Sentinel
Duty 6
Brown's
Burden
I gave Bri a hard time for being nervous about partnering with Ellison, but now that it's my turn, I have to admit to a little anxiety myself. Don't get me wrong, I like Jim, did even B.S. (that's before Sandburg), but the responsibility of Guiding the Sentinel… that's, well…
There really isn't anything to worry about, I mean so far the only time he's actually zoned was in Simon's office. I seriously doubt I'll have to worry about that. I just don't want to let him or Hairboy down.
I haven't had a chance to work with Jim on a one to one basis much. He was such a loner before Jack and after Jack too, until Blair came along. Since then Jim's pretty much worked only with Blair. Sure for a while there before the press conference Jim did work with Megan or Joel a lot… I've been busy breaking in Bri these last couple of years, so there really hasn't been much opportunity for me and Jim to partner up.
Not that it's unusual or anything, it just means that other than seeing him working on some of the cases we've shared I haven't had much of an opportunity to see him using his senses. Of course he gave us that demonstration at the loft when they officially told us about Jim's abilities, but, well, I guess I'm a bit eager to see them at work in the field.
I follow Jim out to his truck. I didn't even suggest we take my car. I know better than that. Even Simon let Jim drive. I think that's covered in Blair's notebook under 'control issues.' Let's see, yep, there's the bag Hairboy said would be under the seat. Just in case.
"You okay there, H?" Jim asks.
"Yep, let's get this show on the road," I reply with a grin. I really don't have to worry about anything. Really. But it's nice to be prepared.
*********
This pharmacy case is getting on everyone's nerves. The Mayor is on the Commissioner's back, he's on Simon and of course, Simon is after us to wrap it up. The only real lead we have is that smell Jim swears is at every scene. He just can't pin it down. Oh well. Maybe we'll get a break.
This last robbery got interrupted. We're on the way to a scene that's only thirty minutes old.
I follow Jim into the store and shoo everyone out as he takes a look around. There are a few drug bottles on the floor between the lock box and the front door. I sidle up to Jim and put my hand on his arm like Blair told us to do.
"What you got, Jim?"
"That smell," he says softly. "It's here." Jim moves toward the safe, I suppose following the scent. I hurry to keep up. He nods. "The scent is definitely related to this guy," Jim shakes his head. "But damned if I know what it is."
We finish up with the crime scene and let forensics do their job. No fingerprints and the camera is busted, just like all the others. The perp was wearing a ski mask and when the manager arrived early, just bolted out the door. The manager couldn't even say how tall the man was.
Oh well.
~~~~~~
"Hey, H. Do you mind if we make a stop before we go back to the station?" Jim asks as we pull out onto the street.
"Sure, man. No problem."
"Thanks. Blair had a pretty rough time in his self-defense class yesterday and if today's anything like yesterday, he's going to be stiff," Jim says by way of explanation. "I thought I'd stop at that holistic place he shops at and pick up something to help him out."
I grin and can't resist teasing him. "Ahhh, ain't that sweet?"
Jim smirks. "Hey it's all in self-defense, man. You don't know how grumpy he can be when he's sore."
I just chuckle, knowing the truth.
Jim pulls the truck into the parking lot at 'A Natural Solution' and turns to look at me.
"You can wait here, I'll only be a few minutes."
"That's okay, I'll come with you." There is no way I'm letting
you out of my sight, Ellison.
The girl at the counter smiles when we come in. "Hi Detective Ellison," she says. "How's Blair?"
Jim grins. "Good. He's been having a bit of a rough time with his self-defense class though. I thought I'd pick up some of that liniment he likes, Buttercup."
Buttercup?
"Oh, sure," Buttercup replies moving out from behind the counter. "I know which one you mean. I'll be right back."
"Buttercup?" I ask incredulously.
Jim chuckles. "She really liked "The Princess Bride" when she was little," he shrugs. "Her real name is Alicia."
"Here you go, Detective," Buttercup says as she returns with a large jar. "The economy size, right?" she asks with a knowing grin.
"You know us too well," Jim answers rolling his eyes as he takes the jar. He twists the lid off and carefully sniffs the contents. "That's the one." He pulls out his wallet and pays for the liniment while Buttercup wraps up his purchase.
We head back out to the truck. I notice Jim frowning as we climb in. Not good.
"What's up, Jim?"
"I'm not sure," he says as he unwraps the jar and opens the top again. "I think…"
I watch as Jim tilts his head and inhales the scent of the liniment once more. The Sentinel is working. Shit! I grab his arm to ground him. "Hey, Jimbo, tell me what's going on, man."
My worst fear comes to pass as I sit there holding his arm. Jim's face starts to go slack, his eyes blank and he lists ever so slightly toward me. "Damn! Jim!" I shake his arm and yell at him. "Wake up, Jim! Sandburg's gonna kill me." Shit! I gently shove Jim over until he's leaning against the door.
I grab the jar of liniment and snap the lid back on. Okay, Brown, my boy, think. What is he zoning on? Well that should be easy, smell. But why? It's not like he hasn't smelled this stuff before. What do I do? God, I can't think.
All right, calm down. The bag! I grab Blair's pack out from under my seat and rifle through it. Where's the book? "Come on." Damn! He didn't put a book in here. Where's my book? I pat down all my pockets and suddenly an image of it lying on my kitchen counter flashes through my head.
Ah, man! I can't believe this. What do I do now? I send a panicked glance at Jim who's no help at all staring off into Never Never Land. "Okay, Jim. Let's just work through this logically shall we?"
The open bag on my lap contains a wide variety of items. Some are to stimulate the senses, a noisemaker, a whistle, pepper, cinnamon, a flashlight, a kaleidoscope? There are also several types of cloth, felt, silk and burlap. Some of the items are for combating sensory overload. A bar of hypoallergenic soap, a bottle of natural spring water, a clean towel, a t-shirt, a sweat band?
Okay, some of this stuff makes sense to me, some of it would only make sense to Blair or Jim. Maybe I should start there. What's the weirdest thing in this bag? The kaleidoscope is pretty strange but obviously a sight thing. I open the baggie with the sweat band in it and am not too surprised that it's been used. By Blair?
"Okay, Jim. I need you to wake up for me," I say holding the sweat band right up to his nose. If he knows what Blair smells like, and I'm sure he does after all these years, then maybe this is the best way to break the zone. I hope.
Jim takes a deep breath and blinks. I sigh with relief. "That's it, Babe. Come on back now. Don't you scare Henri like that."
"H?" Ellison asks a bit foggily.
"Yeah, man," I slap him not too gently on the shoulder and stuff the sweat band back into its baggie.
"What just happened?" he asks straightening in the seat as he turns to face me.
"You zoned on the liniment, man. What were you focusing so hard on?"
Jim blinks and suddenly smiles, but it isn't a friendly smile, it's a predatory one. "That's it! The smell from the crime scenes, it was the liniment!" He opens the door and races back into the store.
I follow trying to catch up mentally as well as physically. I'm in awe of Blair, being able to keep up with Ellison's leaps of logic. Especially if he gives Hairboy as little information as he did me.
My hand lands on Jim's shoulder. He's waiting none to patiently at the counter for Buttercup to return. "You mean that the smell from the pharmacy cases is Blair's liniment?" I ask. I may be slow, but I ain't stupid.
Jim nods grinning maniacally. "I don't know why I didn't recognize it sooner. Buttercup is checking to see who makes it and if we can get a client list. We'll need to see if anyone else distributes the stuff too."
~~~~~~
Back at the station we split up the task ahead. Jim is checking on the manufacturer while I start to go over the list of clients who've purchased the liniment. I keep glancing at Ellison. I can't help myself. He's acting like nothing happened. But I let him down. I let Blair down.
Rafe and Captain Banks come into the bullpen, and I must look as bad as I feel 'cause Bri makes a beeline for me.
"H?" he asks all concerned. Don't get me wrong, I love my partner, but right now I just want to crawl under my desk and die.
"What's wrong, H?" Bri asks. "Did Ellison get on your case about something?"
Great! Now my partner's ready to beat up on Ellison, when it's me who should receive the ass kicking.
"No. Brian, Jim didn't do anything. Just let it drop, okay?" Please?
Bri turns and glares at Ellison who's working diligently at his desk and thankfully, even with his Sentinel senses, does not feel the ire aimed at him by my stubborn friend. Rafe spins back to face me. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Babe. Drop it, everything's fine." Or will be once I get the Captain to assign someone more competent to Ellison.
"Okay," Brian grumbles sitting down at his desk. I delve back into my work. Maybe I can be of some help, with this case anyway.
~~~~~~~
"Brown," Captain Banks calls from his door some time later. He beckons me to his office.
My heart is heavy, but it's better to face the music and get it over with. Better that Jim works with someone else. Thank goodness tomorrow is Blair's day to ride. It'll give Simon a chance to shuffle the schedule.
"Sit down, Detective," Banks says closing the door behind me. He leans against it as I take a chair, not daring to meet his gaze.
"I understand Jim zoned earlier," he says, is that compassion I hear in his voice? My head comes up and I meet Simon's eyes.
"Yes, sir," I answer unable to tear my eyes from his.
"Pretty scary, isn't it?" he asks, understanding filling those dark brown orbs.
"Yes, sir."
"Henri," Simon says pausing to clear his throat. "I have a confession to make. You know I'm the only other person, besides yourself that he's zoned on, right?"
I nod. That was my fault too. It was my joke that caused the zone. God, I'm so dead. Blair's going to hate me.
"Well," he continues, "I felt pretty guilty after that little episode. It was my watch and I'd let Jim down. I'd let Blair down too." Simon walks slowly to his desk and cocks one hip on it. "I went to Blair to ask him who I should put with Jim in my place. I mean it was pretty obvious to me that I couldn't be trusted with the Sentinel." He grins wryly.
"Do you know what Blair did, H?" Simon asks.
"No, sir."
"He laughed at me." I raise my eyebrows and he just nods. "That's right, Sandburg laughed in my face and then he said, "Simon, were you in the room with Jim when he zoned?" Of course, I had to answer no. Then he asks, "Did you not bring him out of the zone as quickly as possible once you found him?" Yes, I answered. Blair grinned at me and said, "Well, then that's all anyone, myself included could have done, Simon. Don't be so hard on yourself.""
Banks tilts his head as he seems to study me. All I can do is sit there, berating myself. Simon's right. Jim zoned when he was alone before. This time I was right there beside him. I'm useless as a Guide.
"Henri. Did you cause Jim to zone?"
"What? No, of course not. As soon as I realized he was using his senses, I started to Guide him like Blair taught us."
"Okay," he says thoughtfully. "When you realized he was zoned, did you immediately start to try to bring him out of it?"
"Yes. Of course."
Simon nods. "Okay then. That's all, Detective. Get back to work. The Chief is still on my back about that pharmacy case. Just because the two of you have a new lead, does not mean you can slack off." He grins slightly and tilts his head toward the door. "Go on Henri, you did fine."
I take a deep breath to say something, then realize I don't know what to say, so I stand and leave. I glance at Jim's desk and find worried blue eyes on me. But then he smiles encouragingly and I think of Simon's words. Maybe I didn't do such a bad job after all.
But one thing's for sure, that book is never leaving my person again.
~~~~~~~
The next day
Sandburg bounced into the bullpen followed closely by a grinning Ellison. Jim was always more at ease on the days when Blair was allowed to ride along. A few more weeks and Sandburg would be official.
The Guide noticed Brown sitting at his desk. Everyone else had looked up and greeted their wayward anthropologist, but H had his attention firmly fixed on his computer monitor. Blair tossed a knowing glance at his partner and moved quickly to Brown's side.
"Hey, H, my man, that was some quick thinking yesterday," Blair said letting his pride and affection color his voice.
"Huh?" Brown replied looking up into dark blue eyes.
"Oh, come on, H, don't be so modest. Most of these guys would have tried all the other things before settling on my stinky old sweat band." Blair tossed an apologetic glance around the room, then turned his attention back to Henri. "How'd you figure it out so fast?"
H blinked. "Well, I, uh, I just picked the weirdest item I could find."
Blair chortled and slapped H on the back. "Oh, man! That's priceless!" He leaned over draping arm across Brown's back as he continued more seriously. "It was the perfect choice Henri. Jim was zoned on a very familiar odor, the liniment. Pretty much the only way to break that kind of zone is to use an even more familiar odor." Blair grinned. "Can't get much more familiar than me, eh?"
Henri smiled a bit uncertainly and looked over at Jim. The Sentinel winked and grinned. H's smile widened and he nodded. "Yeah, I didn't really think of it that way, Hairboy. But it makes sense."
"Oh, H," Blair groaned, twisting his friends words, "you're killing me here."
Brown chuckled shaking off the last of his worry about the zone. If Blair and Jim and Simon were okay with it, were in fact proud of the way he'd handled the situation, then who was he to argue?
Blair leaned in closer. "Um, H, could you do me a favor, man?"
"Sure, anything, Blair."
"Well, this is kind of embarrassing and I don't really want Jim to know about it," he trailed off.
"What's wrong?" Henri asked softly.
"You see, H. I sorta," Blair stopped and took a deep breath. "I bombed my test on interrogation procedures, man." He dropped his gaze to the floor and stuck his hands in his pockets.
H stared at Blair in disbelief. "How the hell did you do that, Blair?"
Sandburg met his eyes sheepishly. "Well, I figured I'd seen enough interrogations to know how they should go, right?" Henri nodded. "Only problem is," Blair glanced covertly toward Jim's desk, "the only person I've ever really watched interrogate a suspect is Jim."
Brown quickly and firmly suppressed a grin. "So, um, you're saying Jim's technique is a bit rusty," he managed to say.
Blair rolled his eyes. "Not rusty, man. Totally inappropriate."
Henri shot a quick look at Ellison. The expression on Jim's face could only be described as fond annoyance. Brown chuckled and stood tossing his arm over Blair's shoulders.
"Sure, Hairboy," he said aloud. "I'd be honored to show you the appropriate way to interrogate a suspect." Henri guided the younger man toward the door giving Jim a wink and a grin as they passed. Jim smirked.
"Now, Hairboy. I think you need to be the perp to get the full impact of this demonstration…" Brown said tightening his grip on the cadet as they went through the doors.
Blair tossed a pleading look for help back at his partner before they disappeared around the corner followed only by the sounds of a Sentinel laughing.
The end.
Yes, there are at least two more stories planned in this mini-series. Feed the muse. Please let me know what you think of this one. Judy