Who Says Timing Isn't Everything by Sammi M.It didn't take a genius to know Schuy's new place was pretty exclusive. From the time the Volvo and truck drove into the gated *and* monitored underground garage and pulled into the designated spots for S. Sandburg and guest, Jim had no worries about where Blair's little sister would be living. He did, however, worry about how she was able to afford all of this. *Ease up, Ellison. I'm sure there's a logical explanation of how a twenty-two year old woman can afford a place like this. Of course, twenty of those reasons have her related to the Kennedys, but I'm still going to keep an open mind.*
He tried his best to not jump to conclusions. Uh uh, no conclusions. No conclusions when she stopped to talk to the guard and had Jim placed on her visitor roster to come and go as he pleased. No conclusions when they got on the elevator and headed to the top floor. Not even one conclusion when they stepped off into a hallway with only two doors. Nope, not once during all of that did Jim Ellison jump to a conclusion over how this kid could afford something like this. Unfortunately, that stopped as soon as he stepped foot *inside* the "apartment."
From the thick wall-to-wall cream carpet that you could lose someone in to the gold and black spiral staircase, it was clear a lot of money had gone into the place and the detective in him wanted to know exactly where it had come from. "This is incredible." Jim looked around the various rooms he could see from where he stood. Everything screamed money and his cop-senses were cataloguing all of it right down to the last penny. "I'm impressed. My compliments to the decorator."
"Why thank you. I wasn't sure the cream would go with the black and gold, but I think it turned out okay." The bouncing resumed. "Would you like a tour?"
With a smile that definitely didn't reach his eyes, Jim nodded. "I'd love to see everything."
"Great! Why don't we start down here and work our way up. Wait till you see ..."
"Uh, Schuy," Blair interrupted. "Before we give Jim the grand tour, you might want to make sure we cleaned up the study after those last deliveries. Wouldn't want to ruin the effect."
The girl's left eyebrow rose in a pretty fair imitation of Spock. "Look, H.B., if you want to talk to Jim alone, just say so. Your lame reasons for getting me out of the room didn't work when I was little, so they certainly don't work now." She faced the larger man. "Jim, would you like some refreshment?"
"If it's not too much trouble, a beer would be nice." On went the thousand-watt Ellison smile. "If you don't have any then a soda would be fine."
"Two beers and one cream soda coming up." Schuy headed for the kitchen laughing as she called over her shoulder. "Now that's how you get someone out of the room."
Blair waited until he was sure she was gone before he slammed on his partner. "You just don't give up, do you? As soon as you saw the place, those little bells started going off and you went into instant cop-mode. You automatically started labeling everything in terms of what she stole to afford the sofa and the big-screen TV and the completely modern kitchen. You didn't even stop to think all of this might be from legitimate means. No, she was tried and convicted as soon as you saw that staircase."
"Look, Darwin. I've had enough of your second-guessing me. This is who I am and it's what I do. I have to treat this like a normal case or else my ass is going to roll and some innocent might get hurt." Jim was at the end of his patience meter and he began to jab the anthropologist in the chest. "You're all fine and dandy about my job when your ass is on the line, but let me start looking toward your home fires and suddenly you can't get indignant enough. Well, I'm here to tell you, you can't have it both ways. Either I serve and protect all the time or I don't do it at all. There's just no two ways about it."
"Are you guys okay?"
Both men jumped apart at the quietly voiced question. Neither had noticed Schuy's return with the drinks, but they couldn't miss the stricken look on the young woman's face. "It's nothing, Snip. We're just both tired and we needed to clear the air about a few things. We're fine."
Schuyler didn't look convinced, so Jim decided to take control. He casually walked over to her and smiled. "Don't worry about this. We're always sniping at each other for one thing or another. It's all just a part of being partners." She nodded and handed him a beer. "Thanks. So, when does this grand tour begin? I'm just dying to check the place out."
Some of her humour returned as she winked at him. "Well, we can't go having one of Cascade's finest up and dying on us. It just wouldn't be right." She laughed at the funny face he made and motioned for him to follow her. "Right this way, Detective."
The tour of the first floor took longer than expected because Schuyler seemed to have a story for each room or for each tiny memento. *Definitely like brother, like sister.* By the time they made it to the last room on the second floor, Jim felt like the walking wounded. With one Sandburg in front of him talking and bouncing and the other Sandburg glaring a hole in his back, it was no wonder the Sentinel was so excited with the prospect of this ending.
"This last room was the hardest to do because I had something particular in mind ... or should I say someone." As the girl swung the double doors open, Jim picked up on the quickening of both Sandburgs' hearts. "I decided it would be nice if Blair had a place where he could get away from it all - some place where he could unwind. So, I checked out several of the stores where he likes to hang out and hit up a few of his friends for a couple of things and voila! Chateau Blair is ready for business."
Jim couldn't believe his eyes as he took in what amounted to Blair's dream room. The shelves were filled with thick tomes of learning and fetishes of faraway tribes. Warrior figurines danced their way inside display cases in each of the corners. A huge bed stood out from the opposite wall and it looked to be covered with some type of tribal blanket. Humongous speakers were attached to a stereo that almost rivaled the size of the TV beside it and one wall was alive with vibrant sea-life as several fish swam lazily in a large tank.
Blair seemed to be in as much shock as his partner, but he recovered quicker and ran over to hug and kiss his sibling in thanks. "This is too much, Snip. I don't know what to say."
"Say you like it and you'll stay tonight to christen it."
Before Jim could protest on the grounds he and his Guide needed to talk, Blair was rocking back on his heels in pure excitement. "I love it and of course I'll stay. I couldn't think of any place else I'd rather be tonight."
In that instant, it felt like the older man's soul crumbled and burned.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Another morning rolled around bright and clear, but Ellison never noticed it. After Blair had decided to stay with Schuy, the older man had begged off his own offer to stay with the excuse of wanting to sleep in his own bed. The younger Sandburg had understood and shown him to the door. As she opened it, she had surprised the tired man with a soft kiss on the cheek and a friendly smile and had promised she'd take really good care of her brother.
Jim had wanted to scream out at her *that* was his job, but all he could manage was a simple thanks and a weary good night.
Of course, by the time he made it home, all tiredness had vanished and he was suddenly aware of an intense energy flowing through him. His bed offered him no comfort as he tossed and turned to thoughts he'd finally found the one thing guaranteed to send his Guide away.
At three in the morning, he'd finally given up all pretense of sleep, dressed and headed to the station to work on his report of what had happened. By the time Simon showed up at seven, three copies of a five page report were waiting for him and he did the only thing a boss could do - dragged his detective into his office and demanded to know what exactly was going on.
"I've lost him, Sir. One minute he was right by my side like he always was and the next, he was gone."
Simon sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. *This is too much to deal with this early in the morning.* "Jim, is there anyway you're just exaggerating the situation? Could it just blow over?"
"I don't think so. This has grown too much. He wants me to get past my training and see his sweet, innocent sister without any proof to back him up and I want him to get past his emotions to see the cold, calculating thief with a whole lot of proof to back me up. It's a no-win situation, no matter how you look at it."
"I'm sorry, Old Friend. I wish there was more I could do for you. I hate seeing you and Sandburg on the outs. It tears me apart because I don't see you as two distinct people; I see you as two parts of a whole that functions, but doesn't quite work when you're not together." The Captain growled and grabbed for a cigar. "Oh great, it's too early in the morning for me to start getting maudlin."
Jim smiled just a bit, "But, I appreciate your saying it. I've been trying to describe this feeling and I haven't come anywhere close to it. Leave it to the closet poet to hit the nail on the head."
"Hey! You promised you'd never mention *anything* about that around here."
"Why? It's a great honour to have your poems published. I don't know what the big deal is."
"The big deal is if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll put you on a detail that will make Vice look like a Sunday school picnic."
The Detective couldn't help but laugh at the look and the threat from his Captain. Soon, the other man couldn't help but join him and that's how the rest of the members of the team found them.
Joel hurried up to the desk puzzled to see tears streaking down both men's faces. "What's up? Did someone die?"
Simon was the first to recover, "No, but someone might if he doesn't keep his mouth shut."
Jim couldn't help himself. "Promises. Promises."
Lloyd hated not being in on the fun so he did what he did best - he broke the happy mood. "We've got trouble. Three of the members of Sandburg's group just showed up. One of them is an ex-shoplifter who hooked up with the gang and suddenly found the funds to attend Harvard and Harvard med. She's now the group's doctor. The other two are total bad news. They're both ex-military, Covert Ops to be exact, and they're known to be really tough when pushed."
"Damn!" Simon shouted as he pounded his fist into his desk. "That's just we needed. With them starting to gather, it means they've picked a spot and making plans." The big man stood and towered over the rest of his team. " Okay, this means we're going to have to step up our investigation. Joel, any luck on that warrant for her bank records?"
"Judge Hoye is being extremely reluctant about that. He feels it's an abuse of power."
"I don't care what he feels! Tell him we need that warrant and we need it as of yesterday. Miss Sandburg invited Jim over to her new apartment last night and he got a glimpse of a lifestyle most women in their early twenties don't enjoy unless they were born to wealth or married into it. As far as we can tell, Naomi and Blair Sandburg are not rolling in untold wealth so that blows the first one and she's not married so that blows the second." He gracefully maneuvered around the desk and headed for the conference table. "Jim wrote a detailed report on what he saw and the security measures at her place. This report is not to leave this office because I don't want to violate the rights of any of the other tenants with any security leaks. We're going to continue like we have been with the surveillance. Because we're getting close to the wire, I want Rafe and Brown brought in to assist and I want her watched from the time she leaves home to the time she returns - including photos and background checks on every person she talks to. Is there anything else?"
Lloyd raised his eyes from the report in front of him and added, "Her jag is supposed to be fixed and delivered today, so be watching out for a shiny black Jaguar with license plate, S.K.S.S. 1. Trust me, you can't miss it."
"Okay, you've got your assignments; head on out." The men all headed for the door, but Simon called out, "Jim, a minute please."
He gently closed the door and waited for his boss. "Things are going to start moving quickly. It might be best if you warn our Sandburg to lay low. We wouldn't want him to get caught in the cross-fire."
Wearily, the Sentinel agreed, "Yeah, I know. But, with the way things are going, I just don't think he'd listen to me. I can try, but there aren't any guarantees."
"No, our lives couldn't be that simple. Do what you can and let me know if we need to send out the alert for the rest of the guys to keep an eye out for him." The gruff Captain's heart went out to his friend as he saw the lost air around him. "Why don't you go home and try to get some rest? Come back in a few hours and we'll bring you up to speed. Oh, and that wasn't a request; consider it a gentle order."
Jim nodded and turned to leave. "I'll be out of here as soon as I make a phone call." He headed for his desk and, as he sat, reached for the phone. After checking the time, he dialed a number as familiar to him as his social security number or his badge number. The phone rang a couple of times before a strong voice answered. "Hey, Sandburg. How'd you sleep?"
"What do you want, Jim?"
A knot of something tied itself up inside of the older man at the dry tone of his Guide. "I was just checking up on you. I was worried."
"Why? What's there to be worried about? You saw me last night and I was fine. What could have changed overnight, ... unless ..." The younger man paused to take a deep breath. "Something's getting ready to go down, isn't it? And you don't want me to be anywhere around it when it does."
Frustrated, Jim tried to reason. "Look, Sandburg, now's not the time to be strengthening the familial ties. Some more players are involved and you don't need to be in the middle of this. It's probably going to be hard as it is to convince some people that you're one of the good guys, you don't need to push it."
"Schuy's one of the good guys too, but you refuse to see it. So, I guess that leaves us at an impasse." Another sigh muffled in with what sounded like a sob. "Don't wait up for me; I'll be staying at Schuy's again tonight. Somebody has to be there to protect *her*. Goodbye, Jim. Thanks for the warning." He hung up.
For several minutes, all Ellison could do was hold the phone and listen to the dial tone.
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