Retribution

by Kristine Williams

  "I think that's it Jim, you just need to wait it out. Blair looked down at the bear again. "I think we're in for the night."

  Jim looked down and nodded. "How are you at sleeping in a tree? Is that what you were doing when you broke your arm?"

  "What? How'd you know about that?"

  "You mentioned it." Jim replied. Blair looked skeptical for a moment, then shook his head. Jim was going to tell him that it was his conversation with Lash that had led Jim to the room, but he didn't want to bring back that memory. "Okay, let's get comfy." He turned, putting his back against the trunk, and tried to find a position he could stand for several hours. Blair did the same on the branch next to his. It wasn't even afternoon yet. If they were going to spend the entire night in a tree, one of them stood a fairly good chance of falling out. He looked around the tree, trying to find a safer area or larger branch. He had slept in a few trees in Peru, but they had wider branches, and he wasn't chained to anyone then.

  "We could try and go tree to tree here." Blair said, looking out at the neighboring trees. "Maybe get some distance, then come down? You know, bears can't run fast down hill."

  Jim shook his head, eyeing the branches on the next closest tree. "No way, Chief. Tarzan I am not." It wasn't a bad idea, but chained together, they both would risk breaking more than an arm. "No, we'll just wait him out. Once he's finished eating, and gets tired of staring at us, he'll leave."

  "Unless we just happen to be in the middle of his territory." Blair replied. "And if so, then we're a threat as long as we're visible."

  "You are just a ray of sunshine, you know that?" Jim flashed Blair a dirty look, then rolled his eyes so he would know he was kidding. Sometimes he could scare his friend, who still took him too literally, and now was not a good time to do that.

  "Okay. Fine. We'll stay up here."

  They passed several hours in the tree in silence, watching the bear, watching the area for any sign of Brackett. Blair even managed to fall asleep for nearly thirty minutes. Jim kept an eye on his friend, perched there on the branch, lest he lean too far over. The bear had finished his meal, and was just sitting there, watching them, and yawning occasionally. Jim was still upset at having gotten so close to an animal he should have smelled, and heard, long before. Had he really been focusing his sight and lost track of the other senses? No, he was sure he hadn't. And Blair never missed it when he zoned out. That's what made him more and more willing to focus solely on one sense when he needed to. He knew Blair would be there to watch his back, and snap him out of it. No, he hadn't zoned out. His sight and hearing were still coming and going, like there was a short somewhere. Maybe Blair was right. The drug had kept his partner unconscious for some time, maybe there was still enough left in him to affect his senses this way. And if that were true, what else might happen? It would have been okay if it was just him, but Blair was here. Brackett was hunting them, it was the only logical conclusion to their predicament. They were going to have to turn the hunter into the hunted, but he couldn't do that until his senses settled down. Until they could take the fight to Brackett, his skills would have to keep them alive, both of them.

  "Well?"

  Blair's question startled Jim. "He's falling asleep." he replied, looking back down at the bear. "He's had his lunch and now he's taking a nap."

  "Great, just great!" Blair sighed. "Jim, I really think we could make it to the next tree."

  Jim looked over at the tree again. He had been considering just that. "No, it's too risky. Chained together like this, it'd never work." He looked back to Blair. "It's not worth the chance. We just have to wait, then we can climb down nice and easy."

  "Well we have to do something." Blair brought his left hand up and began to work the shackle, trying to slip it off his hand.

  "No good Chief, I've tried that."

  "Yeah, well I haven't." He kept working the metal band, twisting it, trying to get his thumb to go under.

  "Sandburg, you're just going to hurt yourself doing that. Give it up." Jim reached over and pulled Blair's hands apart. "That hand is going to be sore enough by the time we get out of this mountain, don't rush it."

  Blair reluctantly stopped and leaned back against the tree. "Man, this Brackett is a total dick!"

  "Shhh, hang on." Jim held up a hand. He heard something, off in the distance.

  Part 2

  * * *

  "What? What is it?" Blair whispered.

  "There's something down there, past our friend. See, he hears it too." Jim watched as the bear woke from his nap, looking around. He strained to hear more clearly and felt Blair grab the back of his shirt. There had been something, far off, but something. The bear stood and stretched, glancing up at them for a moment. Jim heard it again, the rustling in bushes farther up the hill, back where they had come. It sounded like hoof beats now, something climbing over rocks. "I think his dessert just arrived." They both watched as the bear turned towards the sound, listening, then moved off in the direction of the meal.

  "Yes!" Blair said quietly.

  "Hang on, let's wait till he's got it, and occupied." They watched the bear move out of sight, then Jim listened as he walked up the incline, paused, then roared and began to run. He heard the cry of a smaller animal, and hoofbeats as it tried to escape. For one terrified moment, he thought the prey was going to lead the chase right back to them. But then it turned, and the bear followed. He brought down the beast moments later.

  "Okay, let's go." Jim motioned to Blair and began to climb down. Blair started to come down on the other side, then had to climb back up and over the branch that their chain had stopped on.

  "Sorry." Blair replied to Jim's glance when the chain snapped his right hand up just as he was reaching down for the next branch.

  "Just hurry up, we might not have much time." Jim had to wait for Blair to backtrack enough to free the chain, then follow him down. It wasn't easy, climbing out of a tree while keeping one hand higher so his partner wouldn't be pulled down on top of him. They hit the ground gratefully and Jim pointed down the hill, "Let's go. Get as much distance as we can before dark."

  Blair just nodded and followed. They ran for some time, heading down and away from the grizzly, before Jim stopped and took another look around. Blair was winded, but he'd had no trouble keeping up.

  "Anything?" he asked as Jim listened.

  "Yeah, crickets." Jim replied. "And birds. And water somewhere over there." He pointed to the left. "Let's head that way, find a place for the night." The sky was just beginning to darken. He estimated they had spent at least three hours in the tree, maybe more. They continued on towards the sound of water, but at a slower pace. Jim was being more careful to listen as well as look, and as far as he could tell, there was nothing amiss. After another half hour, they reached the small stream he had heard, from surprisingly far away.

  "Man, Jim this is so incredible. You heard this little stream from miles away! I wonder if this was the drug sending you into overdrive? This is great!" Blair was so astounded Jim was almost embarrassed.

  "Come on Chief, it's the air. Sound really carries up here, you know that." He leaned down to take a drink, but Blair was still standing, and he had to tug on the chain to make him come down.

  "No, no way, not that much." He got down on his knees by the water but didn't take a drink, he was too impressed. "Man, I wonder if it's the surroundings or the situation? This is incredible, you've never heard that well before. Your senses are like on overdrive or something."

  "Chief, do you mind? I'm thirsty here." Blair had been gesturing with both hands, which resulted in Jim's right hand being jerked up each time he reached down for water. Leave it to Blair to find something 'incredible' about this situation. He definitely had a talent for that.

  "Was it like this in Peru, when we were there last?"

  Jim just shook his head and indicated his desire for more water. Blair finally shrugged and started to drink as well. He didn't want to admit, either to Blair or himself, th
at he too was startled at how well he'd heard the water at such a great distance. Back in Peru, when his senses were taken to a higher level, he'd had a mission and purpose to focus on. Finding Simon and Daryl had been only thing on his mind. Then Blair and Kimberly, with the kids. He hadn't had to think about what had happened until they were back home. And then, when the reality struck, he hadn't known what to say when Blair asked. After his Spirit Guide, or whatever Blair wanted to call that panther, heightened his senses to more than double what they had been, it frightened him. He had just adjusted to his life with these things, and his Guide. But after that, after the panther, as much as he wanted to be in control, he didn't feel he was. Blair seemed to think it was natural for him to see what others couldn't, hear what no one else could hear, but it wasn't. It wasn't natural at all, unless you were a comic book super hero. It was easier to just ignore them sometimes, not use them. But there was Blair, always making him use a sense he didn't think would work. And then it did. How could this kid know so much about senses that weren't even his? Yet he did. The panther hadn't mentioned Blair, not verbally. But Jim knew, somehow inside himself, he knew his Guide was a permanent part of him, just as his heightened senses were. He was always telling Blair that fear was natural, and not to be ashamed of it. But then why was he?

  "What now? It's getting dark. Can we risk a fire?"

  "Might as well. It's going to get cold tonight." He glanced around and pointed to a clear area next to some large boulders. "The only one who might be up here is Brackett, and he already knows where we are." They moved over to the clearing and both began gathering wood. That task took twice as long as it should have, with each of them reaching for something at the same time, and in opposite directions. "Hold it Chief, this is getting us nowhere." Jim held out his wood. "Here, just hold this and follow me."

  Blair rolled his eyes, but held out both arms, accepting the wood. After they gathered, dropped, and re-gathered their load, they set about starting a fire.

  "You hungry?" Jim asked, stoking the fire.

  "No. Actually I'm a little nauseous. What the hell was that drug he used, anyway?"

  "I have no idea, Chief. Brackett had access to all sorts of things in the CIA, and God knows what he got a hold of after that." Jim leaned back against a boulder and tried to make a pillow with both arms behind his head. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

  Blair shuddered a little and Jim looked up. "What about Brackett?"

  "I know. He's out there somewhere. I don't understand his plan, but if he wanted us dead tonight, he'd just shoot us."

  "Yeah? Then why aren't we dead already? Jim, why are we out here? Is he just going to follow us down the mountain? Then what?"

  "Did he say anything more to you back at the loft? Anything at all?"

  Blair thought for a moment, rubbing his hands together against the evening chill. "Not much. He said he wanted to see what we were made of. No, that wasn't it. He said he wanted to see what the Sentinel and his Guide were made of. He knew where you were, that you had a date with Wendy. And he said he wanted to give you a last night out. Jim, this guy has no moral code. This is just a game to him. What the hell are we going to do?"

  "We're going to get out of here, Chief. We'll sleep in shifts. Keep an eye out for Brackett."

  "And bears?"

  Jim looked up at Blair. "And bears." Blair was still trying to warm his hands, so Jim added another piece of wood to their fire. The only one out there to fear already knew where they were. Both he and Blair were in long-sleeved shirts and jeans, but no jacket against the cold night air. They were below the snow line, but it was still going to drop to near freezing at night. "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you later."

  Blair shook his head, moving a little closer to the fire. "I don't think I can. You go ahead."

  "Maybe in a little while." Jim wanted to keep watch for as long as possible. He knew Blair would stay awake if he had to, but he didn't have Jim's range of sight in the blackness of a moonless night.

  "So, how was it?"

  "What?"

  "Your date, with Wendy. How was it?"

  "Oh." Jim rolled his eyes. "Fine, just fine." He was not going to elaborate on this one.

  "Come on, Jim. You were home before midnight. That's not like you." Blair was laughing a little and watching Jim.

  Jim looked away for a moment, trying to compose his face, then looked back at the fire. "It was just fine, Sandburg. She had to work the next, I mean this morning. That's all."

  Blair laughed again. "Right, sure. No problem."

  Jim shook his head but made no comment.

  "Okay, that's cool."

  "Sandburg, drop it, okay?" Jim looked at him, then around at the boulder he was leaning on. "Well, if you aren't tired, I am." He moved farther down onto the ground and used the smaller rock that was under his back as a pillow, bringing both arms up under his head. Blair moved forward to sit even closer to the fire, but when he did, his left arm pulled Jim's right one out from under his head.

  "Sandburg, do you mind?" Jim tugged and brought his arm back, putting his hand under his head again while giving Blair a dirty look.

  "Great. This is going to be real fun."

  Part 3

  * * *

  Blair tried to add another piece of wood to the fire using only his right hand. Jim was sound asleep. How, he didn't know. He was so jumpy at every sound he thought he'd overdose on adrenaline. Normal, everyday forest noises took on a whole new aspect when he knew there was a madman out there, somewhere, watching them. And there was Jim, fast asleep. That was either a testament to his trust in Blair, or more likely, to his system still being under the influence of that drug. Either way, Blair couldn't sleep. But he was freezing! He just hoped the wood they'd gathered would last through this cold night. He had been trying to sit still, and keep his left arm in one place, but he had managed to wake Jim three times already. There was no way he was going to be able to gather more wood without having Jim get up with him. As much as he new his partner would do that, he didn't want to ask him. If that drug was strong enough to wreak havoc with Jim's senses, then it was still strong enough to be flowing through his blood stream. He needed rest. Blair tried to pick the lock with his knife, like Jim had done, but he couldn't make any progress. If only he could get the shackle off, then Jim wouldn't be stuck with him, and he could go after Brackett more easily. His hands were cold, they should be a little smaller. He stopped wearing his rings in the cold weather 'cause they could slip off so easily. But the metal was cold too, and was constricting just enough to make up for any changes in his wrist.

  A wolf howled in the distance, and Blair entertained thoughts of Brackett being hunted by a pack. As unlikely as that was. He sighed, and began to work at the shackle binding his wrist. If only he could get it over his thumb, it would slide right off. It wasn't so tight as to cut off any circulation, so there must be some room there. If only he could work it up and over. He busied himself with that task until he noticed the first rays of light shining over the hill to his right. He heard a stomach growl and worried that it had been his when Jim stirred and looked up at him.

  "Sandburg, what are you doing?" Jim noticed the sun and sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes. "Why didn't you wake me?"

  "You needed it Jim. What ever Brackett used, is hasn't affected me the same way. I thought a good night sleep would help work it out of your system."

  "That's not the way it works, Chief." Jim looked around, noticing the fire had gone out. "It's equal time, got that? I should have woken up." He stretched, pulling both arms high above his head, making Blair reach over so he could bring his right hand up all the way. "You hungry?"

  "Not really."

  "You should eat. We both should, we're going to need it." He stood and pulled Blair up. "Come on, you know the mushrooms in this area, don't you?"

  "Yeah, enough to keep us from dying slow, painful deaths, I think so."

  Jim smiled and led the way back into the forest. Bl
air followed, he had to. He still didn't understand this madman's plan, but that was what made him so mad. Blair just couldn't understand what kind of game Brackett was playing. If he wanted them dead, just kill them. If he wanted to hunt them up there, then where was he? Maybe he was the bear's dessert? No, Jim said he had heard hoofbeats. As much as he was willing to consider Lee Brackett a devil incarnate, he doubted the hoofbeats part.

  They gathered several handfuls of mushrooms and a few wild roots, then walked back to the dying fire. "Hey Jim, when you were coming up to the loft, did you hear anything?"

  Jim paused, thinking. "No, nothing. But you said Brackett had that white noise generator."

  "Yeah, he did, but I don't know if it was on or not. If you had no reason to suspect anything, you might not have been paying attention."

  "What's your point?" Jim looked a little irritated and Blair realized he had probably just pissed him off.

  "No, I mean the last time, when he used it at the University, you said you couldn't hear anything at all, I was just wondering if that's what it does, makes you totally deaf...or what?"

  "It was, more like a buzzing in my head. Like all I could hear was static, nothing more." He paused, looking around. "Not like now, I can hear just fine."

  Blair nodded, piecing the information together, trying to find something they could use. If Brackett was with them, and could turn Jim's hearing off with a flip of a switch, they had to find a way to detect it. Otherwise he could sneak up on them at any time. But then, why didn't he kill them already? None of this made since. Sometimes he thought Jim expected him to have all the answers regarding his senses. But Blair was learning about them just as Jim was. The fact that he knew Jim was a Sentinel, and why, didn't mean he had ever studied one before. But he tried. Jim was always deferring to him in that respect, and he was determined never to let his partner down. He had learned to do a lot of quick thinking on his feet, and sometimes out loud, but with Jim's insistence, he usually found an answer that worked. His friend's trust in him was frightening sometimes.