Who Says Timing Isn't Everything by Sammi M.Jim usually enjoyed going into work every morning. There was something about facing the challenges of his cases that kept his heart pumping and his mind racing. Even the paperwork wasn't too bad - well, as long as Sandburg was around to cross the T's and dot the I's.
Of course, after the morning he'd just had, Major Crimes wasn't all that enjoyable. He'd barely made it out of the loft thanks to Sandburg's glares. The younger man was definitely playing protector. He couldn't even get within ten feet of the girl before big brother started huffing and puffing. He had tried a couple of times to apologize for his jumping to conclusions - again - but Blair was like a mama lioness protecting her young. *Is that how I am when I feel my guide's in trouble? No wonder most people stand clear. It can be a real pain in the ass.*
With his mind elsewhere and his partner playing family, the day had all of the classic signs of "really sucking", as Sandburg so often liked to say. The only thing to make it worse would be Simon sticking his head out and bellowing for him to come into his office posthaste.
As he sat at his desk, Joel Taggert ambled his way over with a cup of coffee and a cream-cheese danish in his hand. He laid the items before the detective and grinned. "Looked like you needed this and since you seem to be without your better half, I thought I should play Sandburg and get it for you before you even asked." The larger man looked around. "So, where is he? Out torturing students or chasing coeds?"
Jim had to smile as he looked up at one of his closest friends at the precinct. Joel Taggert had recently been making some changes in his life and he seemed all the happier for them. With his recent transfer to Major Crimes, at his request, he had also adopted a healthier lifestyle with a little help from Sandburg. The years and pounds had started falling away and his old friend now had the vitality Jim remembered from long ago. "He had to take care of some personal stuff today; I told him it wasn't a problem since it's been kind of slow lately." He nodded toward the Captain's office where the blinds were down. "Any idea what's going on in there?"
Joel sat on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms. "I don't know what's up now, but Simon was called into the Chief's office and warned that K. Symmonds was in town."
"Who's that? I'm not familiar with the name."
"He's only one of the foremost security specialists in the nation. He's worked with the military and government sectors helping to beef up their security lately, but his first love is corporate and private sector." The older man checked to see if his friend was still following him and when he saw he was, he continued. "There isn't supposed to be a security measure that he can't crack; no system he can't break. His last big job was in L.A. where he took down the Mukogawa Corp.'s security system in three hours."
Jim was stunned. "The Mukogawa? Isn't that the state-of-the-art system that was tied in directly to LAPD and was supposedly unbreachable?"
"Well, no one told that to Mr. Symmonds. Their Chief was called to the CEO's office by the guy and he quickly outlined what he'd done and how easy it had been. No alarms went off and he was able to bypass all of the secondary systems. Mukogawa dropped the old system and quickly set up the new one for the tune of $3.75 million and LAPD walked away with some major egg on their faces - not that it was a new experience for them or anything." Joel chuckled but then quickly sobered. "In my opinion, putting L.A.P.D. in there place isn't that big of a deal, but wherever this guy goes, the local police always end up looking less than perfect. Our Chief put the whole thing in Simon's lap rather than Robberies because she thinks, "we're more than a match for some securities whiz." Poor Simon just looks at it as a way to get the attention off of her when the stuff hits the fan."
"Damn. I knew things were going too smoothly around here lately." Jim ran his fingers through his short hair in frustration. "Any idea who the guy's here to challenge?"
"Not a clue. All the snitches have run to ground on this one and no one's talking. If all the rumours are true, Symmonds usually sends an advance team and pays the talkers off."
"So, we're talking a high-money establishment. Man, I think I can feel Simon's headache from here."
As if in response to his name being uttered, their captain opened his door. "Ellison! Taggert! Would you mind joining me?"
Both men stood and headed to the open door. As they entered the room and Simon Banks closed the door, they noticed another man standing near the conference table. Being the detectives they were, they quickly had the broad-shouldered, tall, athletic, close-cropped haired gentleman pegged as another cop. Simon soon confirmed their assumptions with his introductions. "Detectives Taggert and Ellison, this is Detective Carl Lloyd with the San Francisco P.D. He came up to let us know of something that might be headed our way."
"I'd say it was definitely headed your way, Captain. They're already here and from what I can see, already casing several likely targets."
Simon sat at his desk and grabbed a cigar. "It would seem that Detective Lloyd has been following a group of suspects in relation to a series of high-tech robberies. Things from jewelry to bearer bonds to corporate secrets have been stolen and the pattern is pointing to the next big hit being here in Cascade."
"So, what are the particulars?" Joel asked.
"The leader usually comes ahead and scouts a few spots that are ripe for the picking. These places tend to be major corporate buildings with all sorts of businesses housed in them - like Wilkinson Towers. They specifically target those businesses that are sure to guarantee them a high yield. The leader seems to be able to bypass whatever type of security the building has and her team is usually in and out within a time period of four to six hours."
Jim suddenly found himself paying a lot more attention. "Did you say *her* team? Are we looking for a woman?"
Lloyd nodded and shot the detective a look as if trying to see something. "I did and all the evidence points to the leader being a woman. From the information I've gathered, she's like some computer genius mixed with an expertise in tactical that would rival any military mind." He pulled out a thick folder, opened it and placed it on the table in front of the others. Simon walked over and joined his men as they read the reports and gazed at the surveillance photos. "I've been following this kid, and I do mean kid cause she's young, for a while and she's eluded me time and time again. The other local departments have been just as stumped. I was hoping that we'd have better luck here."
While Joel and Simon asked Lloyd more questions, Jim had steadily gone quiet. He had found several pictures that showed a young woman in various spots looking around a building. That was nothing unusual. What had caught his attention though were the woman's long black curls confined in a rudimentary ponytail and her light brown skin. Around her neck, he could clearly see a silver ankh that looked incredibly similar to someone else's he knew. Before he could stop himself, he had to ask, "Do you have a name for this would-be leader?"
Lloyd smiled a smile that never reached his eyes. "I think you know exactly who I'm referring to, Detective Ellison. It's the main reason I came to this department rather than another." Now, Joel and Simon were staring at Jim. "Gentleman, my suspect is actually staying with the detective as we speak. It would seem she has some type of tie to his roommate. Isn't that right, Ellison?"
For several minutes, Jim could do nothing but look at his friends as they stared at him. When he finally did find his voice, he could only tell them one thing, "Her name's Schuyler Sandburg. She's Blair's sister."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Jim had barely been able to get out of Simon's office. He'd had to promise to fill them in later and because the captain knew his best man's mind was on making sure his guide was okay, the pseudo-gruff head of Major Crimes had let him go. He had hurriedly driven over to the university and found himself almost running down the corridors of Hargrove Hall. When he reached the door to Blair's office, Jim stopped to catch his breath. He listened for his Guide's heartbeat and waited thinking about what he could tell the younger man for being there in the middle of the day. When he was sure his breathing was under control and he had a plausible excuse, he knocked and then entered after a muffled permission was granted.
"Hey, Chief. How goes it?"
Blair looked up from his papers surprised to see his partner. "Jim! What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you at all, Man."
"Yeah, I know. I ... uh ... had to check on something in this area and decided to stop by to see if you'd forgiven me enough to grab a bite to eat. My treat."
"Hey, with you buying, of course I forgive you," Blair answered with a wink. "No, seriously, Jim. I'm sorry about the tough guy act this morning. I don't know what it is but when Schuy's around, it brings out the he-man protector in me. I just can't control it." He grinned at his friend as he grabbed his backpack. "But then, you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"
Jim returned the grin as he cuffed the back of his friend's head. "Course not, Chief. I'm basically a pretty even-keel kind of a guy." He tactfully ignored the snort coming from his Guide as they left the room and headed for the exit. "Speaking of your protecting instincts, why don't we stop off and pick up Schuyler. I bet she's probably hungry too and it'll give me a chance to apologize for my behaviour this morning."
"Can't. Snip's working. I'm sure she'll grab a bite when she finishes."
"She's found a job already. That's pretty quick work. I'm impressed."
Blair laughed as he climbed into the "classic" truck. "Don't be. She didn't *find* anything. Snip brings her job with her wherever she goes."
"Really? What kind of work is that? I mean, it sounds pretty good to be able to move anywhere and be able to just take your job with you." Jim maneuvered the truck out of the parking lot and headed east. "Hope Chinese buffet is okay. It's all I have time for."
"You're buying so whatever's fine."
"Okay." He turned left onto a busy street and tried to be as subtle as he could. "Got a couple of questions for you, Sandburg. What kind of work *does* Schuyler do and why do you call her Snip?"
Again, Blair couldn't contain his laughter as he gazed over at his best friend, but this time, there was a trace of nervousness underlying it. "Ummm … Schuy does a little this and a little that. She's got a great mind and can figure out all sorts of things with it. I've seen her plot whole chess games in her head. It's like way unbelievable."
Jim wasn't happy with the answer. For a second, Blair had seemed like he was avoiding something, but he had covered it before the Sentinel had been able to pick up more. "I'm sure it's a sight to behold." He sighed when he realized he wasn't going to get much more out of the Guide. "And, what about you calling her Snip?"
"That came from when we were kids. It's from something we heard from a real old-timer. He said every time he saw her, she was always moving and doing stuff. She never slowed down. Everything had to be done right then - snip snap. When I heard it, I thought I was going to laugh myself silly, but I decided it fit her. So, from that day on, she was Snip-Snap and later I shortened it to just Snip." He shrugged. "She doesn't seem to mind and it's all done with lots of love."
As he stopped the truck at the Chinese buffet, that phrase shook Jim more than anything else about this situation did. How would Blair react when he found out his beloved kid sister was wanted for a major robbery spree that spanned over seven cities? To quote his young friend again, "This really sucked, man" and it didn't seem like it was going to get any better any time soon.
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