Disclaimer: see part 1 Other info: see part 1
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pt. 3
It was late in the afternoon when they headed back to the station. The day had brought them all into alignment, making each more relaxed. Headaches gone, Jim and Blair were both in better moods. With the return of their good spirits, the men had fallen into tour-guide mode, pointing out the many things they loved about their city. Nik actually began to enjoy their company, relaxing and suddenly realizing the buzzing had fully subsided.
As Blair started yet another story of the two's exploits on a certain street, a digital ringing emanated from someone's coat pocket. All three reached for their phones.
"Mine." Nik said, then spoke into the phone. "Dakota."
Jim didn't really want to, but he tuned in the voice on the other end, somehow knowing it had to be the same person the woman had mentioned earlier. Conner? First name or last? He picked up a vaguely familiar, male voice on the other end. The intonation, the accent - they triggered something in his mind, something he could have sworn he'd buried. Jim found he couldn't drive and focus as well as he wished, suddenly too afraid of zoning. The detective turned the dial down, and focused on what he could hear on the surface.
"So, you're a state now?"
She laughed and smiled out the window. "They're badlands, remember?"
Jim and Blair looked at each other, then glanced at their companion as she tried to contain her conversation.
"How are you, kid?"
"Watch it, Connor." and the two laughed. "Better'n most. You?"
"Still here. That's gotta count for something, you think?"
"In the end it does..." Nik gave a quick side glance at the two men who were obviously silent and trying to look disinterested. "So, when did you get into town?"
Jim noted the question, tinged with deeper interest, and waited to hear an answer.
"Nik...it's ME. Wanna talk over dinner?"
"Sure. Still got that Porsche?"
"Back in New York. But Cascade has a very nice selection of luxury car rentals... Seven thirty?"
"Perfect." And she smiled, staring into the rearview for a second or two. "Why do I feel you already have my address?"
"You know me so well. Until tonight, then. Wear something fantastic."
"Always do. 7:30 it is. Bye." She turned towards Jim and Blair, happy to see a couple of curious looks pointed back at her. As she put away her phone, she commented plainly, "Sorry. Girl's gotta have a social life, you know?"
"By all means." Jim said, trying to hide the disappointment. Blair heard it, though. The young man watched the silence grow in the front seat, jumping slightly as Nik touched his arm.
"Anything come through, yet?" she said quietly, motioning to the computer.
"Not yet. But I'll let you know when I get something."
The truck pitched to a short stop as they pulled up outside the station.
Taking a card from her pocket, Nik addressed the anthropologist first. "I'd appreciate that, Officer Sandburg. My e-mail's in the corner, so forward what you can."
"You can call me Blair. Only perps, kidnappers, and certain students call me Officer..."
She flashed him a bright smile. "Okay, Blair. And it's Nik." Then turning the same smile to Jim, she continued. "I'll take the wallet and go through it some more. Dig a bit deeper."
"Good. Good." Ellison nodded. "Y'oughta run her prints as well, just to verify identity." Jim didn't think her smile could get any nicer, but it did and she added a raised eyebrow.
"Already on their way to the lab." She opened the door, letting Sandburg slide into her vacated seat. Keys in hand, she carefully shut the door, but stayed next to the truck.
Blair, not so anxious to be rid of her, put down the window. "Anything else we can do for you?"
There was definitely a flirtation hidden in that phrase, Nik decided, then smiled into those glittering blue eyes. She had to blush slightly as something she needed popped into her mind. Pride aside, Dakota asked the two men for a florist that specialized in unusual flowers. "Must be some special date," Jim commented, his emotions again tinting his words. "But isn't HE supposed to get the flowers?" "I'm a modern woman, Detective. If I want to buy a man flowers, I can. And will." She pushed a stray curl from her face and winked at the two men. "Get on my good side, and maybe you'll see."
He couldn't help it. Jim covered his smile with a hand and turned to examine his rear-view mirror. A quick glance behind them, and Jim asked what kind of flowers she needed. He had to stare back at the woman when she asked for heather - purple heather.
Nik didn't know exactly why she liked that glint of mischief in the detective's eyes, but it made him seem more approachable - and THAT she liked. She sighed, rolled her eyes for a second or two, then looked at the young anthropologist who had a remarkably similar look on his face.
"I know a great place to find heather." Jim said.
They got the joke as soon as Jim started to open his mouth.
"Scotland." The three said in unison.
"Thanks," She replied, still laughing. "But I don't feel like going back tonight."
"Davenport Flowers. They even deliver. I'm sure if you call now, they can get them to you by 7:00 PM." Jim watched Nik walk to her vehicle, Blair's voice droning on in the background.
As Dakota walked towards her vehicle, she glanced down the street to the black car that had been following them for the past couple blocks. She didn't think Ellison had spotted it. If she could just make it to her own car...
"She's pretty cool, dontcha think? Wonder if she fences. That would be wild, man. I've always wanted to learn that. Such a rad way of fighting..."
The detective stared after Nik as she walked to the black Chevelle SS and got in. He tuned in his hearing a little more, listening close for the tell-tale rumble of a true muscle car. "Forget it, Chief." and he glanced over at his partner, a smirk on his face.
"What?"
There was an attempt at innocence on Blair's part, but it was wasted on Jim. "She's too old for you." Looking around, Jim pulled the truck into traffic and headed home.
~~~~~
Nik tried to intercept, but the black LTD was already pulling into traffic a couple cars back from Jim's truck. She decided to tag along with both cars, hanging back far enough that neither would know she was there. Picking up her radio, she called in the license plate and advised dispatch of her location.
~~~~~
Blair couldn't believe what he was hearing. "She's WHAT? Too old? She's 35 tops. Half of 35, we'll say 18, plus seven is 25. I've got four years on that."
Jim didn't even pretend to understand the logic behind that. "And a math lesson makes you perfect?" Something in traffic behind him caught his ear - Dakota? He spotted her several cars back, spying in the LTD as well. Sandburg was still engrossed in proving he was, somehow, a good match for Nikya. Something about a woman's age range in men equaling half her own age plus seven and extending to her own age plus seven...
"Her age range is 25 to 42. I'm perfect."
Thanking God for Blair's mental distraction, Jim took several turns away from the loft. Hoping to keep his partner unaware, he egged him on. "That's good, but not as perfect as someone closer to her age."
The anthropologist was just WAITING for that comment. He saw the smirk on Ellison's face and let his partner have it. "And that would be you? No way! Know what I think? I think you DO like her. The way you two were going head to head... Whoo! Kinda primal foreplay - that territorial imperative thing. And then that same-thoughts-same-actions thing - WAY weird."
Jim was sure that if he nodded anymore, he'd lose his head, but it kept the kid talking which kept him calm. That was good for a couple more blocks, then the LTD urged closer and Jim decided to reel in his fish. Dakota was close enough, and good enough he hoped, to pull in behind and trap the car. Checking Sandburg's seatbelt, Jim gave him one and only one warning.
"Hang on, Chief."
It was all over so quickly, Blair barely had time to grab the dashboard. Taking the truck into a parking garage and up a couple levels to a sparse area of cars, Jim had led the tail into a trap. Nik pulled up squealing tires and twisting the SS sideways sharply as she blocked their exit. The occupants came out with automatics blazing, and Jim and Nik proved more alike than either expected. Two voices yelled for the men to throw down their weapons. Two guns took aim and fired only two rounds each.
Then two bodies hit the pavement.
They walked towards the injured men. Jim's had a shoulder and hand wound, Nik's had hand and leg. After cuffing their attackers, the two detectives walked to each other - new appreciation for the other on each of their faces.
"You all right?" Jim asked.
"No." she said with a huff. "I'm half left." It was a stupid joke, but they laughed. Even as Blair came out of the truck, examining bullet holes, the two still laughed. "Whoa, I'm really sorry about that."
"Why?" Blair's voice held a bit of nervous amusement. "Are you that bad a shot you did this?" The young man saw the confidence radiating from Nik as she quirked an eyebrow to his statement.
"Cha!" she said in rebuttal. "I'm not THAT bad a shot." Nik surveyed the scene, then turned honest eyes to the detective. "Sorry for the mess." She said and explained that the assailant she'd shot was a guy she'd sent away on a drug conviction in LA. She'd heard he'd been paroled the month before and figured he must have been following her. Jim countered with the story on the one he'd taken out, the driver - an escaped felon that he and Sandburg had sent up for murder. He'd escaped a couple weeks ago from a prison in LA where he was serving on another sentence; must have met up with Nik's guy and decided to cover some common ground. Blair, while happy the guy was down, was rather upset that Jim hadn't told him the felon had escaped. Even though Ellison tried to explain his desire to keep Sandburg from worrying, it didn't ease the young man's mind.
Nik watched the two, noting the concern on both their faces. She couldn't hear their conversation since the partners were talking while examining the bullet holes in Ellison's truck. By the hand gestures, Dakota figured Sandburg hated to miss out on ANY information, even if it was about an escaped convict. The conversation didn't last more than a few sentences and was effectively ended with Jim cuffing his partner on the shoulder and smiling as they walked back towards her. When they looked her way, Nik turned a way nervously, trying to quickly hide the wanting look in her eyes.
The two detectives tried to shake off the adrenaline as the backup arrived. One last check to reassure himself that his partner was okay, then Ellison helped Dakota with the perps. As she checked and holstered her weapon, Jim heard Nik suck in a quick breath. He looked at her, noting the wince of pain as she straightened her jacket. "Problems detective?"
"Aggravated an old war wound." She said with a false smile.
It was obvious that her war wound was a bit more than aggravated. In order to gauge the damage better, Jim knew he needed the woman to stay in one place for a few minutes. He asked Nik when she'd spotted the tail. She was honest, explaining that she'd picked them out a couple blocks before the station, thinking they were after her. It had been her hope to lead them off, but when the LTD had trailed off after the truck, Nik followed along. At that moment, one of the perps started causing problems. As Dakota turned towards the sound, Jim saw her wince again.
Taking a quick breath, she turned a nervous glance to her watch, then to the partners. "Uh, guys. Could I ask a favor?"
"You need help? Are you hurt?" Asked one sadly smitten anthropologist.
"No," and she smiled at him. "It's almost 6:30 and it's gonna take me a bit..."
"Date doesn't like to wait, huh?" Came the question from Jim. "No problem. You can file your report in the morning. Just get us copies first, okay?"
In seconds, the SS was pulling out of the lot. Blair just shook his head and glanced over at his partner. "Feeling pretty benevolent, huh?" Noticing the rather odd smile to Jim's face, he continued. "You're up to something. Give."
"I doubt she'll make her date."
Checking his watch, Blair ventured a reason. "Think she won't make it home in time?"
"I'm thinking she'll get home and cancel due to that war wound of hers. See her wince? I bet she takes a couple muscle relaxers and spends the evening with a heating pad and the TV."
There was a smuggness to his partner's voice, and Blair thought it sounded like Jim was maybe happy Nik wouldn't make her date. He turned to head back to the truck, quickly surveying the crime scene once more as Jim walked over to the officers in charge. Looking down and shaking his head, Blair noticed a small pool of blood, maybe an inch or so wide, and oblong. There was also a partial footprint right where Dakota had been standing, as if the top of a shoe had skimmed the edge of the bloody spot. The anthropologist knelt to examine the patch and found the shoe print to be just about Nik's size and fresh enough to be hers. He looked over to Jim, then back to the blood and a thought struck him.
"Jim, man." Blair started, watching as the detective walked towards him. "How do you feel about Dakota's date tonight?"
Suddenly uneasy, Jim found it impossible to look his partner in the eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"You wouldn't be jealous, would you. Even just slightly so?" At the tone in Sandburg's voice, Jim sighted in on the blood spot at his partner's feet. He was at Blair's side in a quick couple strides. "Chief, you're hurt?" *How could I MISS that?*
"Not me."
It hit Jim. "Dakota? But why didn't I notice?"
"Psycho-neural inhibitors...probably enhanced by the adrenaline of the chase."
Dabbing at the spot with a tissue, Jim focused his smell on the blood. "Trace amounts of gunpowder...she's taken a round..." Coming out of his focus, the detective ran his partner's statement through his mind again. "Inhibitors? Why would I tune her out? If I like her, wouldn't I want to tune her IN?"
Setting a hand to his partner's shoulder, the anthropologist hypothesized that Jim was subconsciously tuning her out because of his ethics. One, Nik's a cop in his department - no fraternization. Two, she already had a date, and Jim would never interfere. Those two ingrained morals were causing a blinder-effect. To Jim, it presented a problem. To the anthropologist, it added another dimension to the Sentinel profile.
Concern furrowed Jim's brow as he gave some necessary instructions to the officers on the scene, then rushed for his truck. Sandburg was right behind him. As they took off, Ellsion tried an emergency patch-through, but Nik had evidently turned off her radio. Handing Blair his phone, Jim ordered him to try information, 411 - anything that could get them a phone number. It wasn't necessary as Blair pulled out his wallet and retrieved the business card the woman had given him. They were rolling towards her place quickly, Jim hoping it wasn't anything serious. As a morbid afterthought, he had Blair check with dispatch for any traffic accidents involving her car.
"She might not have made it home..."
~~~~~
She removed the blood-stained shirt carefully, the pain causing her breath to catch every couple seconds. Turning the water on in the bathroom sink, she thanked God for getting her home safely. As she peeled the bloody shirt from her skin, Dakota examined the hole in the fabrid. It was just slightly larger than the puckered wound and the surrounding bruise on her shoulder. An unpleasant hiss escaped through clenched teeth as the extremely hot washcloth touched her skin. As the heat eased the muscle beneath it, Nik sighed. It wasn't that the wound didn't upset her, but it would certainly put a damper on the evening. She winced at the beginning tightening of the muscles beneath the surface of her skin.
*Well, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.*
"So much for something strapless." and with one last look at her shoulder, she picked up the shirt. "Man. Sucks to be me! This was almost comfortable..."
~~~~~
They could hear the music from the hallway leading up to her studio apartment. When Jim saw the open door, he went directly into Protector mode. He detected the smell of blood - and perfume. It was all Jim could do to filter out the high soprano voice and what seemed to be an entire orchestra located in some kinda walk-in closet. He listened for her heartbeat, finding it distant, but solid. Giving the door a rudimentary knock, Ellison wasn't surprised when there was no answer. He pushed his partner behind him, shoved the door open a little more, and entered the apartment. "I've got a heartbeat, but I can smell blood - it's heavy and it's coming from back there... stay here" and he stared into questioning eyes. "Just in case, Chief..."
That said, Jim headed back towards the bedrooms, the heartbeat getting stronger as he got closer. The door to the bedroom was ajar just as the front door had been. The smell of blood was stronger, though, and Jim pushed the door open. He surveyed the immediate area then stepped into the bedroom quickly, surveying the layout. The detective stopped short at the sight of her, his own heart skipping a couple beats.
"Oh-huh-HOH - MYyyy - GOD!"
"Thank you." Nikya replied rather dryly. "I think."
~~~~~