A prayer for the ones who dance with death.
by Killash
 ... Continued.

 
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
 

 

"Jim!"

Henri and Rafe shouted at the same time while they tried to hold the cable. The weight was too much. It slipped through their hands, burning the skin, drawing blood. Nothing could stop it. 

The end of the cable fell.

Simon stared at both of his men in shock, still holding Blair Sandburg. He couldn't speak.

What the hell had just happened?

He'd lost his best detective and his friend, that's what.

"No." Came a low whisper beside him. "It can't be."

*Oh, no! Sandburg!* Simon thought, still in disbelief. Ellison was dead, the kid would surely die on him too. *My God, what happened?* he continued asking.

"Jim!" Came the whisper again. Simon felt Blair breaking loose of his grip, struggling to approach the edge. He tried to stop the kid but found himself numb everywhere. What THE HELL had just happened?

"Damn it!" Henri's voice cut the dead silence.

Simon closed his eyes. *Jim!* he thought. *Oh, no! Jim!*

Blair almost reached the railing but Rafe caught him from behind. "No, Blair. It's too late. It's over!" He said, sadly.

"No!" Said the young man, something eerie in his eyes. "He's flying."

*He's flipped!* Thought Brown, helping Rafe to hold down the kid.

"Let me go!" he cried out, desperately. "Simon, help!"

Simon was still in shock, he wouldn't answer.

"Calm down, hairboy. It's all right!" Henri urged.

*They think I'm crazy, of course.* Thought Blair. *They could be right. But Jim has to be flying now, hasn't he? He keeps on flying! It's not over, I have to help him save the kid!* "The girl!" He said, suddenly. "We have to help her!"

"The rescue team will be here any minute." Henri looked at his young friend with concern, a tear showed in his eye. "She'll be fine."

"No!" Blair tried again. "She's going to jump!"

"Of course not!"

"Jim heard her. We have to help her or she'll die!"

"Heard her? From up here?" Henri turned to his partner. "He's delusional."

"Henri!" Blair yelled.

Rafe stood there in silence. The sharp, burning pain in his hands made him hiss, he loosened his grip and Blair took the opportunity. He ran to the edge of the railing and Simon went after him.

They both reached the edge... and they both exclaimed the same thing.

"Oh, My God!"

Henri and Rafe stared at each other.

A helicopter approaching the site could be seen behind them all. Nobody noticed it.

"Oh! My God!" Simon repeated in shock.

Blair smiled.

Grabbing the edge of the pipe where the girl was trapped, dangling precariously above the water, was Jim. Alive... barely.

The young man tried to find something to help his sentinel while Simon kept on gasping.

"He's alive." Rafe exclaimed. Henri ran to the edge as the helicopter arrived right above them.
 
 

"The wind is too strong!" Said the rescue team captain. "We can't approach them on the chopper, we have long ropes though, we can haul them up."

Simon had recovered from the shock and had composed himself enough to organize the operation. Rafe and Henri were hurt, both of them were unable to use their hands, there was only Sandburg and Banks and two other paramedics, one of them piloted the aircraft.

"What's your name?" Simon asked the captain.

"Dickens. Charles Dickens."

Banks gave him a surprised look.

"It's a long story, sir." Dickens said. "Do you think your man can grab the rope without falling?"

"I'm sure." Simon replied. "He can do it, but I know my detective. He'll want to send the kid up first."

"It's impossible. He won't be able to hold on that long."

"You don't know this guy. Do you have more than one rope?" Simon asked.

"The ropes are ready, sir." Interrupted the other paramedic. "We can either go down there ourselves, which would take more time, or let Detective Ellison come up himself. Either way, we must hurry, the wind is picking up even more."

"He'll grab the rope." A voice said behind them. Blair seemed completely sure about it.

"How will he know....?"

"He was a solider." Said Banks, almost as sure.

"A ranger." corrected Blair, "There's a difference!"
 

They started lowering the ropes while Blair shouted out, above the wind and water, to Jim to take one of them.

"He can't hear you with all the noise!" Dickens pointed out.

"He's got good ears." Simon replied.

The rope reached the pipe. Cindy was talking to Jim.

"Don't fall, okay? I almost can't swim and I can't get you out of the water because you are too big." She said nervously, her eyes almost the exact same blue as Blair's.

Jim closed his own eyes, concentrating on keeping his grip tight. He had almost fallen, almost, but not quite. How did it happen? He was sure he'd secured the telephone cable. What in the world had gone wrong?

"Sir?" Cindy called again. *Sweet girl,* thought Jim. *If only she wasn't so obliviously suicidal.*

"Hey, are you all right?" she continued, her small hand on his, as if she could hold him. The soft pressure warmed the sentinel's heart. He smiled from down there.

"I'm okay!" He answered. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to climb up there." He looked down and immediately closed his eyes again. "Or maybe not." There was no place to hold on to. Without the cable to help him, Jim was as trapped as the kid herself.

A noise caught his attention. A helicopter. "Yes!" He said out loud. If only he could hold on long enough for them to come down here, she wouldn't jump. It would be all right. He concentrated, his fingers were slipping, he concentrated a little harder. The slipping stopped. He breathed evenly. *I am... relaxed!*

Cindy scratched her head. How could she help? The man was too big to lift, or to even fit inside the pipe with her. It was obvious he couldn't swim or he would have jumped already. What to do? She tightened her grip on the man's huge hands. Maybe he could climb all the way up again. She stuck out her head to look up, that's when she saw everyone.

"Hey!" there's a helicopter flying up there! Is it yours?"

"No." answered Jim. *I brought the hayseed truck.* he smiled. "They are my friends. Just, hold on, they'll get us out of here!"

"Okay." Cindy said, still unsure. How would they get on the helicopter from here. She couldn't jump very far, she was small for her age, or so they said in school.

Jim was losing his grip again and Cindy felt it. She put some more pressure. It was barely strong enough to feel it, but it was all Jim needed. He couldn't fall, she was trying to hold him, he couldn't let her down.

He tried to concentrate on something else. He opened his ears and drowned out the sound of the waterfall. He was looking for something... a specific something: his guide's heartbeat.

Blair's voice came to his ears like music. He was talking to him. Of course! he knew Jim was listening. "Jim, hold on, please. We're on our way."

Poor Blair! He sounded so scared. The wind picked up again and Jim felt it all around his body. His legs were dangling, he suddenly felt dizzy. *Oh, boy.* the sentinel thought. *Now's the time to grow some wings, Chief!* He felt Cindy's pressure on his hands and realized he was slipping again. He held tighter. *Just, hurry up, will you guys?*

The girl yelled something.

"It's a string." She said.

*A string?* Jim tried to look up. "A rope, you mean. Yes!" That's all he needed. If only he could shift his weight on his hands not to fall while he grabbed it.

"Relax!" He heard his own mind telling him. "Focus on one thing at a time. Concentrate, now see the rope next to you, shift your weight, Jim. Grab it." Since when did he talk to himself in Sandburg's voice? Never, he thought. It was not him, it was actually Blair, talking to him from up there. Guiding him. It was a blessing to have a friend like that, one who could talk to you from far away places and keep you centered. Jim felt the rope right beside him, took another deep breath and reached out with one hand.

He missed, the other hand slipped and he fell.

Cindy screamed.

"Jim!" Blair shouted.

He was falling against the wall, scratching himself but the rope was long and still there. In a microsecond he felt it in his hand and grabbed it, the falling stopped.

The sentinel breathed.

Blair breathed.

The audience breathed.

Slowly, Jim recovered and grabbed the rope with his other hand. The air was so cold now, it chilled him to the bone. He started climbing, he had to save the kid. After a short while he reached the pipe, he caught the edge again and kept on climbing until he found anchor for his feet.

Cindy looked at him, frightened. She'd retreated inside the opening.

"Hey!" Jim said. "I'm back."

The girl stared, unamused, holding her arms around herself.

"Hey!" Jim called again, this time he smiled.

"Why are you laughing? I thought you were gone!" She was angry. Jim lowered his head. She was small but still a woman none the less. "I'm sorry," he tried again. "I slipped, but I'm back now. Let's get out of here, okay?"

"Okay." She said after a while. "But don't do that again!"

"I promise I won't." He reached out his hand to the little girl. Right then, another rope touched his shoulder. he looked up. There was a harness attached to it. Great. He secured Cindy to it. And looked up. Dickens waved, he waved back. They started to bring Cindy up.

"No!" She shouted. "Don't stay here! You can fall or something!"

"Don't worry, kid. I'm right behind you." Jim smiled. "I promised, remember?"

Ellison kept a reassuring smile on his face until Cindy was all the way to the top. Then he felt them starting to pull him up, his legs were dangling again. He tried not to think about it. He closed his eyes... and felt like he was flying.

FLYING

The feeling caught him by surprise and he almost zoned out on it. He was levitating hundreds of feet above the ground... flying. Naomi's words resounded inside his mind like a soft breeze. *Oh, God!* He thought. *It's not possible... or is it?*

He couldn't answer himself. They had pulled him all the way up and he felt three or four pairs of hands all over him. He opened his eyes to find soft blue orbs staring at him. For a second, he didn't know if it was Blair or the little girl. Then the owner of those eyes kissed him warmly and hugged him.

*It better be the kid!* He thought.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you didn't fall."

"I promised." Jim looked around for his guide, he was right beside him. Jim held up his hand to Blair. "I promised!"

Blair took it with relief, lowered his head and gave a silent thank you to every known and obscure God he knew about.
 
 
 

May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
 

 
 

Cindy McCall was 7 years old, her hair was light brown and she was small for her age. She had been missing for two months now. Her parents were called immediately after she was identified, so when Jim, Blair, Henri and Rafe finally came back to the station from being checked at the hospital, Cindy's parents had become the happiest people on Earth. Now it was time to formally ask the kid where she'd been all this time, though she'd already talked to Blair. Jim smiled as he saw her sitting on her father's lap through the office glass. She didn't seem so afraid, in fact, she hadn't looked so afraid up there either. What kind of a child was this?

Blair had been chatting with her all the way to the hospital, mainly talking about Jim. Cindy had grown fond of her savior and she wanted to know everything about him. Blair was happy to oblige, he needed a distraction, he wanted to clear his mind of the immense fear he'd felt. It had been a terrible feeling and the eerie sensations clinged to his heart still. Jim had almost fallen. Blair shivered.

The young man had devoted his whole attention to the 7 year old's story, and he was well repaid, for the girl had said some very interesting things. She said she'd been the only one to fit in the hole, the smallest one, the youngest one. She talked about other children kept prisoner with her. She also talked about things she'd heard, conversations her captors had. She said they only fed the children and kept them locked up in a big room. There was a bathroom and some blankets on the floor, and the food came only once a day. One thing marveled Blair above everything else. She wasn't scared. Instead, Cindy was eager to go back and get her friends out of there.

Truly a remarkable kid.

She'd fallen asleep beside him while waiting for her ride to the station. Blair watched her in silence.

*She's a little angel.* Blair thought.

An angel.

Another unexplained shiver went down his back.
   
Now, hours later, inside Simon's office, Jim patted his friend on the back. "Are you okay, Chief?"

"Yeah, I think." Blair replied, tiredly. "I'm just... cold."

"Here" Jim offered a mug of hot coffee."This will warm you up."

"Thanks." Blair took the mug. Jim went back to look at Cindy.

"She's something, isn't she?"

"Yeah." The young man drank his coffee. It was actually pretty good.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Jim asked.

"What do you mean?" Sandburg couldn't conceive the possibility that she wasn't. "It's impossible for her to lie like that. I can feel it. She's not making anything up!"

Jim took a deep breath. He was sure also but the girl hadn't told anything to anyone else. "She's only talked to you, you know?"

"I'm the one who was there. You were busy." Blair replied.

"No. I tried to talk to her in a few moments ago. She said you'd tell me."

"I did."

"You have a quality... with children. Did you know that?" Jim said, softly.

"I find them interesting."  The young man continued drinking his coffee, smiling at the memory of Cindy, chattering. "Or maybe they relate to me because I'm still one of them."

Silence. Blair turned to his partner. He was laughing...

"What's so funny?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Jim still laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

The remaining tension in his body was lifted and he felt good again. Alive.

Blair shivered. It was very cold.
 

Ten minutes later, any suspicion of the kid not telling the truth evaporated. Looking at the papers on Ellison's desk Cindy had identified one of the boys that were prisoners with her. She'd recognized the photograph of one young John Craig Marcus, Jr.

"So, what are you suggesting, Jim?" Simon's voice was strong and clear, as usual. He was thrilled to have his squad complete. He felt renewed, like he'd been given a second chance. He glanced at Jim. He seemed all right, Thank God! Blair on the other hand... Simon knew the experience had been scary for the kid, but it had been hours ago and he didn't seem to be getting any better.

The captain decided to have a serious conversation with Sandburg after everything was over. Maybe take him to a ball game.

In the meantime, Jim was studying the case file and tried to come up with a good plan. After extensive studying of maps and the girl's story, Jim wanted to check out the probable place where Cindy and the kids had been kept. "We haven't much time left, Sir. They must have noticed her missing by now." he said clenching his jaw.

Simon nodded in agreement.

"We have to go look for these children, Sir. They have to be around the park somewhere!"

"The girl said she got into that pipe and never knew where she was going. In fact, she doesn't even know how long she had been in there. There are lots of places around the park..."

"But how many of them have ventilation systems connecting to the entrance of river pipes. Cindy said she got out of a big white building and crawled into the pipe a few feet away. She never saw where she was!" Jim was studying the map again.

"But where to begin?" Simon offered Blair a cup of coffee. He looked cold.

"Thanks." The kid took the mug.

The door opened to reveal Henri Brown's grinning face. He'd refused to go home and rest like the doctors had told him. His hands were bandaged but he looked happy and ready to finish this case. He brought a lab technician from the FBI and a yellow file with him.

"I have something," he said. "It's big. This is Will Smith from the FBI," he added, pointing to the technician.

Everyone stared.

"Don't ask," Smith said.

"Forensics has been checking Cindy's clothes," Henri continued, "And guess what? There are traces of pretty strange chemicals on them. We ran a computer check and out popped agent Smith here, right out of nowhere!"

"We have been looking for strange chemicals everywhere!" declared the FBI agent with a wide grin.

"What do you mean, strange chemicals?"  Simon asked, lighting his cigar.

"We've identified them as components of a state-of-the-art bio-hazardous substance." Smith explained. "The kind you and WE have been looking for. We, meaning the FBI."

Jim frowned. "Of course!"

"A chemical weapon!" Simon exclaimed..

"The poison." Blair sighed, drinking his coffee.
 
"Exactly." Smith pointed out. "Hypothetically, if you combine what you found on her sweater with pure sulfur and provide it with a strong, stable, gaseous vehicle, it becomes GHX4."

"Hypothetically?" Smiled Jim.

Smith smiled back. "You know WE wouldn't have that kind of knowledge, since we've never used anything like that before."

"Of course."  So, the sentinel wasn't the only one who could be cynical around there.

Blair took another sip of hot coffee. Damn the cold! He tried to get them all back to the point. "So, what does this thing do?"

Agent Smith sat down. "GHX4. It attacks the nervous system, makes the body release an enormous amount of adrenaline and causes the muscles around the heart to constrict. It's like crushing the heart with fear. It kills slowly and painfully. It has been used by terrorists in the middle east on bad situations you don't want to know about."

Blair shivered again, this time he knew it was not the cold weather.

"All this from a girl's sweater?" The captain wasn't convinced.

"We are very good."

"We, meaning the FBI?" Jim grinned.

"We, meaning the lab technicians AT the FBI:" Smith grinned back.

"And?" Henri said.

"Well, we know the substance exists."

"And?" Brown asked again.

"And it's in Cascade now." Agent Smith grinned again.

Simon couldn't believe it. Why did all of this have to happen in his city?  "Smith, do you have ANY good news?"

"Yeah," He opened a file he'd brought with him and showed them some formulas. "We might have found an antidote."

Jim raised an eyebrow. "Might?"

Smith looked apprehensive. "We're working on it. So far, it's only effective against small doses of GHX4."

"Wonderful!" Jim sat back. "How small a dose?"

"What it would take for hair spray to hold your hair in place, detective."

"Oh, wow!" Jim sat back. "Great!"

"Hey, it's better that nothing!"

Jim didn't like the odds but there was nothing he could do about it right now. He stood up, ready for action. "Okay, so now what?"

"We go in there and get the children out." Blair said decisively. There was something eerie in his voice again. Something vague. Jim felt the Blessed Protector mode kick in.

"What children?"  Smith interrupted his line of thought.

"These people have been financing their ... operation, by kidnapping children!" Simon frowned one more time, the sole idea revolted him. "The kid we rescued today said she'd heard them talking about shipping them off to Asia. They are going to sell them!"

Agent Smith lost the grin. "Oh, that's horrible."  You wouldn't guess the guy was from the FBI. He really looked surprised.

"We have to save them, now!" Blair's urging voice came back again.

"I'm with you, I have pull on the top floor. My uncle is a SAIC" Smith said proudly.

"SAIC?" Brown asked.

"Special Agent In Charge."

"Oh... cool!" Brown smiled.

Jim focused all his senses on the mission ahead. Simon was ready to back him up one hundred percent. Brown stood beside Sandburg, ready for action. Blair fought another cold chill and tried to think clearly.

The SAIC's nephew grabbed the phone.  "What do you need?" 

"Chief!" Jim called his partner for the third time. Sandburg was sitting by Simon's desk, lost in thought, staring at his coffee mug.

They were alone in the office, the rest of the team out doing different things, preparing the operation. Simon had gone upstairs to the chief's office and Brown to talk to Cindy's father on the phone, maybe convince him to let the police talk to the little girl again. There was so much missing, so many unanswered questions, so little time.

Jim clenched his jaw as usual, crossed his arms, closed the files he'd been studying and walked over to his friend. He put a hand on the kid's shoulder, worry pouring from his sentinel eyes. "What is it, Blair?"

The young man was brought back to reality and to the cold afternoon. He was reluctant to even consider metaphysical stuff, especially now, when it seemed so stupid after the harsh reality facing them. But he couldn't. He couldn't get it out of his mind. Not when the whole day had been full of coincidences, not when the chills wouldn't leave him, not when Jim was still flying.

Because he felt a great distance between him and his friend now. They hadn't talked about what happened and Sandburg sensed they never would. He was scared... and confused. He didn't know what to believe... perhaps he had gotten carried away, haunted by his mother's words... he'd seen what he wanted to see... maybe he was just freaked out.

But then again, maybe not.

"Chief!" Jim's soft voice woke him up. The sentinel sounded nervous now.

"Sorry!" Blair turned to his friend, taking a deep breath. "I ..."

What? What could he say? His world had trembled around him and he was confused in the aftershock. He wouldn't be able to sleep well again if that prophesy turned out to be true. He hated the idea of a big force controlling his destiny, it made him mad and frustrated. It angered him.

That was it.

He was angry. He was furious.

Only he didn't know at what?

"My... mom called a while ago." He said, without thinking.

Jim knew exactly where this was going. Good! He wanted to talk about it too, only he hadn't known how to begin.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah." The kid sounded distant, sad.

"Did she go nuts when you told her about this morning?"

"I didn't tell her" He lowered his eyes.

"Why?" Jim sat on the edge of the desk.

"I don't even know what happened this morning." Blair snapped.

"I have a pretty clear idea about it!" Ellison shot back.

"What do you want, Jim?" The young man felt his feelings surfacing and threatening to make him come unglued.

"I want you to talk to me!" Jim yelled. He had to make his friend talk, otherwise it would ba bad for his health.

"What do you want me to say, Jim?" The kid stood up and started pacing around the room. "That I was scared to death? That for a long minute, I thought you were dead? That I felt helpless because I couldn't help you? That I felt horrible for not going down there with you, all because of the stupid fears? That my head told me I should have listened to Naomi and stayed home? That I hate myself for thinking that?" His eyes were dark blue with fury, his fists clenched hard.

Jim watched him for a second, calmly. In his mind he knew what he had to answer to his troubled friend but he wasn't sure it would have the right effect.

"Yes." He said, hoping.

Blair stood there, enraged. Jim was hundreds of miles away from him now. How could he understand? How could he make him understand?

"I saw you... fly."

Jim shook his head. He'd felt it, he knew. He believed. But he refused to accept it. If he did, it would mean his world was coming to an end. If he acknowledged the truth it meant losing his best friend. Jim Ellison couldn't do that. Neither could the sentinel.

"I didn't fly...  I fell."

"You know what I mean, Jim."

"I do. I know. But now you have to listen to what I'm saying. Blair I fell. FELL." Ellison stood and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Look at me, Chief."

The troubled kid looked up at his friend. He was scared.

"I fell, Sandburg. Then I stopped falling. I climbed a bit and you guys pulled me back up. I never flew. Never."

It was a big lie.

But it was what Blair needed to hear. Slowly, Jim smiled.

Blair smiled back. Of course. Everything was SO stupid. Gradually, he felt the rage fading, and then it was gone. The sentinel had found his way back to his guide. Strangely, the kid noticed he was not feeling afraid anymore, he shook off his remaining doubts and watched everything come back into focus.

Now Jim  was guiding the guide. It was a blessing to have a friend like that, one who could talk to you from far away places and keep you centered. Blair felt the confusion dissolve and vanish, took another deep breath and reached out with one hand.

"Thanks, Jim"

Jim shook it, relieved. "Anytime, Nostradamus."

Blair chuckled.

"Let's get to work." They returned to the table and wrapped up the plan. Everything was ready, they finally went on their way and closed the door behind them..

Just then a window opened and the cold wind chilled the entire room.
 

May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift ,
 

"Rafe!"  Blair called excitedly to his approaching friend. He had arrived at Glendale Park in one of the strike team vehicles and found a bunch of investigators and an anthropologist getting organized next to a slightly concealed dirt road. His hands were bandaged, just like Henri's but, besides that, he looked okay. "Great to see you!" Blair continued.

"I thought you went home to rest!" Henri lectured his partner.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" He smiled looking extremely handsome. "I may not shoot very well right now but I can still hold a radio!"
 
Jim's smile faded as he saw his two wounded friends together. Something weird enter his heart, like regret. Blair had told him how it had happened and he hadn't known what to say.

"Rafe... Henri..." He stared at the pair. "What you did... I..." He stopped, unsure, gesturing with his hands.

"Forget it, Ellison..." Henri interrupted at the sorry sight of a struggling cop, dealing with emotions. It would be cruel to let him continue, he understood, he was a guy too.

"No, let me finish!" Jim tried again. He had to say something.

"I'm really grateful. I am. It's ... a wonderful thing to have friends like you two. I mean it."

"Wow!" said Henri, impressed.

"I'm just glad you're not fish food, Ellison." Rafe smiled and looked away. He, also, was a guy.

Blair chuckled in silence.

Simon and Smith approached them and totally killed the moment.
 

"It's GHX4, we're sure of it." Will Smith's statement shook the whole team. They all had known about the FBI's suspicion, but nothing had been conclusive, until now.

"What makes you say that, Smith?" Asked Jim, putting his kevlar bulletproof vest on.
 

"We have been scanning the area. We found an abandoned truck camouflaged on one side of that dirt road over there." He gave Jim a pair of binoculars and pointed. Jim made a fair pretense of using them. Will continued, "It fits the description of a truck stolen last month that carried many of the strange chemicals I was telling you about."
 
"And that makes you so sure?" It was Henri's turn to ask.

The driver was attacked with GHX4.

"Attacked, you mean killed." Blair exclaimed.

Jim clenched his jaw.

"Why didn't anyone tell us about that?" Anger filled Simon's words.

"I... couldn't say, captain. It must have been classified right after the incident."

"Feds!" Simon muttered. "How can we do our jobs if we don't know what's out there waiting for us?"

"Simon, forget about it now, okay?" Jim held his captain back. It was not the time. "What are we going to do about it, Smith?"

"Well, we are going to stay one step ahead of these bastards. We'll protect the strike team with this." He held a group of small glass bottles in his hand.

"What is that?" Rafe asked.

"The antidote. One for each of us. We'll take it and then go in. If they attack us with it, we'll have the edge." Will smiled proudly.

"Good plan, Smith, but there's one thing you haven't thought of." Jim started.

"Yeah, what if they see us coming and spray the kids with it?" Blair finished.

"I did think of that, gentlemen, and I came up with only one answer. We have to get them out before we get in."

"How?"

"With this." He took out a blueprint of the area. An FBI blueprint. The kind that includes back doors and underground tunnels not open to the general public. "I found this in some office."

"Some office? Smith," Simon commented, "Either you have more pull on the top floor that you let us think, or you are somebody's boyfriend."

"He he he" Will flushed. Enough said.

"Following the pipes down this way, there's the perfect place, *If* we can find it.  An underground storage area, somewhere around here. It used to belong to the park. But the park belongs to the government so it kind of, got lost in the paperwork." Smith continued.

"Right."

"Very impressive!"

"We also have the plans for a security system. It may be what we're looking for. If we can get there in time..."

They continued discussing and making plans until Simon got what he wanted: Jim, guided by Blair, alone with his super senses, finding the missing children. It was the best way to do this and if the other men had known about the sentinel thing, they would have agreed.

Wouldn't they?
 

"Jim," called Rafe, just as they started to split. "There's a phone call for you."

"Who is it?"

"You won't believe it!"

"Hello?" Jim opened his eyes in disbelief, " Cindy?"

Blair felt a huge, unexplainable wave of warmth invading his being.

"Hi Jim. Are you going to save my friends now?"

Jim smiled, *How did she find me?* "Yes, kid. We are." he answered.

"I wanted to go over there and help you but my dad wouldn't let me!" She complained. Jim smiled again.

"Thank you, Cindy, but I think we'll be able to handle it. Don't worry. We'll bring them all home safely."

"Well, don't go near the river, okay? I don't want you to fall, and look out for Jeremy, he's always crying about everything... and be careful... and... and take care of Blair."

"I will."

"I like him."

"I know, I'll bring him back safely too, okay?"

"You promise?"

"I promise!"

Jim closed the cell phone and shook his head. This was an incredible kid! No wonder she'd survived so much. He looked at his partner and silently vowed to keep the promise he'd just made. Then he gave the phone back to Rafe. "Lets' go, Chief!"
 

"Jim!" Blair called again to his zoned out friend. "Come back to earth, man!"

 Jim blinked and looked around. "What happened?"

"You were way out there!" Blair felt another chill as the wind picked up again. "We're running out of time, Jim."

"I know." Jim was getting irritated.

"Focus." his partner instructed, "You can do it, just like you found Cindy this morning."

"Right." He took a deep breath and started scanning gradually. He perceived almost the same things as before: plants, animals, water. Following the voice of his guide, he maneuvered his senses until he found what he was looking for.

Children.

Talking softly. Scared children, worried, alone.

For the first time that day, the sentinel felt real joy in his smile. "I found them!"
 

It was an underground building, there were two entrances but they had no idea what they would find inside. The only sign of life outside were five guards, armed to their teeth, obviously watching something big.

The strike team got placed. Smith had provided everyone with a shot of the miraculous antidote and the only ones left to take it were Simon, Jim and Blair.

"You are absolutely wrong, Chief. You are staying out here, where you belong!" Jim was deep into the same old argument again with Blair. He was right, of course, it was really dangerous this time, but Sandburg felt Jim would need him to find the kids inside. He too, was right, but Blair was still just an observer and yadda, yadda, yadda.

Blair, knowing the script to these arguments by heart, was about to say the final word. The one that he was sure would convince his partner to take him along, the powerful statement, when he suddenly felt the worst chill of them all. His body shivered as if his clothes had been transformed into ice cubes. Something was not right, he just didn't know what. He was speechless.

Jim couldn't believe he'd won his first victory in the same'ol "Stay in the Car" war. He was astonished. Then Simon came in and broke the silence.

"I think this time Sandburg's right, Jim."

"What?" Exclaimed Jim and Blair in unison.

"You need him to do whatever it is he does with your senses," the captain continued, frowning, "Or you could freeze up in there and we wouldn't be able to help you."

"But, Sir!" Jim protested.

 Banks wasn't very happy with his own decision, but he knew Jim needed Sandburg in there. He knew it. "You yourself just told me a few moments ago you ... zoned-out out there in the woods."

"More than once!" Blair added.

"More than once, you see?"

Jim wouldn't budge, "I don't think I will this time..."

"That's the thing... are you willing to risk it? With that chemical weapon against you? Jim, you zone out in there, you could be killed in five minutes!" Simon was quietly yelling.

"That's why we have the antidote, captain!"

"But they can always shoot him when he's zoned, captain!" Blair kept helping.

"Exactly!" Simon finished.

"No! It's too dangerous!" They couldn't understand. That was not all. Jim shot a pleading look at his captain, "Sir, you have to listen to me."
 
Blair cut in "Order him, Simon. Order him to take me along!" .

Simon looked at Jim with the "superior officer" look but didn't say anything. Ellison had never looked at him like that. Now, he was starting to have some doubts.

Jim stopped yelling and looked at his partner. He was lost. There was nothing else he could do but come clean with Blair. Time to stop lying, it was too important. He believed. It was hard to admit it but he believed.

"Chief," he started. "This morning..."

"Don't change the subject, man!"

"I'm not. This morning..." he took a deep breath, "I lied. I flew, Blair. I did fly. I lied to you, Chief, I'm sorry, but you have to know what I think... what we are up against. I flew... I felt it. I think he was right."

"Who?" Simon asked, confused.

"Jim!" Blair was surprised at his friend's words but deep down he had known the truth. He was a shaman, he knew these things.

"No, let me finish. Chief, Cindy is an angel, Blair, I flew TO her. " Jim was talking with passion, he was scared. "I flew TO an angel, just like he said... And that's not all. I've been watching you all day, Blair... and you haven't stopped shivering!" He lowered his gaze. "Tell me if I'm wrong, Chief, and I promise I'll shut up."

Simon was totally lost here.

"You are right. But I'm still going with you."

Jim snapped. Hadn't Blair heard anything? "You have a death wish, Sandburg?"
 
"No, Jim, I don't want to die! Nobody does." It was Blair's turn to lecture, "But I will if I have to. As long as my death means something. You understand, don't you?"

"Chief!" Jim stared at his partner, unbelieving. "I do, I understand... but Blair," He tried to find something... anything to make the kid listen, "I heard you promise your mother you wouldn't die on her! Are you willing to break that promise? "

Simon frowned. This wasn't a joke.

"I'm willing to do the right thing, Jim." The young man said seriously, "I won't run from this, it's stupid. I know you need me down there and I'm sure YOU know it too!"

"What if we fail? What if this is just suicide?"

"Then all those children will be sold or killed. Are you willing to risk it?"

"Chief!"

"Me neither. We can't fail, we're the only chance those kids have!"

There it was. Something eerie in the kid's blue eyes. The sentinel knew he had lost this argument, the only one he couldn't afford to lose. It was frustrating.

"Damn it, Sandburg!" Jim threw his hand in the air. He was defeated. Blair felt sympathy for his friend so he did what he could to reassure him. He put his hand on Jim's shoulder and made him look at him. He smiled.

"It will be all right Jim, I promise."

Ellison clenched his jaw.

Blair signaled Will and the FBI agent approached them with their antidote shots.

Simon still didn't understand a thing but chose not to ask.

"Jim," Blair said when they were about to enter the building, "I knew. I saw you flying, Jim. I knew you felt it, I saw it in your face...
I knew all along, I just didn't tell you."

"And you came to hang out with me anyway." Jim frowned, scanning the area.

Blair chuckled. "Yeah. I'm not scared. And this time... I'm not lying."

"Chief, I wish I had your courage." Jim said, crouching beside the back door and staring at Blair's blue eyes.

Blair didn't say anything. He just smiled.

They got inside the building silently, as only a sentinel and his guide could. They walked through the narrow corridor, following the low voices of the little prisoners. Jim suddenly stopped, he was losing the sound, then he found it and started walking again. Sandburg followed close behind. He had a bull stick in his hand, courtesy of Henri Brown, to use as a weapon, just in case.

They entered a dark room, with Jim's powerful eyes leading the way they didn't need a light. The children's small voices were getting closer, and so were two strong heartbeats outside the room. Jim stopped. Whispering to his friend to stay close, he prepared his gun and stood by the door. A second later, it opened, a hand reached out to turn the light on, and was caught and forcibly pulled inside by the sentinel's strong grip. In a moment, the guy was unconscious. The other one started retreating outside and Jim ran after him, he didn't get far.

Now, they were in a dimly lit corridor, the gray walls were cold, impersonal, like the inner walls of the Spaceship in Star Trek. So far, there were no security cameras but there were small openings on the ceiling, two in the middle of every room. It was not a good sign. They reached another door and Jim stopped to listen.

Three heartbeats could be heard on the other side. He signaled Blair.

*Man! How many bad guys are in here?* Blair thought.

Carefully, they looked around for another door. No luck. Suddenly, Jim got tense.

"They're coming!" He said. Now, even Sandburg could hear the footsteps. They placed themselves beside the door, just as before, and the door opened. This time, Jim allowed two of them to enter and then he knocked the third one out. The man managed to get back up and hit Ellison's hand. Jim lost his gun. So what else is new? Blair attacked the second one with the bull stick and the first guy took out a gun. Jim kicked the guy's hand in a very impressive move and knocked the pistol off it. The guy recovered and brought out a big knife. Jim raised an eyebrow. Just then, the anthropologist, who had finished taking care of his opponent, used his bull stick on the guy with the knife's head and he went out cold.

Jim and Blair 5. Bad Guys 0.

Beyond the next door was a storage area and below it, Jim could hear the prisoners. They stepped into the room and were halfway through it when, suddenly, an alarm sounded somewhere. Jim looked down and examined the floor, it was rigged. "Oh, no!" he heard Blair exclaim.

"Let's get going, Blair, they'll be here any minute!" He started running, in his haste he never saw the ray of red light in front of the door. Something clicked and a spray of white gas came out of the little holes on the ceiling. It hit both men right in the face.

"Jim!" Blair shouted. The door was just in front of them. Jim opened the door, grabbed his friend's shirt collar and pulled him through. They got out and the door closed itself just as both men started feeling the effects of the gas. Jim fell to his knees. "Oh, Jeez!"

Blair was right beside him, holding a hand to his chest. "Oh, God, Jim, it's worse than I thought!"

The substance found it's way into both of their blood streams. Slowly starting to do it's job, it forced their bodies to produce extra adrenaline, then, just like it was supposed to, it crawled into their heart muscles and began crushing, constricting, killing. Blair's lips formed a single cry of agony. Jim couldn't scream, the pain totally overwhelmed him.

The substance brought the muscles to a strong spasm and just then, it bumped into something. A strange presence, stopping it. Pushing it back to the bloodstream, enveloping it, destroying it.

Blair opened his eyes and found himself on the floor, gasping for air. Jim was beside him. It was over. The antidote had worked, he had almost died but hadn't. So much for prophecies. He was alive.

*How about that, Charlie Springer?*

Jim sat up, rubbing his neck, trying to breath evenly again. "Oh, Jeez!" he said. He turned to his partner. "Are you all right, Chief?"

He checked himself. He felt like hell but, in general, he was all right. "Yeah!" the kid said, sitting up slowly. "What do you know? The FBI guys did it!"

"Don't sing early victories, Sandburg." Ellison replied, helping his friend up. "We're not out of here yet!"

"Oh, Jim. You are SO not grasping the concept, man!"

A little weakly, at first, they started going down the stairs in front of them. Jim was the first to recover.

"Jim, slow down!"

"Shhh!" the sentinel stopped. "We're here."

Guarding the children was only one man and he was quiclky taken care of. A security panel on the far wall flashed little green, yellow and red lights. There were some monitors that showed the top floor. The strike team would go in as soon as Jim deactivated the security system. Or so was the plan. Ellison pushed some bottons and all the lights went out. Then he took Blair's bull stick and destroyed the pannel. All done.

Now, to free the kids. They were inside a storage room. Blair found the lock, opened the door and found himself face to face with John Marcus Jr.

"Hi!" Blair said to the child. "I've been looking for YOU all day long!"

The children stood back, scared and unsure. They didn't want to go with the two men, even if they were cops. Obviously, they didn't trust anyone anymore. Then, Blair said the magic words. "Cindy sent us."

"She made it?" asked John Marcus, "Wow!"

"Yeah, she did!" Jim answered this time, "That's why we're here. Come on, let's go!"

Now they had a group of twelve kids to get out of there unharmed, so they formed a plan. They couldn't risk getting into the rooms with holes on the ceiling with the security system on but  now that it was disabled, they could safely take the same route they had used to get in. No danger of GHX4... they hoped. No time to think now, they had to hurry. Jim took the lead, the children were between them and Blair closed the formation, keeping anyone from being left behind.

They reached upstairs and ran out as fast as they could, strange that no conscious guards were around but Jim remembered the strike team upstairs. It was up to faith now. They kept running and suddenly, a man blocked the way. Jim shot at him, they had no time. They continued running until they passed through the grey room and reached the corridor to the last room. And that's when it happened. Half of the kids were inside when a shot sounded behind them. Blair looked back and saw one man, with a gun... and a gas mask. And knew exactly what he was able to do. Jim turned back. The kids stopped running.

Blair quickly studied the possibilities. Looked at the kids, at the door and at the bad guy again. Then he made his decision.

"Run! Jim, get them out of here!" he shouted, and launched himself into the gray room, right against the guard. Everything seemed to go in slow motion now. The children kept running, the guy never saw it coming, he shot... and missed. Too bad! Blair was already on top of him, hitting him with the bull stick. The guy lost his gun, he struggled, but he only managed to get his mask ripped. He was done for. So he activated the remote control on his left arm and used his last resort.

A terrible last resort.

Activated by a backup system, the gas started coming out of the ceiling. Blair knocked the guy senseless just as he started feeling the effects of the gas. He looked at the mask... it was useless. He started running towards the door, and saw John Marcus, coming back, he wanted to help Blair. Jim was right behind him and then... another huge spray of gas hit Blair right on the face and he fell to his knees. It was too much, he felt breathless, he couldn't move, but he had to keep the kid from coming in, he would be killed. Blair couldn't walk anymore, so he did what he knew was right. What he was meant to do. He closed the door, from inside.

"Blair!" was the painful cry of the sentinel. Then the substance started doing it's job and everything became a nightmare.

Then, silence.

The door was finally opened, and Jim busted in.

The GHX4 had dissolved leaving a smoky residue that supposedly wasn't dangerous.

The bad guy was dead, his face contorted. Blair's body was next to the wall.

Jim kneeled beside his dead friend. His heart broke at the sight. He lowered his eyes.

"Chief!"

A sound made him look up, something. He focused. A heartbeat, fading.

"It can't be!" he said. "Not this long! It's impossible!"

And yet, there it was, beating, slowly, steadily.

"Blair?" He gently took his friend's head in his hands and begged. "Please Chief! Please, say something! Talk to me!"

Jim Ellison ignored the explosion of action around him as the paramedics walked inside. Simon was right there too. Agent Will Smith followed.

"It's too late, Detective. I'm sorry." Said Dickens from behind.

Jim ignored him. His friend was still alive, if only he would stay that way.

There was smoke clouding the air, blurring Jim's vision, filling up his tired lungs. He stayed still, kneeling beside the quiet form of Blair Sandburg. His partner, his brother. Unconscious. Dying.

This couldn't be happening! The sentinel felt the hard grip of despair as the heartbeat weakened. Grabbing his best friend's hand, Jim pleaded with him one more time, losing himself in the only thing he had left:  hope.

Blair? He asked. "Don't let it win! Please. You promised!"

He could hear the kid's heartbeat slowing down with every second. Weakening... failing.

"Blair... you have to prove it wrong." He felt his own voice falter. "Chief.... prove it wrong!" The sentinel cradled his friends head in his arms and bowed his head until his forehead touched Blair's.

"You are the strongest man I know, Chief... I trust you. Prove it wrong!"

He felt the kid's life slipping away.

"You promised."

Cold air came out of nowhere and invaded the small room. Slowly, the heartbeat grew stronger.

Jim was afraid to look up, he held his friend tighter. "That's right, kid, you keep your promise, come on!"

The heartbeat grew stronger and steady. His friend was coming back.

At last, his prayers were answered.

Simon stood there, amazed. He looked up and, for the second time that day, he thanked God.

There was a long moment of silence, as if time had stopped.

Then it was over.

The paramedics buzzed into action and Jim opened his eyes.

"He's alive!" exclaimed Dickens.

"Unbelievable!" came the voice of agent Smith.

Blair's heart was beating more strongly now. The Sentinel's heart ached with relief.

"Thank you!" He said out loud.
 
 
 
 
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
 
 
 
 

Epilogue:
 
 
 

Blair woke up in the hospital bed and looked around the room. He had been half conscious when they brought him in so he wasn't surprised or lost. He was only grateful.

He closed his eyes again. The young man knew he still had to find a way to understand and accept what had happened, but not today. He felt alive today, and free. And the best thing of all... he didn't feel cold.

Someone stirred beside the bed. He wasn't alone.

Of course not! Jim was there. He opened his eyes and focused on the sleeping form of his sentinel friend, only to discover... it wasn't him!

It was someone else.

"Mom!" he whispered, a wave of warmth and love filling his still aching heart.

Naomi woke up. "Baby!" she exclaimed, her voice full of relief. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."  he assured. "Mom..".

He saw the anguish leave his mother's face and felt he owed her an apology. She was his mother, she had warned him, she had told him so and he hadn't listened. He was so sorry.

"Mom," he started... "I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm really sorry... Mom..."

"Shhhh!" said Naomi, taking her son's weak hand and staring at his beautiful eyes.

"It's okay, Blair. Jim told me what happened... all of it."

"Mom!"

"I'm so proud of you, honey, I really am." She fought the tears threatening to come out. "Nothing else matters."

Blair only stared at her, deeply moved.

Naomi approached and kissed her brave son. "I love you!"

Blair didn't know what to say, so he just smiled.

Naomi smiled back.

Outside the room, Jim held the hand of the little lady who had come to visit her curly haired friend. She had brought her favorite teddy bear to keep him company. The sentinel smiled.
 
 
 
 

May you stay forever young,

  Bob Dylan
 
 
 
 
 
 Fin.
 

Did you like it? Did you hate it? You have no opinion? Are you hungry? Do you see UFOs?  Write to the author. It's good karma.
 

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