On the Run - part 4

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Once Blair was in bed, and the room had been stripped of anything resembling trousers, Edwards dumped the clothes on a chair in his room and got back into his own bed.

"What was he doing?"

Unsurprisingly, David was awake. Surprisingly, he was still in bed and hadn't followed Edwards into the other bedroom to see what was going on for himself.

"Leaving."

"In the middle of the night?!"

"Shhh!" Edwards had no doubt that Blair's indignation would grow if he realised that David and Edwards were talking about him.

"Sorry." David snuggled down again, warm against his side, then gave a smothered laugh. "I would have loved to have seen his face when he opened the door to find you there."

Edwards grinned in the darkness at the memory; Blair's face had been a picture. His amusement faded suddenly as he reflected that, while the Guide's concern for Ellison was a good thing, his determination to protect the Sentinel by leaving wasn't.

David pressed closer suddenly. "It'll be all right, Neds. Didn't Sentinel Ellison say that the case is almost over?"

"Yes. Yes, it is." Edwards nodded, and put his arm around his Guide. God knew what he'd do if he ever lost David. And God knew what he would have done if he'd lost David before they'd bonded.

"Then it'll be fine. As soon as Sentinel Ellison doesn't have to be undercover, he'll come here and bond with Blair." Satisfaction radiated from the Guide. "And then, the Clan will catch Alex, and Sentinel Ellison and Blair will be happy."

Edwards frowned. "Why are you so concerned with Ellison's happiness?"

"He's the Senior Sentinel Prime," David replied, matter-of-factly.

The Sentinel Prime had to admit that it was a very good answer, and it was probably true but....

Rolling slightly, he pinned his Guide in place and lowered his head to growl softly, "You let me worry about other Sentinels; you can worry about other Guides."

There was a moment's disbelieving silence then David snorted with laughter. "You're jealous!"

The Sentinel's head lunged down as he bit into his Guide's throat, and David's startled cry turned into a moan as the scent of bonding filled the air.

Finally, Edwards raised his head and said, firmly, "Just making sure you know where you belong. That's all."

~'~

Back at the beach again, this time in the cold light of a wintry morning, Jim hit the numbers on his cell phone and waited until Simon answered. "This is Cyrus."

"We got 'em." Jim could hear the smile in Simon's voice. "Bio-Helix is a business. Seems the owners, Paul Jacobs and Andrew Kaminski had some dealings with the Government a few years ago, until the business went belly up. However, their security clearances weren't cancelled, so they were still able to use Government contacts to get the supplies they needed to make the drugs."

Jim sighed. "Typical." Bureaucracy at its best.

"We'll be moving in on your side of things at eleven. That's the same time that Bio-Helix is being raided, so watch your back. It doesn't take much for these things to go wrong and if anyone jumps the gun, Matthews could be tipped off before we move in."

"I'll be careful, Simon," Jim promised.

"You better be. I wanna meet this Guide who's got you all wound up."

Jim grinned as Simon hung up. One more day at most, then he could claim his Guide.

Leaving the beach, Jim got in his truck and headed for the warehouse, tapping out a rhythm to the music on the radio. Today was going to be a good day; he could feel it.

His good mood lasted until he got to the warehouse.

"Henderson."

"Cyrus."

Jim stopped as he smelt blood on the man. "What have you done?"

The reptilian eyes blinked at him while Henderson thought.

"I can smell blood," Jim explained. "What have you done?"

"Oh." Henderson shrugged, a slight hint of regret in his face. "The boss decided that Benny was a liability." He shrugged again. "I made it quick; I mean, I liked the guy. Just wish he coulda kept his hands off the stuff."

Jim glared at the back of Henderson's head. So that was it. Nice epitaph for poor Benny.

~'~

A couple of hours passed with Jim keeping a discreet eye on his watch. Finally, he heard the sounds of vehicles pulling up a short distance away, followed by the sounds of booted feet stealthily approaching the warehouse.

Sliding behind some packing cases, Jim pulled his gun and double-checked that it was loaded. It was showtime.

~'~

As the doors were yanked open, Simon bellowed, "Freeze, Cascade PD!"

For a brief moment, the figures were frozen, giving a weird tableau effect, then, naturally, people started moving. As the drug pushers dived for cover, Simon and his team scattered to vantage points that offered protection, and within seconds the air was ringing with the sound of gunfire.

As two officers went down, the bullets hopefully stopped by the thick Kevlar they were wearing, Simon signalled to Brown to cover him, and ducked to the left, intending to get around behind the perps and outflank them. His determination turned to astonishment as he all but fell over a prone figure, face down on the floor, the hands neatly held behind the back with a plastic tie.

"What the -" Kneeling, Simon checked the man over. The guy was out cold.

Something light bounced off his head, and Simon looked up to see Jim, plastic ties in hand, beckoning him on. Grabbing the plastic tie from the floor, Simon followed him, then joined in ambushing the drug dealers from behind. With two of them, it was even easier to take the perps down, and it wasn't long before the remaining few drug pushers gave up.

By the time they'd finished rounding up the last of them, Simon was thankful to note that he hadn't lost any of his men on this end of the operation, although several of them would be sporting impressive bruises from where their Kevlar saved their lives. One of those was Rafe, who could add the bruises he picked up this day to the ones he received not so long ago when Jim shot him.

Looking around, Simon ignored the glare the unwounded drug dealers were sending Jim's way and demanded, "Where's Matthews?"

"He'll be in his office, won't he, Henderson?" Grabbing a large, thick-necked individual by the collar, Jim pulled him forward.

"And where's his office?" Simon asked.

The guy spat at his feet. "Like I'd tell you, pig!"

Jim smiled, with a hint of the feral hunter. "We don't need you to tell us, Henderson. Matthews isn't that good at covering his tracks." He shoved Henderson back towards the uniformed cops who were escorting the criminals out to be loaded into police vans. "By the way," Jim hooked a handgun by the corner of the plastic evidence bag and held it up, "when we find Benny Carson's body, this will be the murder weapon." His hard eyes settled on Henderson, and Simon thanked God the Sentinel was on their side. "Won't it, Henderson?"

~'~

As Jim had said, Matthews wasn't that hard to find, and Jim took a certain satisfaction in slapping the cuffs on the smartly-dressed would-be drugs lord himself. As he hauled Matthews out to the police car, Jim ignored the threats that spilled from the irate man.

Placing one hand on Matthews' head, Jim shoved just enough to get the criminal into the car.

"This is police brutality!" Matthews shrieked, having obviously never been on the receiving end of police brutality.

Jim leaned into the car. "Save it for the judge." Then he slammed the door. Getting into his truck, the Sentinel smiled. It was over. It was finally over. Now all he had to do was give Simon his report, and get to Edwards' apartment to claim his Guide.

He hoped his captain would be content with the shortened version of events.

~'~

Blair barely noticed as the doorbell rang and Neds got up to answer it. A quiet, "David!" got his attention though, and he frowned as his fellow Guide disappeared out of sight. There was a murmur of voices, then the front door shut.

Tilting his head got him nowhere, so Blair leaned over in his seat to peer around the corner of the wall, then straightened up with a jerk as Cyrus - Ellison - appeared.

"Afternoon, Chief."

Pushing himself up, Blair hobbled around the armchair, making sure to keep it between him and the Sentinel.

"Hey! Ellison!" Blair forced a smile onto his face though his mind was racing with strategies and options, and he was uncomfortably aware that he was practically out of both. "How's the undercover operation going?"

"Jim. Call me Jim." The Sentinel smiled at him. "And the undercover op's finished, so why don't you sit down before you fall down?"

Blair's breath caught in his throat. "It's finished?"

"That's right, Chief." Cyrus...Jim - whatever - leaned against the back of the couch and regarded Blair thoughtfully. "I know that Edwards explained everything to you."

"Yeah! You're a cop. There are Feds." Blair glanced around frantically, a hint of panic nibbling at the edges of his control. "Talking of Neds... where is he? And David?"

"They went out." Jim smiled again as he straightened and came towards Blair's armchair; his movements slow and careful.

"Out," Blair echoed, blankly. He gave a half-laugh. "You know, man, I-I think I'd be insulted if I went to visit friends and they went out when I got there."

"Well, I didn't come to visit them."

A large hand stretched out towards Blair's hair, and he jerked his head to one side, evading the touch. "Right! You er..." Taking a breath to calm himself, Blair decided to go for it. "Look, man, I really think this is a mistake."

"A mistake." Jim raised his eyebrows as he repeated the words, keeping up his cautious approach.

As the Sentinel rounded the corner of the armchair, Blair did a mix of a hop and a hobble to keep his distance. "Yeah, a mistake. See...Alex, she's -" He paused. "Did you just growl at me?"

Jim nodded, a predatory smile on his face. "She's a rogue Sentinel, Guide. Don't say her name."

"Oh." For a moment, Blair considered asking whether it was the fact that she was rogue or the fact that she was another Sentinel that Jim was objecting to, but then he let it go. It really wasn't important right now, anyway. "Well...she's never going to give up, Jim. If you bond with me, she'll kill you - it's as simple as that."

"She can try."

Blair did another hop-hobble, then yelped as the Sentinel's hand latched onto his arm.

"Let's sit down while we discuss this. You need to be off that ankle."

Given no choice, Blair allowed himself to be seated on the couch, the Sentinel close beside him. As the flicker of the beckoning bond warmed the edges of his barriers, Blair's fingers curled with the need to reach out, to accept, to welcome, and he bit his lip firmly, using the pain to drive back the want. Bonding with Jim, with any Sentinel, would only get him killed.

"Look, man, A -" Blair swallowed the rest of the word, ignoring the amused glint in Jim's eyes. "She's never going to let me go. If I stay in Cascade, she'll stay in Cascade and she'll kill you to get to me!"

As the Sentinel leaned in slightly, the Guide's need grew and he pushed himself back into the corner of the couch, striving to avoid any contact.

"She's not going to get to me or to you, Chief, I swear it."

As the Sentinel's fingers played with the Guide's hair, Blair could feel the warmth from the hand and had to fight to stop himself from turning his face towards it.

"And even if the worst happens," the Sentinel went on, his voice low and almost hypnotic, "Edwards will protect you. The Clan won't let her get near you. Now or ever."

Blair twitched his head to one side but the Sentinel's hand followed and settled on his shoulder, the thumb rubbing up and down his neck soothingly. "No -"

"I'll keep you safe, Blair. You can trust me."

~'~

The Sentinel smiled as he saw a dazed look enter Blair's eyes. All resistance was gone now as the Guide went into bonding heat. He wrapped his arms around his Guide and grinned as the smaller hands tugged at his shoulders, urging him on. The Sentinel growled with triumph as the heavy head fell back, and his Guide's throat was bared.

The scent of another Sentinel mingled with the scent of bonding, and the Sentinel growled again. Edwards.

Pulling back from the lure of his Guide's scent, Jim glanced around. Edwards' sitting room. Damn. Where -

David's bedroom. While the Sentinel Prime would be pissed at his Senior for bonding with Blair in David's bedroom, he'd be infuriated if he came back to find his sitting room had been used instead - well, he would be once he'd recovered from the bonding heat the scent would send him into. In any case, Edwards had kind of given permission by leaving Jim with Blair anyway.

Dismissing the sideline thought on Sentinel etiquette that was distracting him from the extremely important matter in hand, the Sentinel scooped his Guide up, fighting the gnawing need to simply claim him where they sat, and headed for the bedrooms.

Finding David's was an easy matter of following Blair's scent, and within seconds the door was kicked shut behind them. The Sentinel Prime's scent was less evident in here, although still present, but the Senior Sentinel Prime filtered it out and concentrated on the luscious scent of bonding that was calling to him.

Laying his Guide down, the Sentinel noticed the glazed look beginning to clear slightly as the blue eyes became more aware, but the Guide remained pliant, not protesting as the Sentinel pinned him in place. Hands trembling, the Sentinel moved to push his Guide's head back, then growled with a feral pleasure as his Guide willingly exposed his own neck, tilting his head back with a faint moan.

That was all the encouragement the Sentinel needed, and his head lunged down to bite into the soft flesh and mark his Guide as claimed. As his teeth bit down, his Guide's barriers exploded, and the Sentinel swooped in, invading, dominating, claiming every millimetre, and using his own mental shields to protect his Guide. His Guide's memories flashed past, names and faces tumbling wildly, and the Sentinel gentled his invasion, feeling the bond lock into place, irrevocably linking them.

Lifting his head, the Sentinel smiled in triumph. "Claimed and marked, Guide."

The eyelids fluttered, dazed blue eyes looked up at him. The mouth opened to return the vow, then the eyelids slid shut once more.

~'~

Opening his eyes, Jim realised that it was an hour or so later. Frowning, he lifted his head and listened carefully. Edwards and David were back.

Jim slid his arm free from underneath his Guide, and took a moment to soothe him back to sleep before heading towards the door. Opening it, he came face to face with Edwards, and sidestepped to hide his Guide from view as the Sentinel Prime's gaze narrowed then his nostrils flared.

"You claimed him." It wasn't a question.

"It was time." It wasn't much of an apology but it was all Edwards was going to get.

A slight nod showed that the apology was accepted, then Edwards turned to glare at his own Guide as he approached them.

"Is Blair asleep?" For a moment, David's bemused gaze moved from one Sentinel to the other, then he added, a hint of confusion in his voice, "Neds?"

"See you later, Ellison." Grabbing his Guide by one arm, Edwards stalked off down the hall to another doorway.

As the door slammed shut behind them, Jim heard David give a startled yelp and he grinned. Looked like Edwards would be busy for a while.

~'~

Blair forced his eyes open as he heard the slam of a door. Jim couldn't have left him - they'd just bonded.

As that thought sank in, Blair's eyes opened wider and he stared at the ceiling then at the Sentinel looming over him. "We're bonded."

"Got it in one, Chief." The Sentinel smirked at him, smug satisfaction radiating from him.

Blinking, Blair forced the tiredness back. He'd...they'd screwed up, he knew that. Now he had to convince the Sentinel of it.

"Blair?" The smirk disappeared and a frown took its place as the Sentinel's warm hand cupped his face. "What's wrong?"

Blair shook his head and pushed the hand away. "Alex is going to kill you, man, don't you get that?" Ignoring the annoyance he could feel through their bond, Blair forced himself into a sitting position, feeling his arms shake with fatigue. "She's not going to let me go, Jim, and you're the only one standing between her and the bond she wants."

The anger dissipated as the Sentinel pushed him flat on the bed. "Go back to sleep." As Blair tried to protest, Jim kept on talking. "You're too tired to think straight." Settling down next to him, Jim threw an arm over Blair, holding him in place. "Shhhh." Warming reassurance flooded along the link.

Blair tried to twist free as exhaustion nibbled at the edges of his consciousness. "Jiiim -"

"We'll talk later. Now go to sleep."

His need for sleep was too much to resist and Blair let go then fell back into the encroaching darkness.

~'~

Tightening his arm slightly as his Guide gave in to his need for sleep, Jim rested his head on the pillow. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the scent of his sleeping Guide and smiled with contentment. No matter what Blair said or did, they were bonded. That fact couldn't be changed.

As for Barnes....

The Sentinel forced down the urge to growl at the thought of that Sentinel's determination to claim his Guide. She wasn't going to be allowed near Blair. Even if something happened to Jim, the rest of the Clan would stand between her and the Guide she wanted. But, for Jim and Blair to move on with their lives, they needed to rid themselves of her spectre.

Grinding his teeth, Jim faced the fact that he had no confidence in the Feds - not that it was news to anyone. It was possible that the Feds might catch Barnes, but it was far more likely that she'd have them chasing their tails for months.

However...Jim had what she wanted.

His eyes rested on the dark mass of curly hair.

He had what she'd kill to get. And while the Sentinel would not, could not, use his Guide as bait, he could use himself. The only way for Barnes to bond with Blair was for Jim to die.

Jim smiled as he rested his cheek against his Guide's hair. He'd be the bait; he'd draw her out.

And then he'd kill the bitch.


Part 5.