concentrating on something else and had that look on his face that he got every time he used his senses. “What’s wrong?” Blair asked, looking at the same direction as Jim, the door of the loft.

“Someone’s crying.”

“Where?”

“Outside the door,” Jim said, going to open it. “I think it’s a woman.”

Blair watched as Jim opened the door, disappearing into the corridor. He heard Jim asking the person in the corridor if he can get up and walk; a second later he appeared in the door, supporting Becky, his hand around her waist, her hand over his shoulders. When Blair saw Becky’s face he held his breath. “Ho God,” he called and jumped from the couch, helping Jim lower Becky into it.

“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Jim said, heading to the bathroom.

Becky looked at Blair, her bruised face wet with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m probably the last person you want to see right now, but I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Don’t be silly,” Blair said softly, holding her hands. Jim came back to the room, the first aid kit in one hand and a wet towel in the other. He handed the towel to Blair and opened the kit. Taking the towel, Blair gently placed it on the edge of Becky’s mouth to clean the remains of blood that were still there. Becky winced when the towel made contact with her face. “Sorry,” Blair apologized. He gave her the towel, examining her face. “What happened?”

“My father found out that I’m not going to play his little game any more. He found out I told you I’m a sentinel.” She looked at Jim when she said the last word. “I told him that I’m not going to be a part of his plan any more. Needless to say that he didn’t like it.”

“You should let me check you, to make sure that you’re not hurt internally,” Jim offered.

“It’s okay,” Becky smiled weakly. “I already checked myself. I’ll be blue in a few places for a few days, but apart from that I’m okay.”

“Wait a minute, what plan?” Blair asked confused. “Why should your father care that you told me you’re a sentinel?”

“I guess I’d better start from the beginning,” Becky said. “Like you already know, I’m a sentinel. But not like you, Jim, I always knew what it meant and I always had someone by my side to help and guide me with my senses.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I was born into a family that had a sentinel almost every generation. It sometimes skipped one, but the knowledge about it was always there. My mother was a sentinel, so my uncle, her only brother, learned Anthropology so he could use his work to travel to places and learn about the sentinel as much as he could. He was her guide.” Becky’s eyes were no longer focussed on the guys, she was lost in her memories. “My mom died when I was little and my father raised me by himself. He did a pretty good job if you count out his bad temper. My uncle was my guide when I was growing up, he also passed to me his Anthropology bug.” Becky smiled for the first time since she began her story. “I remember sitting next to him and listening to his stories for hours.” But the smile faded away. “A few months ago my uncle told me that he’s leaving for an expedition in Brazil for three years. He tried to convince me to come with him but I couldn’t leave my father alone.” She looked at Blair, tears appearing again in her eyes. “I love my father, no matter what he does. He’s my father.”

“I know,” Blair said quietly.

“Any way,” Becky continued, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I was left without a guide and my father didn’t like it. He wanted me to find another guide, but we both knew that it was impossible.” She looked at Blair and smiled. “Until one day we saw a news report about you and Jim. I was surprised after we saw the press conference where you said you lied about all of it. I knew that it had to be the truth, and I couldn’t understand why you lied about it in front of the all world.”

“I had to,” Blair said. “The price of public knowledge was too high.”

“My father got a copy of your work using my uncle’s connections, and after reading it, he got into his head that you’re the best and that you have to be my guide. I tried to convince him that it wouldn’t work, that you’re already Jim’s guide; but he wouldn’t listen to me. He pulled some strings and got me your old job at Rainier.” Becky lowered her head, avoiding Blair’s eyes. “I knew that the only way to make you leave Jim and become my guide is to make you fall in love with me. I had no choice but to play his game, I couldn’t resist him. I tried to at first, but I gave up after the first time I told him what I thought and he hit me.” Becky raised her head and looked into Blair’s eyes again. “I came here and met you in full intention of making you fall for me and steal you away from Jim. But I didn’t expect to feel towards you the way I do. I’m sorry, I didn’t want all of this to happen. I had no choice.”

“It’s okay,” Blair said, hugging Becky. “It’s okay, I understand. Besides, you saved my life, knowingly risking yours. I can’t argue with that.”

Becky chuckled. ”I guess you can’t.”

Jim watched Blair and Becky, feeling out of place. He cleared his trout and said, “I’ll just go and…Yeah, I should go.” He got up, sending one more look at Blair and Becky before going up the stairs to his room.

Becky finally released Blair’s embrace, smiling and wiping the tears from her eyes. “You probably think that I’m mentally unstable.”

Blair’s smile widen. “Well, like I once told Jim, one of the symptoms of mental disorder is heightened senses.”

Becky laughed. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts,” she complained. Her face turning serious again, she looked at Blair. “Can you really forgive me for not telling you the truth?”

“You were wrong not to tell me,” Blair said. “But I understand why you did it, and I can see you didn’t have any other choice. The important thing is that now we know the truth and you don’t have to lie anymore.” He smiled again. “Now, don’t you feel better?”

“Yes,” Becky admitted.

“Good, good.” Blair said and got up. “Now you should get some rest. Everything else can wait for tomorrow morning.”

Becky laid on the couch and Blair took the blanket that’s been sitting on top of the couch and covered her with it. He was about to leave when Becky caught his hand, holding it tight. “Thank you,” she said.

“My pleasure. Now get some sleep,” Blair said softly. He took a few steps away from the couch and then suddenly turned back, asking. “By the way, do you know what’s your animal spirit?”

“Yeah, it’s the puma. Why?”

“No reason,” Blair lied. “Go to sleep.” He went back to his room and sat heavily on the bed, leaning his head against the wall. A few minutes passed before Jim came to his room.

“How is she?”

Blair looked at his friend and sigh. “I think she’s going to be okay.”

Jim stood in the doorway a few seconds, as if trying to decide what to say. Finally he asked, “so, what are we going to do with all of this?”

Blair moved his hands up to his face and rubbed his tired eyes. “I don’t know. We don’t know how far her father will go with this.”

“Do you think he’ll try to hurt her?” Jim asked and looked into the living room, seeing only the back of the couch, but hearing the steady breaths of the young woman who laid asleep on it.

“I think he’ll try to hurt you.”

The statement drew Jim’s attention back to Blair. He leaned against the door. “And how did you reached that conclusion?”

“Well, we already know that the man has a temper that he can’t control, and no problem with hurting other people.” Jim noticed the anger in his friend’s voice. “He won’t accept a no for an answer, and now that he doesn’t have Becky on his side, he’ll probably try a different approach. I don’t think he’s going to give up on this. He’ll do every thing he can to get me to be Becky’s guide. Even if it means hurting you to get me “free” from our partnership. This is all about control. He doesn’t care about what’s best for Becky, he wants me because it gives him more power.”

The ring of the phone was heard clearly in the silence that filled the room after Blair’s words. Jim hurried to kitchen to answer the phone before it’ll wake Becky. Blair staid in his room, too tired to get up and follow him. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear Jim hanging up the phone and was surprised when Jim came back to the room, angry.

“What’s wrong?” Blair asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“Johnson’s dead.”

A dreadful feeling filled Blair. It was suddenly hard to breathe. “How?”

“An explosive envelope; looks like it's the same as the one that was sent to Rafe. I’m going to the station. This guy doesn’t waste time and it’s two down one to go.” Jim looked into the living room. “You should probably stay here and watch over her. We still don’t know the all story with her father so it’s probably a good idea not to leave her alone. If you notice anything suspicious, and I mean anything, call me.”

“Okay,” Blair said, still shocked from the loss of another friend. He watched as Jim exit his room and heard the door closes after a minute. “Be careful,” he whispered after his friend.

Jim lay awake in his bed, listening to the noises that came from Blair’s room. He already recognized the voices that came from the room beneath his own; he has heard them more than a few times in the past week. It was 3 am and Blair was having another nightmare. And just like all the previous times, the scream came after a few minutes. Jim got up and put on his robe as he came down the stairs. Turning the light in the kitchen, he saw Becky sitting on the living room’s couch, staring in the direction of Blair’s room. She turned her gaze to Jim, worry in her eyes. Shaking his head, Jim held out a hand signing her that everything is okay and that he’s taking care of it. He Walked into Blair’s room and found his friend sitting on the edge of his bed, his head between his hands.

It seemed as if Blair didn’t notice Jim’s entry to the room. Jim stood in the door for a few seconds waiting, but when Blair didn’t raise his head, he asked, “You okay, Chief?”

Blair’s head snapped up and his eyes focused on Jim. “I’m sorry, I woke you up again.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Jim said. Still standing beside the door, he asked, “another dream?”

“Yeah,” Blair replied, leaning his head against the wall.

“The same one?” Jim repeated the routine of the last couple of nights.

“No,” Blair said, looking at Jim. “This time the jaguar wasn’t there. It was just me and the puma.”

This took Jim by surprise. It was the first time in the past week since the nightmares started that they changed. “So why did you scream?”

Blair sighed. “I was in the jungle,” the by now familiar scenery appeared again. “I saw the puma and started to walk towards her when I heard a shot. I tried to see the shooter but couldn’t. And when I looked back at the puma I saw that she was hurt. That’s when I woke up.”

Jim waited for Blair to say more, but when he noticed the distanced expression on Blair’s face he knew that his friend’s mind was somewhere else. “So you think that someone is going to try and hurt her?” he asked, looking into the living room at where he knew Becky lay, asleep again according to her slow breathing.

“Yeah, there’s no other explanation for my vision,” Blair said, weariness in his voice. “Man, if only I could have seen the shooter.”

“Why do you think the vision changed?” Jim asked, curious.

“I guess she changed something when she told me the truth about her father,” Blair said, wiping a hand over his face.

“Well,” Jim straitened up. “Go back to sleep, we can figure it out in the morning. It’s too late in the night, or rather too early in the morning, to have this talk. We both need the sleep, we have a long day tomorrow.” And with that, Jim walked out and headed back to the stairs leading to his room, listening to his friend that sighed and laid back in his bed..

Blair splashed cold water on his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked tired. He knew that it was getting worse with every day that passed and that it’s only a matter of time before people start asking him about it. He shook his head. Until he'll have two nights continuously without a nightmare to wake him up in the middle of the night, he won't look any better. Exiting the bathroom, he went into the kitchen, where Jim already sat by the table, drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Good morning,” Jim greeted him. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Blair said, sitting down by the table where a cup of hot coffee waited for him. Usually he avoided drinking coffee, but the last week he found out that his body badly needed the caffeine. He took a sip from the coffee and put the cup back on the table. “You didn't tell me what happened last evening in the police. I tried to stay awake until you came, but I guess I fell asleep.”

Jim took another sip from his cup and lowered it back to the table. “Well, we managed to narrow down the suspects to only two and we're keeping an eye on their work places. As soon as they arrive, we'll take them into questioning.”

“Isn’t there any other way you can track them?" Blair asked. “The killer can kill another cop while we sit and wait for them to turn up.”

“There's nothing we can do, Chief,” Jim said. “They didn't give the owners of the swimming pools their full names, not to talk about their addresses. They just show up every once in a while and ask if they want them to clean their pools.”

“So you’re telling me that all we can do is sit and wait?”

“Yes,” Jim said. “As much as I hate to admit it, there's nothing else we can do this time.”

Blair looked at his cup. “Well, that just suck if you ask me.”

“I hear you.”

“Where's Becky?” Blair asked, suddenly realizing that she wasn't in the loft.

“She went to the store to buy some breakfast,” Jim said. “Apparently she doesn't think that coffee is enough of a breakfast.”

“Go figure,” Blair said with a smile.

As if on a cue, the door of the loft opened and Becky came in with a grocery bag in her hands. “Hey,” she smiled at Blair and put the bag on the kitchen table. “Don't tell me that you're also into the early coffee,” she said. “I figured you to a breakfast kind of guy.”

Blair got up and walked around the table to stand beside her; giving her a little kiss. “Good morning to you too,” he said. “And to answer your question, I have to admit that I'm usually an algae shake for the morning kind of guy. But right now I can use all the caffeine I can get.” He looked at her bruised face, his face turning serious. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay,” Becky said. “A bit sore and blue but it would pass. It always does.” She looked at Blair, seeing the black circles under his eyes. “How are you feeling? It sounded like you had a pretty rough night.”

“Yeah, well,” Blair said, looking at Jim. “I've been having a few bad dreams lately.” He looked at her again. “Actually, I have to talk to you about them.”

“Okay,” Becky said, looking a bit confused.

“You see...” Blair started, but the ring of the phone interrupted his talk.

“Ellison,” Jim answered the phone. He listened for a minute and then said. “We'll be there in ten minutes. Don't do anything before we arrive, Connor.” He hung up the phone and turned to Blair. “We have to go, Chief. One of the suspects just came to work. Megan and the guys are already there and Simon is on his way.” He took his coat and said a quick bye to Becky before going out of the loft in a storm.

Blair looked at Becky. “We'll have to finish this talk latter, sorry.” He walked to the door and took his coat from the hanging place. “You can stay here if you want to,” he offered.

“It's okay, I have classes to teach today,” Becky said. “But I'll come in the evening. The least I can do to thank you two is to cook you dinner. And besides, we still have a lot of things to talk about.”

“That would be great.” Blair smiled. “I have to run before Jim takes my head off, bye,” he said and closed the door, running to the elevator where Jim waited for him.

David Anderson sat in his car and watched the two detectives as they walked to the truck and got into it. He started the engine the same time as they did and when they pulled out of the parking space and drove down the street, he followed them, sending one last look in the direction of the loft.

By the time Jim and Blair arrived to the house, police officers already surrounded the place. They got out of the truck and approached Simon who stood by his car together with Rafe and Megan. "What's our status?" Jim asked his captain.

"The guy's inside," Simon answered. "As far as we know he doesn't suspect a thing. The owner of the pool called us from inside the house when the guy came. He's still inside, but we told him to stay in one of the rooms." He took out a map of the house and its surrounding and pointed at a square in the premises of the house. "This is the pool. We got officers here, here and here," Simon said, pointing at points on the map. "Jim, you, Blair, Megan and Rafe will enter from the front of the house and go to the back, where the pool is. Remember people," Simon addressed the four detectives. "This suspect may be our guy, but he can also be just an innocent civilian. So please, be careful, but don't kill him before we have a chance to question him."

"We'll do our best, sir," Jim said and turned to Blair who stood beside them. "Maybe you should stay behind on this one?"

"Don't start with that crap, Jim. I thought we agreed you won't treat me any different," Blair said, a bit annoyed.

"Sorry Chief, force of habit." Jim smiled and signed Blair, Megan and Rafe to follow him. They entered the gate of the premises and followed the trail to the back of the house, where the pool was. A man stood there next to the pool, emptying a container of some liquid material into it. Jim, who recognized the smell of chlorine from the container, was about to take out his badge when the guy noticed the four detectives that entered the yard; he looked at them with suspecting eyes. Jim took out his badge and held it up so the guy could see it. "Cascade pd, we would like to ask you a few questions."

The guy seemed to think for a minute before smiling and saying, "of course. How can I help you?" But before Jim could answer him he threw the container in their direction, causing the chlorine to spill on the tiles around the pool, and ran into the house.

The smell and fumes of the chlorine hit Jim hard and caught him off guard. His hyper sense of smell amplified them and Jim collapsed to the floor coughing and fighting for breath. Only slightly aware to what was going on around him, he heard Megan saying that she and Rafe are going after the guy and Blair screaming his name.

 Blair put his hand on Jim’s shoulder, holding him tight. “Jim, can you hear me?” he asked; although he didn’t get any response from the convulsive man, he went on. “Jim, listen to my voice; I know that it’s hard but you have to. Imagine the dial of your sense of smell, see it in your mind. Now, see in your mind how you dial it down. Just dial it slowly until it reaches the lowest level.” Blair stopped, waiting a few seconds to see if there’s any change in Jim’s condition. When he saw that Jim’s coughs lessened and that he was breathing more easily, Blair relaxed a bit and repeated his instructions. “Imagine yourself dialing it down until your sense of smell is reduced to its normal state.”

After a minute, Jim’s cough stopped and he opened his eyes. “Thanks,” he whispered to Blair.

“No problem,” Blair answered, giving Jim his hand and helping him stand up. “It’s all part of the service.” Just then he noticed Simon who came running towards them.

“Jim, are you okay?”

“Yeah Simon, I’m fine,” Jim answered, his strength coming back to him. “Did we catch him?”

“Yes, we caught him,” Simon answered, not hiding the smile of content from his face.

“I can understand why he felt so much anger toward the police, but it’s still no excuse for what he did.” Blair shook his head. “In some part of my mind I think that I should feel sorry for him, but I can’t. Not when I think of all the people that he killed in cold blood."

Jim looked at Blair who sat next to him in the truck. “There’s no excuse for what this man did, Chief. You are right at not feeling sorry for him.”

“But, I mean, can’t you put yourself in his shoes for a minute and see why he went off the edge the way he did?” Blair insisted, still not in peace with his feelings. “His wife and son were killed because of police negligence. Can't you see why it made him turn against cops?”

Jim sighed. “Look Chief, you’re right; it’s a terrible thing what happened to him and I can understand why he holds a grudge towards the police, but nothing can justify what he did, nothing.” He parked the truck in front of the loft and turned to Blair. “Look Sandburg. I know that it’s easier to hate the bad guys when they are low lives. Although I’m sure that even for them you’ll be able to find some justification.,” Jim chuckled. His face turning serious again, he continued, “it is harder to see a man like this guy, who had such a tragedy in his life that made him do those bad things, and hate him. It’s normal to want to feel sorry for him, and maybe if it were a different case, we would have felt that. But this is different because this time the victims of the killing are our friends, people that we worked with everyday and had nothing to do with those two cops who shot his wife and kid.”

“I guess you’re right,” Blair said. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Remember, that’s what friends are for,” Jim said, half a smile on his face. “Now get out of the truck, will you? I’m hungry. Whose turn is it to cook any way?”

“Becky said she’ll cook us dinner,” Blair said, exiting the truck. “Speaking of…” he added when he saw Becky approaching the building with grocery bags in her hands.

Becky smiled when she noticed them and approached Blair. “Hey,” she said, giving him a kiss. “How did it go?”

“Okay,” Blair said, taking one of the bags from Becky. “We caught the killer. What did you buy?” he asked, looking into the grocery bag.

“Just a few things for dinner,” Becky said and hit Blair gently on the head. “Don’t peek, it’s a surprise.”

“Come on you two love birds.” Jim pulled Blair by the arm. “I’m hungry.”

“Okay, okay, don’t take my head off,” Blair said and entered the building, Becky following behind. “You okay with the bag?” he asked her when he saw that she’s struggling to hold it.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “My hand hurts a bit, that’s all.”

“Here, let me take this,” Jim said, taking the grocery bag from her hands.

“Thanks,” Becky said, smiling thankfully at him.

They entered the elevator and Blair turned to Becky. “We have to talk about a few things.”

“Sure, what about?”

Blair looked at Jim who nodded in agreement and turned back to Becky. “I had a serious talk with Jim about you, well you know, being a sentinel and all. And we both agreed that you need a guide now that your uncle is gone, and you obviously can’t go back to your father.” He looked at Jim again as if to make sure one last time and then said, “we agreed that I’ll be your guide as well as Jim's.”

Becky looked shocked for a few seconds, looking back from Jim to Blair. Finally she asked Jim, “you really don’t mind?”

“Well,” Jim cleared his throat. “You do need a guide, Blair made some good points about that.” He sent a look at Blair before continuing, “I’m sure that we’ll be able to make it work out just fine.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Becky still found it hard to believe. “Thank you.”

“Believe me, it’s Sandburg’s pleasure,” Jim said, only half teasing.

“Don’t pay attention to him,” Blair told Becky, smiling. The elevator stopped and they stepped out of it, heading for the door of the loft. Blair put his hand on Becky’s arm, his face serious again. “There’s something else that we have to talk about, but it can wait until after dinner.”

“Is everything okay?” Becky asked, not liking the look on Blair’s face.

“Yeah, it’s nothing to worry about,” Blair said, half smiling,

“You’re lying,” Becky said. “Your heart is beating faster.”

“That’s not fair,” Blair said, taking a step back. “You can’t listen to my heart like that, without my permission. That’s a breach of my privacy; that’s cheating.”

“Don’t be silly,” Jim said while opening the door. “I do it all the time; how do you think I…” Suddenly, Jim fell back on Blair, the bags falling from both their hands, groceries spreading around on the floor.

“Jim!” Blair cried out as he caught the tall man that fell on him. “Jim!” Looking at his friend he saw blood coming from his shoulder and instinctively put his hand on the wound, pressing hard. He noticed that Jim, who looked a bit shocked but was conscious, winced. “I’m sorry, but you know that I have to do this.” As if just realizing what happened, Blair looked into the loft through the open door and saw a man standing there with a gun still pointed at their direction. “Who are you?” he shouted at the man.

“No need to shout,” the man answered, the evil grin on his face not helping Blair feel any better about the situation. “I’m no sentinel, but my hearing is just fine thank you very much.”

“It can’t be,” Blair heard Becky whispering by his left, where she sat on the floor leaning against the wall. She looked at the direction of the door, shock on her face, and before Blair could stop her she got up and walked into the loft. “Dad?”

“Hello kiddo,” the man said, his smile widen. “How are you doing? Didn’t hear from you all day. I started to worry so I thought I might stop by for a visit.”

“What are you doing?” Becky asked, getting closer to her father. “Have you lost your mind completely?”

“I’m doing this for you, kiddo,” David said, waving the gun in all directions. “I’m doing this for you since you obviously don’t care enough about this to do whatever it takes.”

“This isn’t the way, Dad,” Becky said, taking another step closer to her father. “Please, just put the gun down.”

“This is the only way!” David shouted. “Don’t go any closer, I’m serious. And you two,” he pointed the gun at Blair and Jim. “Please, come inside. It’s rude to leave a guest alone. Were is your hospitality?”

“Can you get up?” Blair asked Jim, realizing that it would be best to just do what the man told them. Jim nodded for approval and Blair supported him with an arm around his chest and moved him into the loft.

“That’s enough,” David ordered when Blair and Jim reached the small table near the door. “And if you don’t mind closing the door after you. We don’t want any uninvited guests to our little party. After all, I had so much troubles getting this little silencer, just so people won't interrupt us, I don't want it all to go down the drain only because we forgot to close the door.”

Blair leaned Jim against the small table and closed the door behind them.

“Thank you, Mr. Sandburg. You have been a great help, more than you know. You see, I’ve read your dissertation, which is just brilliant if you ask me, and I actually learned a few things from it. About this little sweet device for example.” David picked a little device from the table and held it for Blair and Jim to see.

“A white noise generator,” Jim said. “That’s why I didn’t hear you.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about the dramatic opening but I just had to disable you in some way so you won’t get your gun and everything.” David had the evil smile on his face again. “I know that it’s cruel of me to drag your pain like that, since I am going to kill you in the end, but I felt obligated to let you know why you’re going to die before killing you.”

“What are you doing, Dad? Stop it!” Becky reached to touch her father but he pointed the gun at her.

“Don’t!” he said. “I’m doing this for you, kiddo. You turned against me, you’re with them now. But I still care for you, kiddo. I’m doing this for you.”

“Is that your way of showing her how much you love her?” Blair shouted. He moved closer to Becky, catching her by the hand and gently pulling her back. “By beating her up and shooting people she cares about.”

“You shout up!” David screamed. “You have nothing to say here. Nothing!” The gun turned once again at Jim and Blair took a few steps back, standing half in front of Jim, in the route of the gun. “That’s very bravely of you, to protect your sentinel like that.” David smiled again. “But this is just the reason why I have to kill him. You see, I had the perfect plan, no one was supposed to get hurt. But then Rebecca just had to ruin it by telling you the truth, so now I have to kill our dear old Jim.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Becky begged.

“Yes I do!” David shouted. “He has to be your guide, kiddo,” he told Becky, pointing at Blair with the gun. “There is no other way. He will never leave his sentinel, not now that he knows the truth. His sentinel must die so he could be your guide.”

“You’re wrong,” Becky said, getting closer to her father again. “Blair already agreed to be my guide. He will be my guide in addition to being Jim’s guide. So you see, there is no reason for you to do this.”

“No! He will never do that. He’s just fooling you, can’t you see that?” David shouted, the gun in his hands one second pointing at Blair and Jim and the next at Becky who was still slowly getting closer to her father.

“It’s true, Mr. Anderson,” Blair supported Becky’s words. “I did agree to be her guide. Jim and I talked and realized that there is no reason why I can’t be a guide for the both of them in the same time. It’s like Becky said, there is no reason for you to do this. You won't gain anything by killing Jim.”

“No, you can’t guide them both,” David insisted, but the trembling of his hand showed Blair that he wasn’t sure anymore in what he planed to do. “You can be a guide for only one sentinel, only one. You have to be able to give your full attention to your sentinel and you can’t do that if you guide two. That sentinel has to be Rebecca. You are the best. You have to guide her.” David raised his hand once again and aimed it toward Jim; this time his hand wasn’t shaking, it was as steady as a rock. “He has to die.”

Blair had been in these kind of situations so many times before that he knew without any doubt what would come next. He instinctively took a step closer to Jim, covering his body completely with his own, and closed his eyes just as the dim shot was heard. But instead of feeling that slicing pain of the bullet hitting him he heard a sound of something falling hard on the floor. He opened his eyes and took a sharp breath when his eyes fell on the body that lay on the floor; Becky’s body.

“No!” a shout escaped him as he ran and slid on the floor next to her. “Becky?” he put a hand on her head and gently stroked her across the face. “Can you hear me?”

Becky opened her eyes, taking a sharp breath and coughed. “It hurts,” she said quietly to Blair, tears appearing in her eyes.

“I know it does, honey. I know,” Blair said, still stroking her face. “But you have to hold on. You hear me Becky; hold on!”

“It hurts to breathe,” Becky said before another fit of coughing overcame her.

“Becky, listen to me,” Blair said firmly. “Just concentrate on my voice and do what I tell you, okay?” Becky nodded and Blair continued. “Imagine that you have a dial that controls your pain. See it in front of you. Can you see it?” Blair waited a few more seconds and when Becky finally nodded for approval he continued. “Now imagine yourself dialing that dial down. See your hand going over the dial and turning the pain down. Can you do that for me?”

While Blair waited to see if Becky managed to do as he guided her he realized for the first time that Jim was talking on the phone, calling for an ambulance. David Anderson set on the stairs that led to Jim’s room, his hands bound behind his back, looking at them in total shock. Jim hang up the phone, turning to Blair. “The ambulance is on its way; it’ll be here in about five minutes. How is she?”

“Not so good,” Blair said and held up the hand that he was holding on Becky’s wound. It was filled with blood.

 “Here, take this,” Jim gave him a towel from the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Blair said, looking at Becky again. She looked calmer, her face no longer in an expression of pain. She opened her eyes and looked at Blair. “It worked,” she whispered, a weak smile on her face.

“Of course it worked; I’m the best, remember?” Blair told her, smiling, while stroking her hair. “Just hold on okay? the ambulance is on its way.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for all of this to happen, it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” Tears appeared again in Becky’s eyes.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Blair silenced her, wiping the tears from her eyes. “It’s not your fault. Besides, everything is going to be just fine. You’re going to be okay and I’m going to guide you, just like we talked about.” Blair heard the sirens of the ambulance and police units coming down the street. “You hear them Becky? Help is coming; just hold on, okay honey? Just hold on.”

“I’m sorry,” Becky whispered again and closed her eyes, taking one last breath.

“Becky?” Blair’s sight blurred from the tears. “Becky?” He asked again when he got no response, shaking her gently. “Becky!”

“Chief,” Jim was suddenly beside him, trying to pull him away from her.

“NO!” Blair cried out, pushing Jim away. “She’s not dead!” he shouted and then stroke Becky’s hair again, saying quietly, “she’s not dead.”

Simon stood in the entrance of the hospital’s waiting room and looked at Blair who sat on one of the chairs, his head down, supported by his hands. He sighed deeply when he noticed the blood stained cloths that Blair still wore. Taking a deep breath, he walked to Blair. “You okay, Blair?”

Blair nodded, not raising his head. “I’m fine,” he said with a shaky voice.

Simon sat in the chair next to Blair and looked at the young man who was still sitting with his head in his hands. After a few minutes of silence Simon started to feel uncomfortable with it. “Have you heard anything about Jim?” he asked, hoping to get a response.

Blair finally raised his head, moving his hands through his hair, pushing it back. “Not yet; but the doctor told me when we came that he’s going to be okay.”

Simon looked at Blair’s face for the first time since he came into the room and noticed that his eyes were red and held tears, tears that Blair hurried to wipe away with his hands when he realized that Simon was staring at him. “I’m okay, really,” he reassured his friend.

“Can you tell me what happened? The officers at the loft said that you weren’t very clear about the reason of the shooting.”

“Well, I couldn’t tell them the truth, could I?” Blair said, lowering his voice.

“Why not?”

“Right, we didn’t tell you about that. We were so occupied with the serial bomber and it all happened so fast,” Blair’s voice trailed off.

“What are you talking about?” Simon asked, not liking the direction that the conversation took.

Blair looked around for a few seconds and when he finally spoke he did it so quietly that Simon had to strain his hears to hear what he was saying.

Five minutes later Simon Banks knew everything he needed to know from the minute that Blair met Becky, to the minute that he himself arrived to the hospital. “It’s never easy with you, is it?” he told Blair.

“You’re saying it as if it’s my fault,” Blair said, a weak smile on his face. But the smile faded away fast.

Simon put his hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Everything will be okay, you have to think positive.”

“I know, Simon. Thanks.”

Simon knew that there were still a few things that Blair had to tell him; they still had to decide together about the official way that they were going to tell the story; after all, they can’t tell the all truth. He just hoped that Becky’s father wouldn’t make the mistake of talking too much about the reasons that led him to do what he did. He was about to ask Blair for his opinion when Jim walked into the waiting room, wearing a hospital gown with his right hand in a splint. “Jim,” Simon called in relief, signing him where they were.

Blair’s head snapped up and a sigh of relief escaped him when he saw his friend walking into the room, unhurt except for the wound in the shoulder. “How are you?” he asked in concern.

“I’m okay,” Jim reassured both Blair and Simon. “The doctor said that the bullet went through and that it should be fine in a couple of days. It's nothing to worry about, but they still insist on keeping me for the night. The only thing that's bothering me is this damn gown," he told them, lowering his voice and turning so they could see how he had to keep it close with his healty hand. "I feel kind of naked here, you know.” He looked at Blair, noticing the red eyes and black circles under his eyes. “You’re looking worse than me, Chief.”

“Thanks man. I can always count on you for a good word.” Blair gave him a weak smile and ran a hand over his tired eyes. “I’ll be fine, I’m still waiting to hear from the doctors about Becky. It’s been so long since anyone talked with me about her condition.”

“Do you want me to try and find out if there’s anything new?” Simon offered.

“Will you please?” Blair’s eyes lit a bit. “I’m going crazy here.”

“No problem. I’ll be right back,” Simon smiled and turned to walk out of the room, just when a doctor came in, holding a chart in his hands. “Is there a Mr. Sandburg here?”

“Yeah,” Blair cried out over the commotion of the room and waited until the doctor came to them.

“I understand that you’re the responsible for Rebecca Anderson,” the doctor looked in the chart that he held in his hands. “Are you a relative of her?”

“I’m Captain Simon Banks,” Simon took over the conversation, assuming things will go faster that way. “Mr. Sandburg is one of my detectives, as well as a close friend of Ms. Anderson. I will appreciate it if you could give us any information that you can. She doesn’t have any relatives to support her right now.”

The doctor took a look at the badge that Simon held in his hand and nodded in approval. “Of course, no problem Captain.” He took one more look in the chart and turned to Blair. “Ms. Anderson is very lucky. We managed to take the bullet out and fix the internal damage that it did. She lost a lot of blood and she’s very weak, but she should be okay. She’s still under the influence of the sedative from the surgery but you can see her if you want to.”

Blair looked stunned for a few seconds but then some of the familiar spark returned to his eyes and he took the doctor’s hand, shaking it. “Thank you doctor.”

“No problem,” the doctor smiled back. “I can see you to her room if you want to go right now.”

Blair looked at Jim in a questioning look. “Go on, Chief,” Jim said, pushing him toward the door. “I'm not going anywhere any time soon. And sir," he turned to Simon, a wide smile on his face. "I think I may need new cloths for tomorrow. Unless you want one of your detectives to go around town in a hospital gown.”

Simon sighed. “I guess my job is to go to the loft and bring you two some decent cloths.”

“Thanks guys,” Blair gave them a tired smile and followed the doctor out of the room.

Jim’s hearing picked up on his friend as he left the room and he managed to hear one last thing before Simon dragged him back to his room; “By the way Jim, it’s already tomorrow.” Looking at his watch Jim realized that his young friend was right. At that moment he also realized just how tired he was and he let himself be dragged after Simon, thankful for the support of his captain.

Something woke Blair up. At first, not knowing what it was, he rubbed his eyes and stretched his back that protested the fact that Blair fell asleep on the narrow chair beside Becky’s bed instead of a normal bed. A movement from the bed caught his attention and he stood up, leaning over the bed and putting a hand on Becky’s head. He began stroking it and watched her eyes. “Becky,” he said very gently. “Can you hear me?”

There was no acknowledgment from Becky and Blair just kept on stroking her hair, calling her name gently, trying to wake her up. Finally, after almost a minute, Becky slowly opened her eyes.

Blair smiled at her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Becky answered back with a weak smile. “How's it going?”

“I was just about to ask you the same question,” Blair replied and sat back on the chair, bringing it closer to the bed. Still holding Becky’s hand he sighed. “You gave me quite a scare you know that?”

“Yeah well, I wanted some attention,” Becky’s smile widen. “How’s Jim?”

“He’s okay,” Blair reassured her. “The bullet went through so there wasn’t a lot of damage. He should go back to work in a week or two. It’s not the first time that it happened to him so you can be sure that he’s used to it.”

Becky was silent for a few seconds and then she asked, “what about my father?”

Blair’s face betrayed all the emotions that ran through him at that moment. From fear when those critical moments came back to him, anger towards her father for what he did and sadness for Becky and all that she went through. “All I know is that he was arrested.”

“I’m sorry,” Becky said, avoiding Blair’s eyes. “It’s all my fault. I never should have agreed to his crazy plan; I should have resisted him more.”

“Don’t think about it know,” Blair said, squeezing her hand. “The important thing is that you're okay. And if you want to, we can start working on your senses as soon as you get out of this place,” Blair said.

“Actually,” Becky said and tried to sit up. “We have to talk about that.”

Blair held her back. “Where do you think you’re going? lay back,” he ordered gently. “And don’t even dare to tell me that you’re not going to let me be your guide. Nothing happened to change that.”

“But something did happen,” Becky said, holding Blair’s hands in her own. “Something happened, something that I don’t know if I know how to explain, but I also know that I have to tell you.” She took a deep breath and looked at Blair who watched her, puzzled. “After I was shot, I remember that you held me and guided me how to make it hurt less. I was sure that I was going to die, I already made peace with that, sorry only for the pain and sorrow that it would cause to the people that I love. And then I died; I know that for a fact. I was in a different place; there was a jungle around me and I had a vision; it wasn’t the first vision that I had, I had a few before, but nothing like this one.” Becky shut her eyes, seeing the vision again. “I was surrounded by a jungle and there was a man in front of me, someone that I never saw before. He looked like an Indian and he told me that I have nothing to be afraid of. He told me that it wasn’t my time yet and that I still have things to do, but I can’t do them on my own, I have to find my guide. I told him that I already found a guide.” Becky opened her eyes and looked at Blair. “I told him that you’re my guide but he said that you already have a sentinel that you're guiding, that you were destined to guide. He told me that I have my own guide, the one that’s destined to be MY guide. That he’s probably looking for me the same way that I am looking for him. That we have to find each other to be whole.”

Blair didn’t say a thing; he just looked at Becky.

“Can you understand why I can’t let you be my guide?” she asked hopefully. “Can you see why this would be the wrong thing for more than just you and me?”

Blair sighed and got up from his chair, sitting on the bed next to Becky. “Believe me, I understand. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think that you made the right decision. You’re going the right way, the one that’s best for you.”

“Thank you,” Becky smiled and squeezed Blair’s hands, who in return leaned down and kissed her gently.

Straitening up, he looked at their hands which still held one another. “So where are you going to go?” he asked quietly.

“First thing I’m going to do is find my uncle and spend some time with him. It has been too long since I saw him and we have a lot to catch up on. And then.” she sighed. “I guess I’ll just head to where my visions will led me.”

Blair looked up again. “You know that I will always be here for you, no matter how small a detail it is and in which hour and…”

Becky held up a hand, putting it on Blair’s mouth, silencing him. “I know.” She wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled through her own tears. “It’s not a goodbye, it’s only see you latter. I will come back, and I will keep in touch. You are not going to get rid of me so easy.”

“You better write and tell me everything that happens to you and that you’re okay, or else I’ll have to go on the first flight and go search for you,” Blair said, laughing.

“I will, I promise,” Becky put one hand over her heart.

“Scouts honor?” Blair asked.

“No, sentinel honor.”

THE END