Cypher Read online

  "Ellison, where in the hell have you been!? Where are you?!" Blair could hear Simon's voice blaring over the small unit.

  "I'm at ............ Lash is dead."

  "What about Sandburg?!" Blair was slightly flattered that Simon would sound concerned about his health. But then again, he sounded more irritated at the whole mess, than relived.

  "He's here. He's all right Simon. We need an ambulance."

  "No, Jim I'm fine." Blair tried to get up but Jim put a hand on his chest.

  "Just to get you checked out, Chief. It's routine." He finished with Simon, then put the unit in his pocket. "Just lie still, and keep breathing."

  Blair laid his head back against the coat Jim had put behind him and closed his eyes for a second. His heart was still pounding, but it was from the drug, not the terror he had felt for what seemed like hours. The relief was almost overwhelming. He had been so sure he was going to die, going to be the next victim of that madman, to be here now, with Jim watching over him was almost hard to believe. He was afraid to fall asleep, afraid this rescue would be a dream and he'd wake up back in the chair. Somewhere in the distance he heard sirens, coming closer. He opened his eyes again and Jim was still there, still holding him down.

  "I blew it, didn't I?" he asked. Somehow it had to be his fault, that Lash had picked him, had gotten to him. Jim wouldn't have been taken, he would have gotten control in the loft and arrested Lash.

  Jim was shaking his head. "No, Sandburg, you didn't blow it. You did everything right. It's okay." He saw the flashing lights behind Jim now as the ambulance pulled up. "We'll just take you to get checked out, then we'll be home. It's okay."

  Blair closed his eyes again and heard other voices. He wanted to open them again, but he couldn't. His eyelids were too heavy, and he felt like lead. Vaguely he felt someone lifting him, placing him on something warmer and more comfortable. Then he faded completely.

  * * *

  "He took a concentrated dose, that's why he kept losing consciousness. But he should be fine now. No lasting effects." The doctor was explaining to Jim that Blair could go home. He had just been buttoning his shirt when Jim came in. "Just take it easy for a few days, Mr. Sandburg. You've had a very traumatic experience, emotionally as well as physically."

  "Thanks Doc." he smiled, looking at Jim. "Can we get out of here now?"

  "Thank you doctor." Jim shook the doctor's hand then looked over at Blair. "Okay Chief, let's go. We'll head into the station in the morning, close this case out."

  It was nearly 3 a.m., and the emergency room was quiet. Blair was still a little woozy and Jim led him to the truck with one hand on his arm. On the drive back to the loft, Blair tried several times to clear Lash's face from his mind. He couldn't. "Jim, man.....I don't know how you found me there, but......"

  "Simple detective work, Sandburg." Jim replied with a grin. "Simple detective work."

  Blair laughed a little. "Yeah, right." he paused. "No, really Jim.....how did you figure it out?"

  "Back at Susan Fraiser's place, I found some duck down in her tub. Remember what Lash's father said, about how his son had killed his pet duck?"

  Blair nodded, shuddering. How was he ever going to forget?

  "Well, the water Carol pulled from the lungs of the other three victims was contaminated with duck waste. We just had to find a duck pond, and hope we got lucky."

  "God, Jim......there must be hundreds of duck ponds in the county." Blair was a little shocked. He thought they had somehow figured out exactly where he was, and came running. Had it really been pure luck? God, the thought made him shiver.

  "No, not quite. We were able to narrow it down a bit. But, basically, it came down to taking a chance." Jim parked the truck and they got out. "Call it instinct. A cop's instinct."

  Blair followed Jim up to the loft, shaking his head. "I'd rather call it a Sentinel's instinct."

  Jim laughed. "Whatever. It worked, didn't it?" he pushed open the shattered door and Blair walked inside, glancing around with a wince.

  "Jim.......I'm, sorry about the mess." He saw the television, the books scattered across the floor, the general destruction his fight had made.

  Jim patted his shoulder, pushing him towards his room. "Don't worry about it, Chief. All in the line of duty. Now, get some sleep. We have to go in first thing tomorrow and type up this report."

  "We?" Blair asked. Jim just smiled, pushing him down the hall.

  * * *

  "In a daring eleventh hour rescue, Detective Ellison saved the life of a Police Observer by gunning the killer down, moments before he would strike again. And so, Cascade will sleep easy tonight, because of you, Detective."

  Blair laughed along with the other's in the room as the morning news announced his partner's heroism. He was sitting on the edge of Jim's desk, still feeling a little shaky about the whole thing.

  "Well, I'd say you're guaranteed good press for the rest of your career." Simon teased.

  "Just put in a good word for me. This is my best side." Carol smiled, pointing to her right cheek as she passed the desk.

  Jim just smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed. Blair waited until everyone had gone back to their own work, then turned to Jim. "Hey Jim, last night, when you said I did everything right, did you mean that?" Blair vaguely remembered Jim telling him that, but he had been so scared, and confused after Jim's arrival due to the drug, he couldn't remember what he had done.

  Jim nodded, reaching for their coats. "Yeah. You kept your head, even though you thought you were gonna to die." he tossed Blair his coat and put his own on.

  "You know, the Chinese believe that if you save a man's life, you become his Blessed Protector, and it's your duty to do that for the rest of your life." He pulled on his jacket as they walked towards the door.

  "Really?" Jim smiled, laughing a little. They were in the hallway now. "Well, here's today's rescue."

  Blair looked up, pulling his hair out from under his coat.

  "Call to Christine. Beg. Crawl. Whatever you gotta do."

  Blair rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm pretty good at that, huh?"

  Jim was smiling, sage-like. "Don't ever lie to her. Remember...trust. Commitment."

  Blair nodded as they walked toward the elevator, listening to Jim. He half wondered why a man who's own marriage failed was lecturing him about commitment, but then, who was he to judge? Jim certainly knew more about committing than he did, at least where work and friends were concerned. "Speaking of commitment. I've been thinking about getting a Cascade PD insignia tattooed right on my chest."

  Jim pushed the elevator button and Blair leaned against the wall. "Above the nipple ring?"

  Blair looked at him, startled. "How'd know about that?"

  "Let me tell you something." Jim was slapping one fist into the other as they waited for the elevator doors to open. "You get a tatoo, and your Blessed Protector's gonna kick your ass down seven flights to the lobby." he threw a mock punch and Blair ducked, laughing.

  "Whoa, hey easy tough guy, come on." The elevator doors opened and he followed Jim inside. "You really think I'd put something on my body that I couldn't take off?" He patted Jim lightly on the back, noting the way his friend was rolling his eyes. "Although, an earring would be nice. Something tasteful. Maybe a small silver badge?" Jim looked up at the lights, shaking his head. Blair was laughing as the doors closed.