by Cindy Combs
Simon had stopped his pacing to also study Jim worriedly. "How long were you zoned, Jim?"
"Zoned?" Blair turned to the sentinel accusingly, though he wobbled slightly on his still unsteady legs. "You never mentioned you zoned!"
"Yes, I did. You were just in La La land and don't remember."
"How long?" Blair repeated Simon's question sternly.
Jim rubbed his face wearily, trying to hide his headache. "I'm not sure, but probably about two hours."
"WHAT!" Several of the police personnel combing the house turned to look at Blair's outburst. Waiting for their attention to return to their tasks, Blair continued quietly, "You've never been out that long. How do you feel?"
Jim shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine. The important thing now is that while we're standing around, Yuri's on the loose preparing to kill someone."
"Jim, how can you be sure of that?" Joel asked.
"Because this whole stunt was to keep Blair and me out of the way while he does his thing. If the fuse box hadn't blown, who knows how long I'd have been in that zone and Blair would have been unconscious." Jim turned his mind away from the sound overload. He'd tell Blair about that one later when they had more time.
Blair shuddered. He had no idea what the effects of a prolonged zone would do to a sentinel. A constant worry was that Jim would be in a zone so long, he wouldn't be able to get his sentinel out.
Jim, however, had already put the incident out of his mind. "Joel, were there any Russians on your list?"
Joel shook his head. "No, but I wasn't looking for any Russian targets, either."
"But there's no way to tell who hired Yuri," Simon pointed out. "If he's trying to get back into the game, he might not be too particular about who he'd work for."
"Jim!" All turned to see Rafe dash out of the house. "We just found this!"
As Jim took the brown envelope with his name scrawled across it from Rafe's eager hand, Simon barked, "Did forensics check it?"
Rafe nodded. "Serena examined it before handing it to me."
"I don't hear or smell anything suspicious," Jim confirmed. Nevertheless, he opened the envelope carefully. Tipping it, two small coins rolled out onto his other hand. Rafe aimed his flashlight to illuminate them.
"What are those?" Megan asked.
"They're Russian coins," Blair explained bleakly. "It was Yuri's trademark to leave two coins at the site of his assassinations."
"But he didn't kill you two," Joel pointed out worriedly.
Jim then slipped two fingers inside, and pulled out a photo. It was a candid picture of Police Commissioner Craig Mathews, stepping out of his car. 'Can you live with your failure, Ellison?' was printed across the top.
"Oh man, he's going after the Commissioner!" Blair moaned.
"Taggart," Simon barked, "Get Mathews' home number and check there. Rafe, call his..."
"Sir," Megan interrupted. "He's at the charity function at The Skylight this evening."
Everyone turned to stare at the Inspector. "I know the woman he's dating," Megan uneasily blurted out.
Jim's eyes turned bleak. "Rhonda."
Megan unhappily nodded.
"THAT'S who C.M. is?" Rafe asked, flabbergasted.
"MY Rhonda is dating the Commissioner?" Simon questioned, looking both shocked and slightly ill.
"Which means Rhonda's in the line of fire," Jim growled. "Come on, Chief." Jim jumped off the porch and raced through the rain to the Volvo, Blair on his heels.
"Joel, call up the security at the restaurant, let them know what's up," Simon barked over his shoulder as he dashed to his own car. "MY Rhonda?" he muttered again as he opened the door.
* * *
The Skylight, Downtown Cascade
Mathews swung Rhonda around the dance floor. He couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed dancing so much. The music was lively and fun while the floor was full, but not so overcrowded that they were bumping into people. Of course, the most important factor was the lady he danced with. He loved her smile, the way her royal blue dress swirled around her legs, the way her eyes sparkled with warmth. In all his adult life, he had never felt this much in love. She felt so good in his arms, he didn't want to let her go.
Then he noticed the young policeman at the entryway looking in his direction. For a moment, he twirled Rhonda around so he wouldn't have to view the officer. He wanted to ignore his responsibilities for this one magical night. However, he knew that was selfish. If they were willing to hunt him up here, then something big must be going down. For half a second, he considered asking Rhonda if the Major Crimes detectives were onto anything big, since one or more of them were usually in the middle of most major occurrences. But no, he had promised both Rhonda and himself he would never take advantage of her that way. Besides, not everything that happened in the city involved that special team.
With a sigh, he maneuvered Rhonda through the crowded dance floor towards the officer.
* * *
The Skylight entrance
Blair gripped the dashboard of his car tightly. Jim had refused to let him drive since he was still groggy from the drug. However, after hearing the poor car chug from Jim's heavy foot and witnessing several near collisions on their way to downtown, Blair felt he'd been scared out of the drug's effects.
The Volvo slid into a spot near the service docks, Simon's and Taggart's vehicles skidding in next to them. Blair jumped out of the car and dashed after his partner, knowing the rest of their unit was behind them.
As they stepped off the elevator, Blair immediately spotted the Commissioner and Rhonda. Neither looked very happy as they listened to the young officer standing next to them. Rhonda's eyes grew wide as she spotted half of Major Crimes spilling out of the elevator.
Mathews turned to Ellison and Banks as they walked up. "Is this true?" The officer stepped back, staying alert to his surroundings and leaving his superiors alone to talk.
Before Simon could speak, Jim held up a hand. "Let's keep it down. Yuri is known for his high tech listening devices. We don't want him to either escape or shoot."
Rhonda looked fearful as Mathews softly acknowledged, "So it is true? But who has me targeted and why?"
"We don't know at this time, sir," Simon whispered. "However, we do know that a very good assassin has taunted Ellison with your death."
Mathews looked grim. He wasn't so much worried about himself as he was that Rhonda or other innocent people might get caught in the crossfire.
Noticing his sentinel's head tilt, Blair quietly asked, "Jim, what do you hear?" A part of his mind noted that while the question caught everyone's attention, no one questioned it. Oh well, guess I won't have to come up with a cover story for this group.
"There's a buzzing noise close by," Jim replied. Everyone glanced at each other worriedly as the sentinel closed his eyes to concentrate better.
Blair unobtrusively laid a hand on his sentinel's arm. "Filter out the music... Now filter out the voices... Can you pin-point a location?"
Pale blue eyes blinked open in surprised. Jim turned to the commissioner. "Sir, the buzzing is coming from you."
Mathews' eyes bulged out. "What?"
Jim reached over and unfastened the nametag. "Where'd you get this?"
"They have them pre-made for all the guests," Rhonda spoke up. She was still trying to read her boss' face to determine if he was mad at her choice of date. Simon hadn't looked directly at her yet, which she didn't think was a good sign.
Jim flipped the tag over as Blair and several others joined him in staring at the back. "There's a tiny transmitter here."
"A bomb?" Megan asked, remembering to keep her voice down.
Joel shook his head. "Looks more like a locator for a smart bullet."
"Then let's kill it." Blair grabbed the punch cup from Rhonda's hand, holding it out so Jim could shove the tag inside.
"Is it safe now?" Mathews asked.
"This one is dead." Jim turned to stare into the restaurant. "But
I hear more."
Simon's face grew grimmer. "How many more?"
"At least six."
"Ah hell," Simon muttered as quietly as he could. "So, if this is a targeting system for a smart bullet, WHERE is Yuri?"
"Probably not in the restaurant," Jim softly thought out loud. "He's probably in a building across the street with a clear line of sight into the main room." Simon pulled out his cell phone, placing a call to Brown and Rafe downstairs.
"If this Yuri starts shooting his smart bullets, do they need a direct line of sight to the target?" Mathews asked.
Ellison and Taggart both shook their heads. "The bullets can maneuver, penetrating glass, wood and soft tissue to reach their target." Joel explained.
"Which is conveniently fastened on the chest of each victim," Blair muttered forlornly.
"Meaning anyone standing between the shooter and the victim will also be shot," Mathews put together. He barely kept from shuddering, thinking of what might have happened had Yuri pulled the trigger while he was dancing with Rhonda.
Simon slapped his cell closed. "Brown is having the building next door surrounded, then they are going to do a floor to floor search. I also have a couple patrols blocking off the surrounding streets."
"I'll go with them," Jim replied as he turned to the stairs. "I know Yuri well enough to guess his moves." When Blair took a step after him, Jim turned back. "No, Sandburg. You help out here."
"Jim," Blair growled.
"No, Chief. You're still fighting that drug. Besides, someone has got to find a way to neutralize those targets fast." Jim then dashed to the elevator.
Blair glared at his partner's back, yet had to admit he was right. Taking a deep breath, he gazed into the main room, forcing his mind to work. Hearing the music filtering out into the lobby, he asked, "Is that a band playing or a DJ?"
"It's a band," Rhonda replied.
Blair gave her a smile. "Think you can convince them to play louder?"
"And hide what we're doing?" she caught on as she grabbed a napkin. "Anyone have a pen?" Simon whipped one out of his pocket and handed it to her. Their eyes met briefly, neither quite knowing what to say to the other. Then Rhonda bent her head down to write a message for the bandleader.
"Just don't take too long and be careful," the commissioner requested worriedly. Rhonda gave her knight a brave smile before heading back into the crowd.
"I'll find the owner and explain what is going on. There may be a back room we can evacuate everyone to." Simon walked off in search of the kitchen.
"So how do we neutralize the transmitters?" Megan asked.
Blair glanced at the punch cup still in his hands to the huge bowl in the main room. "I think it's time for a new party game."
* * *
Jim stopped on the floor just below The Skylight and dashed through the carpeted corridor to the window. Carefully, he estimated where Yuri would have to be in order to shoot into the restaurant. Spotting the marker, Jim knew he was right. He turned to race back to the elevator, the sentinel intent on turning the hunter into the hunted.
* * *
Across the street
Yuri's first clue that there was a problem was when the band music suddenly blared into his ears. Yanking the headphones off, the assassin rubbed his ears for a moment. Then he checked the laptop. Unexpectedly, his targets began disappearing, one by one, off the screen. He stood up and howled, "NO!"
Then he gained control of himself. "Ellison." With vicious moves made jerky with anger and frustration, Yuri unhooked his equipment, picked it up, and stormed out of the room. He wasn't going to be caught, not this close to getting back into the game. He would escape and take on his adversary another day.
* * *
The Skylight
With the band whooping in the background, Simon and the Commissioner tried to explain to The Skylight's owner and the party organizers what was going on. Taggart and Connor quietly slipped through the crowd as they covertly checked for bombs
Meanwhile, Blair had his own assignment. He raced around the restaurant, the large glass punch bowl sloshing in his arms. Urgently, he requested everyone he passed to place their nametags into the bowl. Most, thinking it was some kind of game or weird raffle, laughingly dropped their tags in. After all, the charming young man with pink punch soaking his shirt sure seemed insistent.
"What do you think you are doing?" The large, matronly woman looked at the detective all- aghast. "This wasn't authorized!"
Blair looked up as the mayor joined her. "What's going on, honey?"
Ah hell, it's the mayor's wife. Blair gave her his best puppy dog look. "Please, ma'am. It's important."
"Do it, Nancy." Blair felt relief flow through him at the sound of the commissioner's voice.
"But Craig..."
The mayor, studying the grim expression on his friend's face, immediately added, "Do it, dear." He unhooked his own tag and dropped it into the punch.
Looking exasperated, his wife rolled her eyes and unhooked her tag. Blair accepted it, then dashed over to the next group.
* * *
Across the street
After taking a headset from Rafe and gulping down two aspirins, Jim joined the search of the building. He knew they didn't have much time. Either Yuri would start shooting, or he would realize that something was up and make a break for freedom. Jim had no intention of letting the assassin get away this time.
He had reached the second floor when he heard a nearby service elevator making its descent. About to leave it for the ground crew to cover, Jim suddenly paused. A faint whiff of scent teased his nose as the car passed by. "Yuri," the sentinel growled. He was already racing through the stairwell door as he shouted into his mike, "The perp is in the north end service elevator!" He then concentrated on pounding down the stairs as fast as he could.
Before he had reached the lowest floor, he heard gunfire. He yanked open the door and slipped out in a crouch, ducking behind a trash dumpster with two other officers. "He's making a break for it!" Brown warned across the airwaves.
Jim spotted his prey hopping into a black van. As it pulled out into the road in a hail of bullets, the sentinel dashed across to his partner's Volvo. Thankfully, he still had the keys. Jumping in, he gave chase before any of the other officers could make it to their own cars.
The van soon dodged around the blockades by taking an alleyway. Trashcans flew up in the air in rapid succession, barely missing Jim and the Volvo. "At least I'm not in the Taurus from the motorpool," the detective grumbled as he swerved to miss the flying debris. "Though it would probably run faster." It felt like his foot was practically on the 'classic' car's floorboard.
Yuri was soon on a narrow, curving street following a river. Jim had to focus on his driving, trying to keep the car under control on the wet street. Due to his familiarity of the road which Yuri lacked, the Volvo was amazingly gaining on the van. They had entered one of the few straight stretches when Jim noticed a small door open in the back of the van. Focusing ahead, he barely recognized the tube pointing at him before he heard a trigger release. "DAMN!" was all he could say as he immediately yanked open his door. Jim rolled out of the car just as a missile fired from the back of the van. It roared into the Volvo, exploding into a spectacular fireball. Jim rolled into a small ditch, sliding to a stop just inches from the heavy flow of rain water. He lay face down in the cold mud, covering his head as pieces of car rained down around him. "Sandburg is NEVER going to forgive me for this." Once the heated shower of metal eased, he cautiously lifted his head.
The black van was just navigating the curve ahead, traveling too fast for the road and the current conditions. It skidded on the wet street and was soon spinning out of control. As Jim watched, it slammed into one of the cement posts holding the 'Riverside Park' sign. Apparently, it triggered one of the devices inside. The vehicle blew up, sending another tower of flames into the gloomy evening sky. The detective again ducked as more debris flew his way. Once the rain of met
al stopped, he crawled out of the ditch just as Brown's car pulled up. Rafe and H. both jumped out, staring at the van burning merrily and what was left of Blair's Volvo. Then they spotted their mud-covered friend. They immediately dashed over to help him to his feet.
"Was that Yuri?" Rafe asked as he nodded his head towards the van.
"Yep," Jim replied. His headache had returned with vengeance.
"So we don't have to worry about him again," Henri commented as he helped his fellow detective over to his car, leaving the patrol cars behind them to call it in and handle the aftermath.
Jim didn't reply, only pausing a moment to stare at the wreckage.
* * *
The Skylight Entrance
Simon stood on the service dock puffing on his cigar as he listened to his cell phone. Quietly, Rhonda slipped out the door, trying to gauge her boss' mood. The tall captain caught her eye and waved her over. Closing the phone, he found himself staring at the woman whose skills and experience were more valuable to him than gold. "So, the commissioner, huh?"
Rhonda nodded hesitantly. "I never planned for this, sir."
Her boss sighed, "Love rarely is planned." His expression turned stern as he inquired, "Are you still loyal to my team?"
"Yes, sir," Rhonda replied just as seriously. "I would never do anything to jeopardize Major Crimes."
Simon's face softened. "Then see what you can do to salvage your evening."
Rhonda's face burst into a brilliant smile. "Thank you, sir!" She quickly turned to find her knight.
Blair passed her as she raced to the door. "Hey Simon, Rhonda looks pretty happy. You give your blessing to her and the Commish?"