Sentinel fic - One Good Turn, part 1

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Thanks: To Susan for allowing me to play in her Cascade Clan universe and not minding (or not admitting that she minds) when I refuse to play with the GDP. To Susan and Eileen for hosting my stories on their fabulous and AU-rific site. To Nancy for her endless encouragement and demands for "More!" (I swear she was Oliver Twist in a previous life). And to Georgie for having the patience to read through my stories and point out where things are a bit garbled.


One Good Turn
by Arnie

"But, Daddy -"

"No! I've already told you, Marianne, that I've made up my mind. And that's an end to it." The door slammed shut behind him and Gregory Dupres left for his office.

Left behind, Marianne sat on the couch and hugged a cushion to herself. It wasn't fair! She'd found her Sentinel; she'd found the Sentinel she wanted to spend the rest of her life with - and her father was insistent on making her bond with some tycoon's son in North Dakota.

Well, she wasn't a Dupres for nothing. Tilting her chin defiantly, she grabbed her car keys and left. She had a friend to visit.

~'~

"Marianne!"

"Hey, Blair." She hugged him exuberantly. Blair Sandburg was smart, practical and sneaky, with a streak of loyalty a mile wide. He was also a Guide-strength empath who had no intention of bonding with anyone. If anyone would help her, he would, she was sure of it.

His smile faded quickly. "What's up?"

She smiled, not at all surprised that he'd picked up on her feelings. "You remember I told you that I met a Sentinel?"

"Yeah, I remember. Uh...Chase?"

"Jason."

"Sorry, Jason. He's a cop, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." That had been another strike against him in her father's eyes. His daughter was not going to work - let alone work in a police department.

"So what's the problem?"

"My father. He's chosen a Sentinel for me."

Blair looked stunned. "He's arranged a bonding?"

She nodded. "Not only that, but he's going the whole hog. I'm being escorted down to North Dakota by the Senior Sentinel Prime and some of his Clan - and I have to wear one of those old gown and veil get ups." Her father, besides believing that he knew what was best for his daughter, was also ultra-conservative.

"You're kidding!"

Shaking her head, she felt her eyes fill with tears.

"Well, why don't you just go ahead and bond with Jason? Doesn't he want to bond?"

"Yes! But you know what my father's like! You know they can break the bond without too many side-effects as long as it's done soon after the bonding. I need time to be with him, for the bond to settle. Then Daddy won't be able to do a thing."

"And with your father having so much money and everything...."

"He'll be able to track me down."

"And drag you home." Blair paced up and down for a minute. "What about this other Sentinel? Does he want an arranged bonding?"

"I don't know. His father and mine do a lot of business together. Mr. Ventriss is the one who suggested the bonding."

"So when are you being shipped off?"

"Next Friday." She sniffled again, then burst into tears. "I don't want to bond with Brad!"

"Hey, hey." His arms slid around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. "It'll be okay. I'll think of something, I promise."

~'~

"Hey, Matt."

"Hey, Blair. You're just in time." Matt handed him a bottle of beer. "We've got pizza, we've got beer...all we need is women."

"Well, don't look at me, Matt, you're not my type." Blair looked around the untidy room. "Is Ric here?"

The pile of clothes on the couch moved suddenly, and Ric sat up. "Someone taking my name in vain?" he drawled. "Blair!" A hand, clutching a bottle, appeared from the mass of clothing. "We got beer!"

"I guess your allowance came through then?" Blair prodded the clothes on one of the chairs to make sure that none of their other friends was lurking underneath, then sat down.

"Uh huh! Dad wasn't gonna pay up but Grams gave him hell. Here's to Grams!" There was a few seconds' silence as Ric, Matt and Blair solemnly toasted the elderly lady. "I'm outta beer!" Ric pushed the clothes aside and got up. Once fully in sight, he was exposed as being a tall, skinny guy in his early twenties. Wide shoulders showed that he'd broaden out at some point but Cedric Wilson Enderby III was, so far, still as stick thin as he was the first day Blair had met him.

"Ric?"

"That's me, man!"

Another beer bottle was pushed into Blair's other hand and he accepted it automatically. "You've got family down in North Dakota, haven't you?"

Ric almost choked. "Have I? That's like saying that Chancellor Edwards has cooties. I got 'em all over North Dakota!" He waved his beer bottle to illustrate his point, then licked up the beer that trickled over his hand.

"You know anything about a Brad Ventriss?" Settling his second bottle between his feet, Blair took a gulp from his first.

Ric appeared to sober up almost immediately. "Blair, if Brad Ventriss is a friend of yours, you are off my Christmas card list."

"No friend. I just need to know what kind of a guy he is."

"Huh!" Ric exchanged a glance with Matt then contemplated the label on his beer bottle. "If Brad Ventriss were a wine, he's the type you'd send to your worst enemy."

"That bad?"

"Ric," Matt put in, "just tell him."

Ric shrugged and picked at a slice of pizza before dumping it back in the box. "Rumour has it that the only reason he's not in jail is because Daddy has big bucks."

"Jail for what?"

Sighing, Ric dumped the beer bottle on the littered coffee table and sat back, running his hands over his face. "You didn't hear this from me, okay?"

"Okay."

"He's...into date rape."

"What?!"

"The guy's a sleazeball, Blair. Rumours have been circulating about him for years but because he always picks girls who come from the 'wrong side of the tracks' there are never any charges brought. Apparently his last victim wasn't so ready to roll over and let him get away with it, so her dad lost his job and didn't get it back until she agreed to shut up."

"And people let him get away with this?"

"His dad has a lot of money and employs a lot of people. If it's a choice between shutting up or seeing your family end up on the breadline, what are you gonna do?" Ric shook his head. "Plus, there's not that much evidence, you know. A couple of his 'supposed' victims killed themselves but, hey, that's nothing to do with Brad baby; he's a total gentleman!" Abandoning his beer completely, Ric returned to the kitchen. "I need coffee."

"Blair?"

Half-lost in his thoughts, Blair looked up into Matt's concerned face.

"What made you ask about Brad? Is he giving you trouble?"

He shook his head. "I've never met the guy. It's just..." Blair sat back. "You remember Marianne?"

Ric wandered back in, a jar of instant coffee in his hand. "Marianne Dupres?" An appreciative smile lit up his face. "I sure do. She's the kind of girl that could get a guy to church."

"Her dad's arranged for her to bond with Brad."

The coffee was abandoned as Ric perched on the edge of the coffee table. "Blair, you gotta stop her!"

"She doesn't want to bond with him; she's found her own Sentinel."

"But her dad wants her to bond with Brad." Matt made it more of a statement than a question.

"That's right."

"Huh. So what's her dad like?" Ric asked. "Would he listen to reason?"

"Reason, maybe...I guess. Rumours?" Blair shook his head. "Anyway, he's a bit...well...let me put it this way, when Marianne goes to this bonding, she's going in the full gown and veil get up."

Matt choked on his beer. "No one's worn that in decades!"

Blair shrugged. "She's being escorted to Bismarck by a pile of Sentinels. Apparently, they'd be sent mad by the sight of her ankles, or something."

Ric looked disgusted. "Don't tell me, he's the kind of guy who believes that nice girls don't get raped - or if they do, they were asking for it."

"I don't know - I just don't. But Marianne's convinced her dad won't change his mind. He does a lot of business with Mr. Ventriss; you really think he'd believe his business partner's son is a rapist?"

"No." Matt put his bottle of beer on the floor. "You were right about needing coffee, Ric. The smell of this beer is turning my stomach." Leaving it behind, he collected the jar of coffee and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Sorry, guys," Blair muttered, getting up. "You were celebrating before I came in."

"Hey, no." Ric gestured for him to sit down again. "I like Marianne; she's a sweet kid. And, to be honest, anything I can do to put a spoke in one of Brad's little wheels is okay by me, you know?"

"I can't think of anything we can do, Ric. I thought of taking Marianne's place -"

"I think even Brad, intellectually challenged though he is, would notice that you're not a girl. You know what I'm sayin'?"

"I wasn't thinking of going through with the bonding, man! I was thinking of going to Bismarck in Marianne's place then leaving 'em behind at the airport and coming back."

"Huh. You are the right height, and you would be in a gown and veil. You can't tell who's what underneath one of those things."

"Yeah, but they're Sentinels," Blair pointed out. "They're gonna be able to tell that 'she' is a 'he'."

Ric smiled slowly as satisfaction radiated from him. "Maybe, maybe not." He laughed to himself for a moment, then, "Matt!"

"Yeah?"

"What was Gizmo saying about those scent pad things of his?"

Matt came in, three mugs of coffee held precariously in his hands. "What?"

"Gizmo. Remember when he was in the lab? He was wittering on about a new kind of air fresh."

Blair stared at him. "Ric, I don't think it'll help if I go in there smelling of pine fresh or ocean breeze."

"Nah, this was a thing he'd invented. Basically, you could put your favourite scent in there - it doesn't have to be summer flowers or pine trees."

Blair still didn't see where he was going with this.

"Oh, I remember!" Matt put the mugs down. "He said it'd be perfect for avenging wives and all that. You could put the scent of prawns in there and hide it in the guy's car. I think he's already sold a couple. You know Kate caught Nick cheating on her, don't you?"

"Huh. I'll remember not to ask him for a ride anywhere. Anyway, the point is, Gizmo could probably fix it up to put Marianne's scent in there. If you wore one, it'd be bound to cover your natural odour, (not that I'm making comments here, Blair), so the Sentinels won't realise that anything's wrong."

"You think it'll work?"

"We'll give him a challenge. Gizmo loves challenges. So, if we can get this to work, are you gonna go trotting off to North Dakota with Marianne's dad?"

Blair sat back and thought about it - for all of two seconds. "Yeah. I'll do it."

~'~

"Look, Gizmo, if you don't think you can do it -"

"I didn't say that, Ric, did I? I just wanna know what's going on, that's all." Gizmo's eyes intently examined each of them in turn. His trouble radar was pinging like mad, and Gizmo, resident tech genius of Rainier campus, hadn't stayed alive and out of trouble without listening to that radar.

"Okay, Gizmo, here's the deal," Matt laid an arm across his shoulders. "You know Eddie Grant?"

"Yeah!" Everyone knew Eddie Grant; he was rich, spoiled, and believed that whatever he wanted he could have.

"Well, we know someone could be Eddie Grant's twin and we wanna make him think that someone is someone else."

Gizmo looked at Matt then at Ric. "So what's his part in this?" he asked, pointing to the Teaching Fellow in their midst.

"He's the someone."

"So who's the someone else?"

Mr. Sandburg spoke up, "Does that matter?"

"It does if you want my help, pal!" Mr. Sandburg might be a grad student and part-time Teaching Fellow but Gizmo was a tech genius - and they needed him. He waited as the three of them exchanged glances.

Finally, Ric sighed and admitted, "Marianne Dupres."

"Ooh, Marianne!" Gizmo smiled. He liked Marianne. She was pretty enough to be one of the popular girls but smart enough to avoid the shallow in-crowd. "She's a Guide. You're a Guide!" The wheels were turning in Gizmo's head and naturally enough his tongue spun into gear before he could stop it. "You're gonna bond with someone in her place?"

Mr. Sandburg looked appalled. "No!"

"It's just to play a trick on Eddie Grant's evil twin, Gizmo. That's all." Matt's arm turned him back to his workbench. "So, you think you can do it?"

"Ha! Can I do it? You need to have faith in me, Matt. Of course I can do it."

~'~

Naturally, Jason, Marianne's Sentinel-to-be, had to be brought in on the plans. He didn't like the deception as he would have preferred to go to North Dakota himself and simply challenge Brad Ventriss. Marianne was not in favour of that as she knew how ruthless her father could be - and the odds were that Mr. Ventriss was a bird of a feather in that respect. Finally, Jason agreed to ignore his reservations and he became invaluable during the scenting tests. Fortunately, he wasn't there when Gizmo was rubbing swabs all over Marianne's neck in order to work out her exact scent; Sentinels do not like people messing with their Guides' necks.

"Okay, give it a minute." Gizmo handed one of his scent pads to Blair and stepped back. "You see, your body heat will warm the pad and it'll start giving off Marianne's scent. At least, that's the idea."

Feeling stupid, Blair held onto the pad.

"No...it's gotta be up against your body for it to work. Put it under your shirt."

Feeling even more stupid, Blair slid the pad under his shirt and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. "So how long will it last, anyway?"

"Most of my pads last about a week right now. That'll give you enough time, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, the pad should be warm enough now. Sentinel Hatfield, you want to uh...smell him?"

Jason looked apprehensive but he moved away from Marianne and stood next to Blair, sniffing cautiously. He hesitated, then sniffed again, harder. "I can smell Marianne but it's not strong enough."

"Okay." Gizmo moved back to his workbench and spent a few minutes working on another pad. "Put that under your shirt."

Blair tucked the second one into place and they all watched the clock.

"Okay, now try it."

Jason leaned in again and inhaled. Then his face cleared and he leaned in closer, growling slightly.

Blair leaned back as Jason's sudden interest in him surged against his mental barriers. "Okay, man, I think that's it!"

"What? Oh, yeah." Jason returned to Marianne's side and wrapped his arms around her waist, scenting at her neck. "They work."

"I could tell!" Marianne said, the smile on her face taking the sting out of her words.

Blair took a deep breath. "So, what time should I be at yours on Friday then?"

~'~

Friday came all too soon for Blair and he yawned as he stumbled out of his warehouse and into Jason's car.

"Didn't sleep well?"

Blair shook his head and gazed blearily at the passing scene. He'd spent the entire night tossing and turning, and what sleep he had got had been filled with nightmares.

"You're not changing your mind, are you?"

"No, man. There's no way Marianne can bond with that guy. You just make sure to do your part and be fully bonded by the time Mr. Dupres catches up with you."

Jason smiled. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll take good care of her."

"I know. She trusts you."

"That's how it should be, Blair. Maybe you'll find that out one day."

"Not me, man! I'm happy the way I am."

Jason let it go, although Blair suspected that was because he was doing both Jason and Marianne a huge favour. If not, he was positive Jason would have continued with a "it's good to bond" talk. He knew that, once bonded, most Guides were perfectly happy with their bond, it was just that it wasn't for him. He liked his freedom. Plus the idea of being stuck with some Sentinel for the rest of his life totally didn't appeal - supposing they didn't get on?

"Okay, we're here."

Blair looked up, startled. "Okay. Marianne should be out soon. Seeya, Jason."

"Blair."

He looked back through the open door.

"Thanks. I appreciate this."

Blair shrugged and smiled. "I couldn't let Marianne get shipped off to North Dakota. I mean, who on earth arranges a bonding nowadays?" With that, he shut the door and left.

Getting into the house was easier than any of them had hoped it would be. The housekeeper, practically Marianne's adopted mother, was another person who was not happy at seeing Marianne sent to North Dakota to bond with some Sentinel they'd never met before. And, once Brad's charming personality was described to her, she had offered to help in any way she could. Therefore, all Blair had to do was meet her at the gate and be escorted to Marianne's room by way of the back stairs.

"You came!"

Blair hugged Marianne tightly. "Of course I came! I said I would."

"We don't have much time." Marianne dragged him over to where her bonding outfit was waiting. "This is it."

"Man! I thought these things were a thing of the past." The full length robe was thick and heavy, the better to disguise any alluring shape with. "And how are you supposed to see through this thing?" He held the veil up to the light. It was almost as bad as the robe.

A knock at the door startled them all. "Marianne? Fifteen minutes!"

"I'm just getting changed now, Daddy. I won't be long."

"All right."

They heard his footsteps move away down the hall and all three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's get moving." Blair hurriedly stripped off his extra shirts and slid the pads in place beneath his t-shirt before tucking it back into his jeans. "Don't forget to give my backpack to Ric. I don't want to freeze on the way back."

Marianne shoved his shirts into his backpack and zipped it up. "I won't forget."

"Sit!" The housekeeper's hand on his shoulder pushed him towards the dressing table chair, and within seconds a thin scarf was wrapped tightly around his head, smoothing his hair and flattening his curls. "The robe next." Between them, Marianne and the housekeeper lifted it from the mannequin and helped Blair struggle into it. The veil was put in place and adjusted, then the hood was pulled forward and the sides of the veil tucked back into place.

"How does that feel?" Marianne asked anxiously.

Blair stared out through the veil. The portion that covered his eyes was thinner than the rest of it so he could actually see out. "It feels awful!" He tried walking up and down a bit, and felt hampered by the skirts of the robe. "It's a good thing I'm not going to try to outrun them in this - I wouldn't get very far!"

"That's probably the idea!" the housekeeper commented, her tone sarcastic. "But its heaviness will help disguise your shoulders." She handed over the white gloves that completed the ensemble, then opened the door and looked out carefully. "Marianne!"

Marianne nodded then hugged Blair again. "Thank you!"

"It's okay. Just be happy. I'll see you when you get back to Cascade."

The pair of them disappeared out of the door and Blair was left alone to put on his gloves, or rather, Marianne's gloves. He managed to squeeze his hands into the gloves and thanked God they weren't leather - at least the cotton material was a bit more giving. Taking a few deep breaths, he ran through a meditation exercise in an attempt to calm himself but lost his thread completely when there was another knock at the door.

"Marianne? Are you ready? The Cascade Clan are here."

Blair opened the door quickly.

Mr. Dupres was waiting for him, a pleased smile on his face. "There, you look fine! I said you would. Now remember, Marianne, I don't want you to talk at all until we're alone with the Ventrisses. Some of the Sentinels escorting us, including the Senior Sentinel Prime, are unbonded. And we don't want any of them challenging Brad, now, do we?"

Underneath his veil, Blair rolled his eyes. Mr. Dupres really was a piece of work!

"Come along then. And remember, don't say anything."

Blair nodded. Marianne had told him that her father wanted her to stay silent on the way and, as there was no way his voice could be mistaken for Marianne's light tone, he was more than ready to remain quiet.

He tensed as Mr. Dupres took his arm to escort him down the stairs, then tensed even more as he saw the group of Sentinels and Guides waiting for him in the hall. There was no doubt that the Sentinels, at least, would have heard Mr. Dupres' reminder about being quiet and, from the annoyed look on the face of the guy at the front, they were less than impressed.

"Shall we go?" Like splinters of ice, the words fell into the silence.

The hand on Blair's arm tightened. "One moment!" Mr. Dupres was rivalling the lead guy in terms of chilliness. "Marianne, this is the Senior Sentinel Prime, James Ellison. Senior Sentinel Prime, this is my daughter, Marianne Dupres."

The Senior Sentinel Prime had greater control over his face muscles than Blair had. Blair could have sworn that the guy was mentally rolling his eyes as fast as they could spin.

"Miss Dupres."

Blair had no idea how he was supposed to respond. Finally, he settled for tilting his head in acknowledgement.

Ellison had obviously decided to go the whole hog and he introduced 'Miss Dupres' to every member of his Clan who was present. From the way the hand on his arm was flexing and relaxing, Blair could tell that Mr. Dupres wasn't pleased.

Finally, after the last Guide had stepped back, Mr. Dupres spoke again, the words clipped and his voice tight. "All right, let's go."

The cars were already waiting and Blair found himself sitting in the back of a Mercedes that was in immaculate condition. Marianne's father was at his side and the Senior Sentinel Prime got to sit by the driver. Blair had to stop himself smiling. It was obvious that Ellison was finding this to be as big a bore as he was.

~'~

Sitting in the front of the car by Dupres' obviously long-suffering chauffeur, Jim sighed to himself. How on earth Dupres had managed to persuade the Mayor that his daughter warranted being escorted by the senior members of the Cascade Clan was beyond him. However, he was here now and it should, he hoped, be easy enough. All they had to do was get the girl to Bismarck and hand her over to the Ventrisses. Mr. Dupres would be staying but his private plane would fly the Cascade Clan back to their city.

Jim shifted slightly as his thoughts returned to Miss Dupres. Her scent was unsettling him, he had no idea why. Every time she came near him, he would have sworn he could smell another scent on her - an alluring, tempting scent that was inviting him to rip off her veil and bury his face in her neck. He took a deep breath then shut his eyes as her scent reached him again.

Maybe Dupres had had the right idea in putting her in that ridiculous costume.

~'~

Finally, they reached the airport and Mr. Dupres led the way through the terminal, Miss Dupres walking sedately at his side.

Behind them, Jim ground his teeth together. Her scent was driving him crazy. Every time he inhaled, he had a weird dichotomy of reactions: one was the protective acknowledgement all Sentinels had when faced with a Guide who was not their own, and the other was a raging need that cried out to him to claim his Guide. If that scent had been the only one present, he would have claimed her on the spot and fought the other Sentinel in defence of his bond. However, it wasn't; that other scent was there, overlying that wonderful musk and confusing the hell out of his senses.

Growling softly to himself, he shook his head. She was being bonded to another Sentinel, and that was the end of it. Determinedly, he dialled his sense of smell down and let her scent disappear.

Once on board the plane, he kept his distance from her, but snagged Edwards by the arm as he passed.

"Senior Sentinel Prime?"

"Do you notice anything unusual about her scent?"

"Miss Dupres'?" Jim nodded and Edwards turned his head to stare at the silent Guide. "I haven't but I didn't really scent her. As she's not a Clan Guide, I didn't see much point in logging her scent."

"Do me a favour and see what you think."

Edwards nodded then left him to wander up the plane and back down again.

"Well?"

"I didn't notice anything unusual."

"Damn!" Jim shook his head. "I could have sworn there were two scents mixed in together; hers and another Guide's." At Edwards' concerned look, he shrugged. "Obviously, I was wrong."

"Do you want me to try again?"

"No. If we say anything at all, Dupres will get upset and he is a friend of the Mayor's. I'm sure Simon would appreciate it if we didn't bring down any more heat on him."

Edwards grinned. Captain Simon Banks was well used to taking flak from that official, and he certainly wouldn't be pleased with anyone who handed the Mayor any more ammunition.

Jim shook his head again. "Okay, let's get seated. The sooner this is over, the better."

~'~

Considering that Blair had spent the night worrying about the day, that he was wearing a warm, thick robe and that the cabin was well-heated, he wasn't actually surprised when he woke up suddenly and realised he'd been fast asleep.

Glancing around the plane, he felt extremely grateful for his veil and hoped, fervently, that he hadn't been snoring. He had no idea if Marianne snored but he was quite sure that, if she did, her snores would sound nothing like his. He realised that Ellison was staring at him, a small smile playing about his mouth, and grimaced. Of course the Sentinels would be able to tell that he'd fallen asleep and was now awake. How annoying.

"Marianne?" There was a gentle touch on his arm and he turned his head to look at Mr. Dupres. "Ah, you are awake. We're about to land so fasten your seatbelt, dear."

Blair nodded his head slightly and hurriedly fastened his seatbelt, keeping his gaze directed down and away from the Sentinel who was watching him so closely. He didn't know why Ellison was so fascinated by him, but he wished he'd knock it off.

They'd landed and were heading towards yet another expensive car that was waiting by the terminal doors, when Blair made his move. He touched Mr. Dupres' arm lightly, then gestured towards the ladies' room. For a second, he thought Mr. Dupres was going to suggest that he hold it until they arrived at the Ventrisses' and his eyes widened in alarm but, fortunately, Mr. Dupres didn't and Blair hurried to the door without a backward glance.

~'~

The minutes passed slowly outside the restroom. Jim, falling back on his military training, simply stood at ease and waited. Mr. Dupres, obviously unused to having to wait for anyone or anything, waited for a few moments, then started pacing and glaring at his watch as if it were responsible for his daughter's bladder.

Finally, Tina, Sentinel Niven's Guide, suggested quietly that she should go in and see if Miss Dupres needed any help. Getting the nod from both her own Sentinel and Jim, she hurried past them and inside the restroom.

There was a few seconds' quiet, then Sentinel Niven surged forward and burst through the door, the rest of the Clan behind him. They found Tina, standing stock still, her face almost as white as the Guide's robe in her hands.

"It was in that stall. I think she's gone!"

"What do you mean she's gone?" Mr. Dupres demanded from the doorway. "Marianne? Marianne!"

Jim stared up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, its even edges dripping with dust motes. "She's gone all right. Up into the ventilation system." He turned to the others. "Spread out. She has to come down at some point." As the Sentinels and Guides dispersed, Jim grabbed for Mr. Dupres' arm and drew him away from the doorway.

"What are you waiting for? You have to find her!"

"My Clan will search the airport; they'll find her. But I need to know, Mr. Dupres, is your daughter unwilling to bond?"

Mr. Dupres' colour deepened alarmingly. "Unwilling? How dare you think such a thing! My daughter's welfare is of the utmost importance to me, Sentinel Ellison, and don't you forget it! It's obvious to me that she's been kidnapped! And if you were half the detective you're supposed to be, you'd see that too."

Jim glared at the man. From what he could see, kidnapping was an unlikely explanation; Miss Dupres escaping from an unwanted bond was far more likely. However, this was a friend of the Mayor's, so, "We will consider that angle, I assure you, sir."

"You better had!"

~'~

"Hey guys."

"Blair!" Standing up, Ric gave him a hug as Matt slapped him on the back. "We knew you could do it!"

"Yeah, don't look now though." Matt jerked his head in the direction of the dispersing Sentinels.

"Just let me put on the rest of my stuff first." Blair rummaged through his backpack, pulling out his flannel shirt and jacket. "It was freezing...." Glancing at the Sentinels, he left the rest of it unsaid.

"We'll soon be back in warm and sunny Cascade," Matt reminded him.

"Yeah," Ric smiled. "Beaches, babes -"

"And enough rain to qualify for the monsoon season," Blair finished. "Let's go."

~'~

All too soon, it became obvious that Marianne was gone. With the Cascade Clan and its leader showing a huge amount of incompetence, Gregory Dupres reached for his cell phone and called his friend, the Mayor of Cascade.

~'~

Blair locked his door behind him and dumped his backpack on the floor. It was good to know that that charade was behind him. He really hadn't looked forward to pretending to be Marianne, even though he wasn't sorry that he had. She was a friend of his and she had needed his help. What else could he do?

He shivered slightly and hurried over to put on his space heaters. Ric and Matt had invited him back to their place to celebrate but he was just too tired. He'd go by their place tomorrow.

Yawning, he made himself a cup of tea and sat down to watch some TV, although his mind really wasn't on it. Leaning his head against the back of the couch, he yawned again, then sat up straight to reach for his cup. His hand froze in mid-air as the news began and a picture of Marianne was shown on the screen.

His jaw dropped as he listened to Gregory Dupres' plea for his daughter's kidnappers to get in touch, then he jumped a mile as his cell phone rang. His eyes were still fixed to the screen as he grabbed for his backpack and quickly pulled his phone out. "Blair -"

"Have you seen the news?!" Ric had never sounded so panicky in his life, Blair was sure of that. "They think we kidnapped Marianne!"

Blair turned away from the screen and turned the sound off. He couldn't concentrate while listening to Mr. Dupres' platitudes. "It's okay, man, keep calm! There's no way they can trace this so-called kidnapping to us!"

He held the phone away from his ear as Ric exploded verbally on the other end of the line.

"Look! We had to do this! What would Marianne be going through right now if we hadn't?!"

There was silence for a second then, "Yeah. Yeah. You're right." Ric took a deep breath. "So what do we do?"

"Nothing. If Marianne doesn't phone the cops and tell them she hasn't been kidnapped, I'll be surprised. And if she doesn't, she'll be in Cascade long before they can track anything to us. I mean, Marianne didn't get on any commercial flight out of Bismarck, so they've got no reason to check the passenger lists. And even if they do check all the passenger lists, why would they assume we had anything to do with it?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"What about Matt, is he okay?"

"Well, kinda." There was a pause and Blair heard bottles clanking in the background. "He's drinking all the beer we have as he says they don't get beer in the clink."

"The clink? Where did he pick up that term?"

"Who knows? I think he's been watching old gangster movies or something."

Blair sighed. "Look, we're not going to jail. We haven't done anything wrong."

"Tell him that."

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and abandoned the subject of Matt's reaction for another, just as important. "What about Gizmo? Will he be okay with this?"

"Yeah, he won't even know. Gizmo doesn't believe in watching TV. Says the Government uses it to subliminally programme its citizens."

Blair shook his head in disbelief. Even Naomi hadn't believed that theory. "What about when he's back in the uni on Monday?"

"Who'd tell him? The last time Gizmo had a conversation that even approached normal, Clinton was believed to be monogamous."

"Well...if you're sure...."

"Yeah, positive. Uh oh, gotta go - Matt's finished the beer."

The line went dead and Blair turned his attention back to the TV. He froze as he saw a very familiar pair of eyes and hurriedly turned the sound up.

"Sentinel Ellison! Is it true that Marianne Dupres was kidnapped from under the very noses of the Cascade Clan?"

"Senior Sentinel Prime! Do you have anything you'd like to say to viewers who are worried that Sentinels are losing their touch?"

The door on the TV slammed shut and Blair sank down onto his couch. He really hoped that Marianne phoned someone soon.

~'~

Jim grimaced as his phone rang. He didn't need to be psychic to know it was his boss.

"Ellison."

"Would you like to explain why I had to hear from the Mayor that Miss Dupres was kidnapped?"

He was right, it was Simon. "I don't believe this is a kidnapping, sir."

"Mr. Dupres -"

Glancing around the Bismarck P.D., Jim turned to face the wall and kept his voice down. "With all due respect, sir, Mr. Dupres refuses to entertain the idea that his daughter didn't want to bond with a total stranger." Jim could tell that his boss was calming down slowly. Hopefully, he'd be more likely to listen to reason than the irate Mr. Dupres. "Miss Dupres disappeared from the ladies' restroom in Bismarck air-"

"I know that!" Simon interrupted.

"She took off the bonding gown and veil her father had her wear, and climbed up into the ventilation system. If it were a kidnapping, the kidnappers had to know that she would need the restroom and had to subdue her and get her into the ventilation system and out of the airport without any Sentinel noticing. Simon, I couldn't smell any drugs in the stall, so the supposed kidnappers didn't sedate her. And would you like to take on the challenge of silently kidnapping a five foot eight woman and lifting her up into the ceiling? Even if there was more than one of them, there's no way it could have been done that quietly. Plus, there was a lot of dust in the ventilation shaft. No one was dragged along that shaft, but someone crawled through there."

"Meaning that Miss Dupres went willingly."

"Yes. Forensics have dusted the shaft for fingerprints and are faxing the results to Serena. I've already phoned her and told her to go to the Dupres residence and get Miss Dupres' fingerprints from her bedroom. Once we've proved that Miss Dupres was the only one in there, Mr. Dupres will have to accept that she wasn't kidnapped."

"You did get Mr. Dupres' permission to visit his house, didn't you?"

Jim grinned. "I explained that it would be necessary to eliminate any stray fingerprints Miss Dupres may have left."

There was silence for a second and Simon's body rhythms calmed to normal. "All right. How long are you planning on staying in Bismarck?"

"Not long. The Bismarck P.D. have got everything in hand." Jim paused, then, "I think we'll be catching a commercial flight back, sir."

"Hmm. I'll consider signing off on your expense sheet if you're right."

"Yes, sir."

"All right, Detective. Let me know when you know something."

~'~

Once the Bismarck P.D. showed that they were quite capable of handling the enquiries, Mr. Dupres 'suggested' that the Cascade Clan might like to return to Cascade. The Clan was more than willing to do that and, to Jim's surprise, Mr. Dupres' private plane was ready to carry them back. Refusing to look a gift horse in the mouth, he hustled his Clan on board and they took off. Four hours later, Jim was in Simon's office being given the bad news.

"Serena sent the fingerprints' comparison up. They don't match."

"What?" Jim sat down. He'd been positive. "How can they not have matched?"

"Look for yourself, Jim." Simon's voice was sympathetic as he handed the sheets over. "The set from the shaft are definitely not Miss Dupres' fingerprints and there's no record of them in the database."

"Jesus." Leaning back, Jim ran his hand over his head. "Simon, none of this makes sense." Turning his head, he glared at the ringing phone on his desk.

"You want to get that?"

"It's probably reporters." He shrugged and headed into the bullpen. "I'd better get it though," he called over his shoulder. "Ellison."

The man on the other end sounded distinctly nervous even before he spoke. "Senior Sentinel Prime?"

Jim frowned. He knew that voice.

"This is Sentinel Hatfield." He gulped again, his rate of respiration increasing. "I'm bonded to Marianne Dupres."

"What?!" Jim really hadn't expected that one.

"Mr. Dupres was sending her to Bismarck to bond with a - a Sentinel she'd never met, sir. He was aware that - that she had already met me and wished to bond but he didn't feel that a police officer was good enough for her."

Jim wasn't interested in discussing Mr. Dupres' snobbery, he just wanted to know one thing. "How did she get out of that airport?!" He noticed the way Simon sat up with interest. Well, at least they'd be off the hook for allowing Miss Dupres to be kidnapped.

"She was never there, sir, a friend of hers took her place. He escaped by climbing up -"

"Into the ventilation system. We already figured that out."

"Yes, sir." There was silence for a few seconds as Jim thought it through, then Hatfield asked, "Do you wish us to return to the P.D., Senior Sentinel Prime?"

"Yes." Jim's voice was harsh. Of all the stupid, brainless things to do, this took the biscuit. He took a deep breath. "The Clan acknowledges your bond, Sentinel Hatfield, but this mess needs to be sorted out."

"Yes, Senior Sentinel Prime. We can be there within an hour."

"I'll see you then." He all but slammed the phone down. Why the hell hadn't Hatfield come to him before putting this idiotic scheme into motion? Why hadn't -

He.

The other Guide was male.

One male, one female.

Dual scents.

Jim took a few more deep breaths and tried to calm the Sentinel within him. God help Sentinel Hatfield if his Guide's scent was the wrong one.

~'~

Jim left Simon happily planning his phone call to the Mayor, and paced up and down in the bullpen, watching the clock. Finally, just forty-eight seemingly endless minutes after he'd put down the phone, he heard the elevator ping and the doors slide open.

He kept his face impassive as he waited, although he could feel his nerves thrilling to the adrenalin rush as he readied for battle, if need be. One Guide would be his, one would not; which one was she?

Sentinel Hatfield appeared, pulling his nervous-looking Guide along by her hand. Her grey eyes flitted up to meet Jim's, then she ducked out of sight behind her Sentinel's back.

Jim inhaled, filtering out the other scents and focussing on the Sentinel and Guide only a few short feet away from him.

For a second, he felt almost giddy with relief; she wasn't his. Then, determination flooded through him. They knew who his Guide was and they would tell him.

~'~

Jason gulped as he faced the irate looking Senior Sentinel Prime. He knew Sentinel Ellison, who didn't? But seeing him about the P.D. or attending a Clan gathering in his presence were very different from facing him when your Guide was the supposed victim of a kidnapping that had embarrassed the Clan. And, to make it worse, the stronger Sentinel looked as though he was about to go to war.

"Senior Sent -"

"Who was the other Guide?"

Jason blinked.

"Who took her place?"

"Uh...Se...a friend of Ma - my Guide."

"Name?"

What on earth was the Senior Sentinel Prime up to? Why was he so insistent on knowing who the other Guide was? Jason felt Marianne tugging on the back of his sweater. They'd agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone who had helped them. Mr. Dupres was bound to be furious and, as he would hardly be able to target his daughter's bonded Sentinel, especially if the Clan were going to protect them, they were worried that he might take his rage out on the one who made Marianne's escape possible.

Jason's thoughts escaped him as the Senior Sentinel Prime stepped into his personal space and loomed over him threateningly.

"What is his name?"

He heard Marianne whimper slightly, and the tugging on his sweater increased as he answered, "Blair Sandburg."

"Where do I find him?"

Jason tried to calm his rocketing heartbeat as the Senior Sentinel Prime stared him down. Finally, despite the almost frantic tugging behind him, he told him Blair's address.

The stronger Sentinel was gone almost before he'd finished and he took a deep breath. Now that he didn't have Ellison in his face, Jason was able to think again and he was sure he knew why the other Sentinel was determined to find this Guide.

Turning, he wrapped his arms around Marianne. "I'm sorry. I had to tell him."

Her voice was muffled against his chest. "But we promised!"

He rested his head on top of hers. "He's the Senior Sentinel Prime, Marianne. I had to tell him."

There was a few seconds' pause then her arms wrapped around his waist and she hugged him back.

~'~

Ignoring the gathered press, Brad shut his car door calmly and walked into his father's building. Well, if he was honest, a lot of buildings in Bismarck belonged to his father; Mr. Ventriss was a wealthy and successful businessman.

Once he was out of sight of the reporters, Brad scowled. He should have been looking forward to bonding, among other things, with Dupres' gorgeous daughter. Instead, somehow, she'd given them all the slip from the airport and disappeared into thin air. Naturally, the Cascade Clan Sentinels had been useless. Brad had wanted to track her through the airport himself, but his father had refused, saying that Brad could zone and as he had no Guide - not that Brad needed to be reminded of that - it would be dangerous for him.

Now, only half an hour before his father normally left the office, he'd phoned Brad and told him to get down there as they had some news.

Brad sneered slightly as his dad's unattractive secretary told him to go in, then hid the sneer. His father didn't like it when he was rude to Mrs. Robertson as she'd been with him for years.

"Ah, there you are, Bradley."

"Hey, Dad. Mr. Dupres." Brad shut the door behind him carefully; he didn't want the hired help listening in. Turning, he looked at the two men. They didn't look happy.

Mr. Dupres cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, Bradley."

Brad knew it. That little bitch had pulled something sneaky.

"Marianne has been found but she's bonded to another Sentinel."

"What?!" He couldn't believe his ears. She was bonded?

"It's true, Bradley," his father chimed in. "After they saw all the reports of her kidnapping in the media, her Sentinel -"

"I'm her Sentinel!"

"Her Sentinel," his father repeated, repressively, before continuing, "contacted the Cascade Clan. The Senior Sentinel Prime has agreed to support their bonding."

"So? Break it!"

"Bradley!"

Furious, he glared at his father. He'd promised him Marianne Dupres and now he was backing out of it.

"Marianne is bonded to another Sentinel and the Clan are protecting them. We haven't even been able to find out where they are."

"They're probably in the Sentinel Suite at City Hall, Norman," Dupres pointed out.

"So? Go in there and get her!" Brad snapped.

"You don't walk into the Sentinel Suite at City Hall and try to drag a protected Guide out of there, Bradley," his father replied, sounding almost stern. "Anyone trying that would be lucky to walk away with their lives."

"Fine! I'll do it!"

"You'll do no such thing!"

"She's my Guide!"

"I'll get you another Guide."

Brad flung himself onto the leather Chesterfield. That bitch, Marianne. He'd been looking forward to putting the slut through her paces once they were bonded and now he'd never be able to get his hands on her. Well, not unless her Sentinel died - and even then, she'd probably kill herself to spite him.

Well, he wasn't going to sit at home moping, although, with the press camped on his apartment's doorstep, he'd have to be more careful than normal. He didn't want to have his fun with a pile of reporters and photographers just waiting to catch him chucking a whore out of his apartment afterwards.

"We have found out how she managed to get out of the airport."

He ignored Dupres and continued making plans. He knew a few girls with their own apartments; as long as he was careful, it'd be fine.

"She persuaded a friend of hers who is also a Guide to take her place. Obviously, the Sentinels weren't looking for anyone but Marianne."

His head snapped up. "I'll have the friend then. If she's good-looking."

"Bradley!" His father shook his head, chidingly, a smile on his face.

"Her friend is male - a Blair Sandburg. And he's hardly our sort of people," Dupres explained.

Brad leaned back on the Chesterfield, turning the possibilities over in his mind. Whoever this Blair Sandburg was, he owed Brad a good time, at the very least. And Brad Ventriss always collected on his debts.

~'~

Slouched on his shabby couch, Blair had stuck to watching the few news channels he got ever since he'd turned the TV on and seen Mr. Dupres claiming his daughter had been kidnapped. Personally, he couldn't wait for the guy to find out that his daughter, far from being kidnapped, had chosen to bond with the Sentinel she'd found, and refused to follow his archaic plans and have her bonding arranged for her.

Not for the first time since Marianne had come to his office asking him for help, Blair shook his head. Who on earth arranged a bonding nowadays? It was...it was...plain unheard of, that was for sure! Who did Mr. Dupres think he was, believing that he knew which Sentinel his daughter would be happy with? Blair shook his head yet again, then sat up straight as Mr. Dupres' furious face appeared on the TV screen with a dozen or so frantic voices calling in the background for a comment about his daughter's non-kidnapping and subsequent bonding to an unknown Sentinel.

Once again, the reporters in Bismarck were denied and a door slammed in their faces.

Blair jumped up from the couch and danced on the spot. "Yes!" Grabbing his cell phone from the crate that served as a coffee table, he dialled the number for Matt and Ric's apartment. He didn't even wait for the person answering to speak. "Ric? Matt? Have you seen the news?"

"Huh?" Ric sounded confused. "What news?"

"Marianne must have contacted someone! Her dad was just on the news looking furious!"

"Her father always looks furious," he argued.

"Not this furious. And the reporters were asking about the Sentinel she's bonded to!"

"What? Matt! Matt! We're off the hook!"

Blair chuckled as he listened to Ric trying to wake his booze-sozzled roommate up.

Finally, Ric came back to the phone, alone. "He's stoned, man. I'll tell him the good news in the morning."

"Good idea." Blair yawned and stretched. "Ah, I'm beat. I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Blair. Later."

The line went dead and he dropped the phone back on the crate, yawning hugely as he did so. Now that he knew the Cascade cops weren't going to come beating down his door, he could sleep.

Part 2.