Progression Series 16 Sushi, Sasquatch.. and Sandburg

by Beth Manz

  Blair's eyes widened in surprise and he pushed himself up on one elbow. "What about Jim? Everything's okay between you two, isn't it?"

  "I don't know. I mean, I think for Jim it is, but...."

  "But?"

  Stephen sighed again, the sound of it troubled. "After you....died, I didn't know what to do for him, Blair. I wanted to stop by and see him, maybe give him a call. But I never did."

  Sandburg frowned. "Why not?" he asked when Stephen didn't continue.

  "Because I didn't know what to say to him. I knew I couldn't help him."

  "Stephen, that's not true."

  "It's is true," Stephen insisted. "You know Jim's never let anyone 'in', Blair. Not even Caroline. I think that's why it didn't work out for them. He only lets someone get so close and then he backs off and builds this big wall around himself." There was another pause. "Except with you," he continued after several seconds. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Blair. "There's just such an ease between you two. Like I said before, I envy it. I didn't know if my being there for him after the funeral would have been a help or a hindrance."

  "Jim's a pretty basic guy, Stephen. For him, actions speak louder than words. If you're there for him, he'll be there for you. It's really that simple." He thought about his friend, alone after his funeral, and his heart ached. "You should have gone to see him," he whispered finally.

  "He wouldn't have wanted to see me."

  "That's not true."

  "Blair...Jim has this serenity about him that he's never had before. It's like I told you before, you reached him when no one else could. And as much as I appreciate that, well...sometimes it scares me too. Because I think that serenity he's found depends on you."

  Blair thought about the relationship he had with Jim. More than friends or partners, they were sentinel and guide. Deep inside, Blair knew that bond was a large part of the peace and serenity that Stephen was talking about. Jim had found his place. So had Blair. But....

  "What happens to my brother if something happens to you?" Stephen asked suddenly, putting voice to Blair's own fears.

  Blair looked over at Stephen. "I wish I had an answer for you. I don't. All I can tell you is that Jim will need you if something ever does happen to me. He'd need you and your father." And as Blair stared over at Jim's younger brother, a thought-a conviction-began to grow within him. He knew then that they needed to tell Stephen about what Jim was. Not only did he deserve to know the truth, but only if he knew it would he truly be able to help Jim if the worst ever did happen.

  But he couldn't tell him now. Not without talking to Jim first.

  "Stephen," Blair said softly, "Promise me that if something ever does happen to me that you'll go to Jim. That you'll help him."

  "Do you really think he'd want my help?"

  "I'm sure of it."

  "Blair-"

  But the anthropologist cut him off with a raised hand. "Shhhh. Did you hear that?" he whispered, all thoughts of his conversation with Stephen forgotten as he strained to listen. He thought he'd heard someone moving around outside the tent. As he listened he heard it again-a small snuffling sound. "Did you hear that?" he asked again in a low whisper.

  "Hear what?" Stephen whispered back.

  "I think someone is outside the tents. In our campground."

  "Probably just one of the guys taking a bathroom break or something."

  "I don't think so," Blair supplied. And then they both heard it, a low "whoofing" sound. And suddenly, Blair knew what was outside their tent.

  "Oh man," he breathed.

  "What is it?" Stephen hissed.

  "It's not Bigfoot." Blair crawled out of his sleeping bag and moved toward the flap, doing his best not to wake Darryl.

  Stephen moved with him, both men on their knees at the tent's door. "What is it?"

  "A bear," Blair whispered. "Probably a black bear."

  "A bear! What do we do?"

  "Hope it goes away?" the anthropologist offered feebly. Easing back the tent flap, Blair peered out. A black bear ambled past the door. Blair bit his lip, not moving. The bear moved past him, heading straight for the tent beside his. The tent with all the noise coming from inside. The tent where Simon and Jim slept. Damn!

  What was he supposed to do now? Would it work to go outside and try to scare the bear off? Or would it make the situation worse? Before he could decide, the beast reared up on its haunches and swiped at the tent where Simon and Jim were slumbering away, tearing a large hole in the side. And Blair knew then that he had no choice.

  Scrambling out of his tent, he grabbed up the coffee pot sitting beside the campfire and tossed it at the bear. "Hey!" he yelled. "Hey! Get away from there!"

  The bear turned, its head down, his ears laid back. And Blair knew he was in trouble. The animal's posture screamed aggression.

  "Oh man," he breathed as it stalked toward him. Why the hell didn't Jim wake up? How could he not hear what was going on?

  Blair backed away from his tent, his breath coming in short gasps. "Good bear, nice bear," he soothed, his hands raised before him in a placating gesture.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. A moment later, he realized it was Stephen. He'd gotten out of the tent and was approaching the bear from the rear, the spotlight gripped firmly in his hands.

  Blair had told them that the bright light was the best thing to use to scare off a Bigfoot. He had no idea if it would scare off a bear...or if it would just provoke him further. But before Stephen could switch on the light, Darryl poked his head out of the tent.

  "Hey, guys, what's-" The words died on his lips as he took in the scene before him.

  "Darryl," Blair hissed. "Go back inside." He took another step back as the bear closed in on him. His ankle connected with something hard and unmoving and suddenly Blair found himself falling backward, a startled cry escaping his lips.

  The bear charged forward. Blair covered his head, his heart slamming into his ribcage, knowing in seconds he would be ripped to shreds.

  Seconds later, a bright light came on. "Bear! Over here, bear!" Stephen's voice echoed around him. "Over here!"

  Blair looked up to see the bear turning toward Stephen, who waved the light back and forth, drawing the bear's attention away from him. But although he'd drawn its attention, he had not scared it off. It was simply going to eat Stephen now.

  Scrambling to his feet, Blair headed after the beast. Before he could take two steps, Darryl emerged from the tent. "Darryl! Get back!" But if he heard Blair, the young man didn't heed him. Instead, he moved directly to the coffee pot Blair had tossed at the bear earlier, scooped it up along with a large metal serving spoon that had been left near the fire, and began banging loudly on the side of the pot.

  "Get out of here, bear!" he yelled, moving toward it, banging louder and louder.

  Blair's eyes went wide as he watched Darryl advance on the beast. "Darryl! Stop! You'll-" But he never finished the sentence. Instead, his mouth dropped open in shock as the bear stared at the young man, grunted angrily, turned, and ran off into the woods.

  As soon as it was gone, Darryl stopped banging on the pot. He turned to Blair, smiling widely. "I've never seen a bear up close like that before," he said in awe. "Very cool!"

  Blair couldn't help the laughter that poured out of him. Walking up to Darryl, he dropped a hand on his shoulder, staring at him in wonder. "Where did you learn to do that?"

  Stephen came to stand beside Blair, turning off the bright light as he walked. "Yeah. That was great! I thought we were both snack food for sure."

  Darryl shrugged one shoulder. "Scouts." He glanced at each man before him. "You guys had the right idea, you were just going about it the wrong way." He held up the pot. "You don't throw things at it, that just provokes it. But loud noises scare it."

  "Speaking of loud noises...." Blair turned toward the tent. The same deep, twin snoring sounds could be heard emanating from inside. "I can't believe that we were almost eaten by a bear--pro
tecting them I might add--and they slept through it all."

  Part Five

  Jim Ellison blinked open his eyes and found himself staring at the nylon ceiling of his tent. He yawned loudly, stretching within the confines of his sleeping bag. He was surprised to see sunlight streaming in through a gash in the side of their tent. Even more surprised when he realized he could hear Blair's heart beating very close by.

  He sat up, cocking his head to one side. Not only could he hear Blair's heartbeat, he could hear a small stream river running a mile to the east, a bird feeding its babies a half mile to the west. His ears were completely unstuffed--as was his nose.

  "I'll be damned," he muttered. Whatever Fritz had given him had done the trick. He glanced over at Simon as the captain yawned loudly and sat up. "How's your poison ivy?" he asked without hesitation.

  "Good morning to you too, Jim." But as Simon looked down at his arms, his brow furrowed. "Actually," he drawled out slowly. "I think it's better." He wiped at the goo Fritz had told him to apply to his skin.

  "It looks like it's all but gone," Jim said in awe as he watched him reveal his skin...his clear skin.

  "I'll be damned," Simon mumbled.

  "My reaction exactly." Jim glanced at the empty containers left behind by Fritz the night before. "He cured us, Simon. Whatever that stuff was that he made up last night, it cured your poison ivy and my cold."

  Simon looked up sharply. "Do you realize how much money could be made by those two concoctions?" His eyes shifted from side to side as he thought. "You know, Duke is not cheap. If we could patent these cures-just for a percentage-Darryl's college could all but be paid for."

  "Simon, I think you're missing the bigger picture here. Do you know how many people this could help?"

  Simon waved a hand. "Yes, helping people, sure that's great too. But the money...." His voice trailed off as he picked up the pot his goop had come in. He thrust the container at the detective. "Here," he commanded, "you hang onto this. I'm gonna talk with Fritz, see if he'll give me the recipe to what's in that. But just in case he won't, I plan to have it analyzed once I get back to the station!"

  "You can't be serious. There's no--"

  "Save it, Jim," the captain cut in, a predatory expression on this features. "I need to talk to Fritz." With that, Simon was out of the tent, striding across the campsite toward their guide's lone tent.

  Jim shook his head, watching him go. He lay the varnish container near Simon's pack and emerged from the tent. He found his partner sitting before a small fire, but Darryl and Stephen were nowhere in sight. A quick check with his hearing told him they were still asleep inside their tent. As he approached his partner, Blair held out a cup to him. Jim could smell the strong coffee inside.

  "Thanks, Chief," he said, sitting down beside him. "I need this."

  "How you feeling this morning?" Blair asked immediately.

  Jim smiled. "Actually, I feel great. My ears are clear. I can even hear that stream we passed yesterday."

  "Aha! So Fritz's medicine worked!"

  "Don't count on it, Chief. The cold is probably just running its course, getting better on its own."

  Blair smacked him on the arm. "No way, man. Admit it, Jim, those natural remedies work!"

  "Maybe they work and maybe my cold just ran its course."

  Blair nodded toward Simon, who was crouched outside Fritz's tent, talking animatedly to the mountain man. "What's he up to?"

  "Seems to think that Fritz's cures could make him some money."

  Blair huffed out a sharp laugh. "You're kidding, right?"

  "Nope. He's over there proposing a partnership right now."

  Blair shook his head in amusement, turning back to the small fire before him.

  "Um, Chief, do you have any idea how that large tear got in the side of our tent?" Jim asked, effectively changing the subject.

  "Oh that," Blair said casually. "It was a bear."

  Jim raised one eyebrow. "A bear," he said, unable to hide the skepticism in his voice.

  "Yeah. Came into camp last night but Darryl, Stephen and I managed to scare it off. Well, mostly Darryl. I think Stephen and I would have been eaten if not for him."

  "Uh huh." Jim crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his guide. "Sandburg, if you're going to make up a lie, why not make it a good one? Why not just say that Bigfoot came into our camp? I mean, if you somehow ripped the tent--"

  "You think I'm lying?"

  "No, no! It's just...what do you call it? An obfuscation."

  "Jim, man, there was a bear!"

  "Rigghhht. A bear came into our camp and I managed to sleep right through it? Who you trying to kid?"

  "I'm being totally serious."

  Jim chuckled and gave his guide a look of tolerance. "Okay, Sandburg, there was a bear. I believe you." The sentinel patted him on the shoulder. "Let's get some breakfast going here. Fritz wants us to take one last hike before we head back to Cascade and we're going to need some nourishment for that."

  "Fine," Blair sputtered, staring at the detective, clearly perturbed. "Don't believe me. But I'm telling you right now, the next time a bear is tearing a hole in the side of your tent, I'm just going to let it eat you." With that he stood and, grabbing the coffee pot, stomped off in the direction of the stream. "I'm going to get some more water for coffee."

  Jim watched him go, chuckling softly. "A bear...."

  /

  /

  /

  Blair flipped the last pancake onto his plate then settled down to dig in. The other five men were already happily eating their breakfast. Blair hadn't told anyone about the ingredients he'd brought to make the special breakfast this last day. He'd wanted it to be a surprise. And from the contented sounds of eating all around him, he knew everyone was enjoying it.

  The others had packed up the campsite while Blair cooked, Stephen and Darryl attempting to confirm Blair's story about the bear. But even with the added weight of their own insistence of the bear's appearance, Jim still doubted the story. Simon told them outright that they were lying. Neither man believed they could sleep through what had been described to them. Jim stuck with his original theory--that the three men must have put the tear in the tent by mistake and simply didn't want to admit it.

  "So what's our game plan today, Fritz?" Blair asked, stuffing more pancake into his mouth.

  "Once we finish here, Doc, we'll hike out to a ridge just a few miles away. Had some Bigfoot sightings there in the past. Then we spend the rest of the day hiking out. The trip back will be easier than the hike in and will go faster."

  "What are our chances of actually seeing a Sasquatch at the place we're going?" Darryl asked excitedly.

  "Pretty slim, son." At Darryl's look of disappointment, the old guide smiled kindly for the first time since the trip had begun. "Don't let that bother you," he encouraged, reaching over and patting at Darryl's shoulder. "Remember that most people who look for 'em never do see 'em. You have to take joy in the hunt. You've had fun out here, haven't you, even if you didn't get to see a Sasquatch?"

  Darryl frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled at the mountain man. "Yeah, you're right." He glanced over at Stephen and Blair and his smile widened. "It has been fun."

  "All right, then," Fritz enthused, "let's finish up this grand breakfast and hit the trail!" He gave Darryl a small wink. "You never know-maybe today will be the day old Sasquatch decides to make an appearance." The mountain man paused and looked at the three young men. "Oh, and boys...good job scaring that bear away last night. I couldn't have done better myself."

  The three men grinned their thanks at the old guide. Then, feeling incredibly smug, Blair turned and glared at Jim, giving his gaping partner his very best "I told you so" look.

  /

  /

  /

  The ridge had proven to be of no consequence. They had not seen any trace of Bigfoot there, not even a footprint. Jim shifted his pack slightly, settling it into a more comfortable posit
ion, before glancing down at his guide. Blair walked beside him, heavily laden with his bulging pack. Jim had offered to carry some of Blair's equipment now that the kid was also carrying back the evidence they'd found...including the heavy footprint Simon had cast. But Blair had told him that he could handle it, and so far he seemed to be doing just fine.

  Jim shifted his gaze forward. Fritz and Simon led the small procession, the captain no doubt still trying to talk the mountain man into giving him the ingredients in whatever it was he had smoothed onto his skin last night. Jim chuckled slightly. He'd never thought of Simon as a "get rich quick" kind of guy, but maybe he needed to reconsider his opinion in that regard.

  Just behind Simon and Fritz were Stephen and Darryl. They talked together quietly, his brother easily making small talk with Simon's son. Jim had caught only snatches of the conversation, not wanting to intrude on their privacy but unable to miss things now and then. Mostly, they talked about school and the fact that Stephen had also gone to an Ivy League university.

  Jim frowned. Truth be told, he'd never known that. He'd really never had any idea of where Stephen had gone to school or what he had majored in. All he knew was that his brother was good in business, like their father had been.

  "Jim, I need to talk to you about something."

  Jim glanced at Blair again, pulled away from his thoughts by the concern in his partner's voice. "Listen, Sandburg, if it's about this bear thing, I already apologized for doubting you-"

  "No, it's not that." Blair glanced forward, his gaze locking on Stephen. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "We need to talk about your brother." Grabbing Jim's arm, he deliberately slowed their pace, letting the others pull far enough ahead to insure their privacy.

  "What about Stephen?" Jim asked.

  "He's feeling pretty rotten right now, man. He told me last night that he feels like he let you down after my funeral, that he never went to see you."

  Jim frowned, nodding slightly. "He didn't, but I didn't give it much thought...."

  "Well, he has," Blair told his friend, glancing ahead to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "He's been kicking himself pretty hard, feeling like he wasn't there for you. Like he let you down."