The Dark Path
 

"Ellison!"

Jim tightened his grip, feeling the material of Rachins' shirt bunch in his fists.  It would be so easy to just let go....

"Jim."  Brown was behind him now.  "Jim.  Sandburg's ok.  Everyone's ok.  Bring him back in."  Mechanically, Jim swung Rachins' form back into the room.  The programmer's eyes closed in relief as his feet touched the floor.  Brown gave Jim a pat on the back before moving to cuff and miranderize Rachins.

Jim stood there, silent for a moment, before bounding down the stairs.  Sandburg.

Blair accepted the proffered hand and let Joel haul him out of the shaft.  "You ok?" the burly captain asked.

"Yeah.  You know that parachute ride down down at Cascade pier?" Joel nodded.  "Try it blindfold, with a bomb in your lap and three hysterical people hanging off you."  Blair grinned.  "I'm fine."

He wasn't, though.

Where the hell is Jim?  

They cleared the paperwork up, then headed for the car.  Jim unlocked Blair's side, then moved over into the drivers seat.  "How are you holding up, Chief?" he asked casually.

"Me? Fine.  Just  a bit shaky.  I'll settle down once I stop thinking the ground's gonna move." Jim nodded and put the car into gear. He was feeling a little shaky himself.  

They got about halfway back to the Loft before the reaction set in.

Blair started twisting in his seat, uncomfortable in the narrow confines of the truck.  "That was too close man, I mean, altogether, just too close."

"Take it easy, Chief.  Calm down." Jim reached out  a hand to pat his partner on the shoulder.

Blair slapped it away. "Calm down?!?  Jim, I have just spent the past three hours being dropped - repeatedly - down an elevator shaft with a lap full of explosives.  I think I deserve to be a little wired."

Jim let his hand fall to his side, then gripped the steering wheel tighter.  

The keys rattled in the lock, then the Loft door slid open.  Blair streaked in, mouth running overdrive.  "I mean, you should have seen it, Jim.  Whoosh, I mean, whoosh,  just this huge whoosh through the hole. I saw those flames, man, I thought I was gonna die."

Jim surveyed the black scorch marks on the back of Blair's jacket.  "I can believe it." he said softly as he closed the door.

"Huh?" Jim gestured to the jacket.  Blair twisted to look over his shoulder. "Oh what?  Man, I loved this jacket."  He peeled it off, tossing it on the back of the couch. "That stuff's never gonna come out."

"Are you ok?"  Jim asked, eyes hunting for any burns.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Ease up, will you?" Blair plopped down on the couch, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Jim.  I guess it wasn't exactly a picnic for you either." He leaned back, resting his head on the back of the couch.

Jim shook his head, slowly. "No, it wasn't.  I nearly dropped Rachins out the window.  I had him in my hands, then I just...swung him out.  Told him I'd like to see how fast he'd drop."

Blair bolted upright. "You nearly what?"

"Dropped him out the window."  Jim tried to lighten the situation. "Splat.  If Brown hadn't been there, there would have been a nasty stain on the concrete."

"WHAT?"

Jim moved a step into the lounge. "Chief, I was mad. I thought he'd killed you and -"

"Waitaminute." Blair jumped off the couch and began pacing. "Are you telling me you nearly threw a guy out of a window, what, 40 stories up - killed him - over me?   This is bad.  This is waaaay bad. This is big time Karma  black points, Jim."

Jim took a step back at the frantic energy pouring off his partner. "Chief, I've killed men before," he said softly.

"Nonononononono." Blair made a hard cutting motion with his hand.  "That was different, man.  That was in battle. You were in control.  But this?  You said you had him.  You said you'd won, and then, what?  Suddenly a Sandburg switch gets thrown in your head and you go apeshit?"  Blair grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch.  "This is way too intense, man.  I gotta take a walk."

"Sandburg."  Jim grabbed him by the arm as he tried to walk past.

Blair gently shook him off.  "Jim.  We can do this now and end up saying a whole bunch of stuff we don't mean, or we could take the time to cool off. 'kay?  I just need the time to cool off."

Wordlessly, Jim handed Blair his mobile.

"Oh, thanks."  Blair walked quickly out of the door.

Once he was gone, Jim slumped against the counter.  Blair was right.  They both needed the time to cool off.  His thoughts were chasing around and around until he didn't know left from right.

Stiff legged, he moved to the couch.  What the hell happened?  He'd never lost control like that.  Oh, yeah, he'd been angry, furious even. But underneath all the raging emotions had been the steel bar of control.

But Rachins.... He slumped, head in his hands.  Something about Rachins rubbed him the wrong way, drove him insane.  Every time he saw the guy, Jim had to resist the urge to wrap his hands around his neck.  He sighed heavily. Maybe it was because he threatened Blair?  

Maybe it was because he threatened me?  Blair considered the possibility, then shook his head. He'd been in danger a thousand times before, and Jim had never, ever gone insane like this. Well, apart from Lash, but hey, he was willing to overlook THAT one.

He stretched his hands out over the railing as he looked out to sea.  'Course it could have been stress...I mean, watching your partner getting dropped like a cheese whiz every ten minutes can't be too good for your psyche.

He closed his eyes and let the scent of the ocean waft through him.  He'd seen Jim mad, sure, but underneath all that, Blair still got the feeling that it was for show.  Like a cat spiking its fur.

Or a skunk waving its tail. The thought popped into his head.  He considered it for a moment with a chuckle.  'Detective James Ellison - skunk.' He chortled happily at the image of Jim waving a tail through the air, threatening to spray the bad guys.

'Use the spray.' Oh, no....  

Frank Rachins paced his cell, the tight bandage on his leg making his movements stiff.  His brother's shot had only grazed him, a few stitches and the police had dragged him into a cell.

Back and forth, back and forth, his shoes clomping on the concrete floor.  They'd taken his shoelaces, but left him his shoes.

Stupid fools.

Kneeling with his back to the security camera, he slipped off his right shoe.  Hidden in the sole were two, tiny, ingenuous pieces of equipment - he'd designed them himself, sharp eyes tracing every single circuit deep into the morning.

"Bye, bye."  he murmured, activating the first.  

"Damn it." Muir smacked the monitor in disgust.

"What's up, Ray?" his partner, Smith came over with a cup of coffee.

"Damn surveillance camera is fritzed again." Muir turned away from it in disgust.

"Someone told maintenance.  They said they'd have a look at it tomorrow."  Smith handed Muir the cup.  "Coffee?"

"Thanks."  Muir took a sip, grimacing at the taste.  "Jesus John, how much sugar did you put in this thing?"

John grinned and opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly the building shook, puffs of plaster floating down from the ceiling. "What the hell was that? An earthquake?"

"If it is, we gotta get those cells cleared."  Muir reached for his keys.

"Rachins is the only one in there..."  They met each others eyes, horrified, then charged for the cells.

All they found was a large hole in the door.  Bedding was crammed up against the opposite wall, forming a barricade.  Muir drew his weapon and stepped into the room.  "Rachins?"  he kept his gun firmly trained on the bundled mattress.

Smith took a few steps inside the cell, then turned.  "I'll call for backup."

On his way out, his foot crunched on something metallic.

Later, forensics would determine it was an explosive charge.  

Blair threw himself on his back in the grass.  He looked up at the clouds, idly trying to guess their shapes. Sailing ship...dragon...pepe le peu... he convulsed again in laughter.  A lot of it was hysteria, but it kept his mind off Jim.

Jim.

What the hell had snapped that famed Ellison Control?

~you~

Huh? Blair twisted on the grass.  A small owl was watching from a tree.  Oh, yeah, right.  'woo', not 'you'.  "Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?"  The owl blinked at him.  "Yeesh.  look at me.  I'm talking to birds now.  Throw away the key, Sandburg has left Sanity Central."  

Jim opened the fridge and reached in.  The hand movement petered out before it made contact with the bottle of beer.  That wasn't the answer.  He grabbed a bottle of water instead, then moved back to the couch, using the deep breathing exercises Blair had taught him.  In and out, in and out.   He had it under control now.  He could do this.

He had to.  

Rachins walked along, a face among the others in the street.

He had a goal.

He should have realised back in the tower.  His original plan had been to use his brother, release the hostages, then deal with Caitlin at his leisure.  But when he saw psych minor with that detective, something in him blew.

Change of plan.

When Ellison charged through that window, some dark force inside him broke free. The enemy at last.

But he'd lost, been defeated and it had left him.  A final act of desperation, pressing the trigger.

And the look on Ellison's face.  A brief moment of recognition overswamped by fury, and then Frank had felt those hands twisting his shirt, swinging him out the window and over empty air.

But he was free and he had a plan.

The dark force was back, guiding him once more

Find Sandburg  

Jim was just starting to doze off when the phone rang.  Reaching out, he grabbed it off the table. "Ellison." he mumbled around a bone cracking yawn.

"Jim.  Simon.  We just had a call from the holding cells.  Rachins' loose."

"What?"  The adrenaline blew the last traces of fog out of Jim's brain. "How?"

"We don't know.  Forensics went over the scene.  The guy had a couple of low grade explosives hidden somewhere.  He took out two cops.  Smith and Muir."

"Does anyone have any idea where he would go?" Jim asked.

~the guide~

He dropped the phone in shock as a sudden flash of ...precognition? hit him.

"Jim?  Jim!  Answer me dammit!"

He picked up the phone again.  "Simon.  I have to go.  He's going after Sandburg."

"What?  How do you - Jim?  Jim!"  he hung up the phone in disgust.  

Blair closed his eyes and let the sun caress his face.  He was finally starting to get it under control.  He might never go back in another elevator, but he could go back now, talk to Jim, sort it out.

He felt a sudden flash of guilt.  Jim had been hurting, he had to have been.  So, what did his Guide do?  Walk out, pissed off.  Great move, Sandburg

A sudden cloud blocked the sun.  Blair opened his eyes.  A form was standing over him.  "Can I help you?" he asked.

Rachins smiled. "Yes."  

Jim slid behind the wheel of the truck, then stopped.  Where would he go?  Where could he start?

~drive~

"Where?"  Jim demanded, frustrated.

~drive. i will show you.~

Jim paused for a second, then turned the key in the ignition.  What did he have to lose?

Blair.  he shivered and drove off.  

Blair sat up and rubbed the side of his head.  Where was he?  The last thing he remembered was a tall guy, the one from the elevator  - Rachins he realised suddenly - bending over him, his eyes huge black pools in his face. Then.....

He looked around.  The psycho had dragged him off to a warehouse.  Of course. He fished in his pockets.  And taken his cell phone.  Of course.

He carefully made to his feet.  There didn't seem to be anyone around...

"Wait here."  a pool of black shadows coalesced into the form of Frank Rachins, slumped in a chair, a gun in his hand.

"Look, man, I don't know what you've got against me, but - "

"Sit.  Wait." there was something odd about the way his body slumped in the chair, as if it wasn't quite connected to his head.

Blair shivered and sat down.  

Cat and mouse, how long, how long?  Blair shifted as his leg fell asleep underneath him.  "Look, do you mind if I stand up?  My legs are killing me here."

Rachins made an idle gesture that Blair took as acquiesce.  He stretched to his feet, then paced a small circle, working the muscles.

Rachins cocked his head.  "He is coming."

"Who?" Not Jim, oh please, not Jim.

"The Sentinel."  

Jim took the steps, two at a time, until he reached the top floor.  Rachins was there, gun trained on Blair.  "Rachins."  The other man's head snapped around to face him.  "Let him go.  It's me you want."

"Jim - "

"Sandburg,"  Jim warned, briefly.   "Rachins.  I'm here.  Let the kid go, he doesn't have to be here.  It's me you want."

The air began to thicken, as if under an approaching storm as Rachins met his eyes.

"No."

The air began to ripple as they locked gazes.  Slowly, the form of Frank Rachins began to warp, melt out of existence.

Jim fell to his knees, gasping in shock as an immense vice gripped his head.

"JIM!" Blair grabbed his arm.  The Sentinel was....fading,  melting out of existence.  "Jim. Stay with me.  Jim, don't go. Stay with me, man."  he clutched the arm tighter and felt himself being drawn away, spiralling into an endless black vortex, whirling down...down...  

Down.

Jim pushed himself to his feet, gazing around the clearing.  Large fronds and ferns framed the place where he stood.

He knew this place.

A soft head batted his hand and he idly scratched his fingers over the head of the panther, feeling the velvet over steel.  The panther.  Spirit Guide...Blair!

"SANDBURG!" he bellowed.

"Jim?" He turned at the soft reply.

Blair stumbled out of the jungle behind him. "Oh man, I think I lost that Chinese we ate last night.  What a rush."

"Chief?"  Jim reached out and touched him, convincing himself his partner was real.  The panther curled, satisfied, at their feet as they stood side by side.

Blair looked down at the giant cat in puzzlement, then his eyes widened in recollection.  "Oh shit.  Where are we?"

"The place of choosing."  A deep voice broke above them.  The two men looked up at the sky, eyes searching for the source.

"Who are you?" Jim asked.

"He is the watcher."  The panther sat up with a snarl as a black form appeared across the clearing.

Blair squinted at the form.  "Rachins?"  It was the computer genius, yet it wasn't.  Something had warped the narrow features, bloating and blackening them like a two week corpse.

The figure nodded its head.  "In part. The form is unimportant."  it moved slightly closer, feet slurring across the ground.

"What do you want?"

"Reality.  Completion. The Guide."   It drew even closer, and Jim could smell the rankness of rotting flesh.  Blair shrank back a little, and Jim moved forward, protecting his Guide.

"You can't have him." he said firmly, as Blair placed a hand on his back in support.

"It is not your choice." intoned the voice from above.

The scene shifted, Jim and Rachins' forms slowly fading, leaving Blair alone.

"JIM!"  

This was to be the final battle ground.

It was fitting.  The story was to end where it began.  The jungles of Peru.

Jim felt the old feelings wash over him again.  Fear, power, a mad exhilaration that swept up from his feet.  Reaching out, he made to strip a tree branch for a weapon, but stopped.  No, this battle was to be fought skin to skin.

The hunt was on.

There could be only one survivor.  

Rachins' form moved silently through the jungle, scanning for a sign, any sign of the Sentinel.  He stopped at the edge of a stream.  His eyes narrowed, sight expanding as he traced the slight indentations from the other man's footprints on the opposite bank.

He smiled, wolfishly, black lips peeling back from rotting teeth.  It was going to be too easy.

This time, he would win.

Blair moved a few steps left, then a few right, a nervous little dance. "Hey. Hey you, up there.  Where's Jim?"  no answer.

~wait~  Blair turned. It was the owl again.

"Man, it was you in the park wasn't it?" he sat down heavily in the leaves.  "What are you, my Spirit Guide?"

~yes.  in part.  i am also the wolf~ the form shimmered slightly, morphing into a wolf before the owl flickered back.

"My Spirit Guide's a wolf? Cool."  Blair grinned.  Then his mind cycled back to his partner  "Where's Jim?"

The owl fluttered its wings slightly. ~wait~

"For what?"

~watch.  wait~

"Here?" Blair made an expansive gesture, encompassing the clearing.

~yes~

"What if I want to go help Jim?"

~you cannot~

Blair gritted his teeth in frustration. "So, what?  I'm stuck here while Jim risks his life?"

~you can leave.~

"Leave what, man?  The clearing or this place altogether?  'Cos if it's the latter, you can stuff it." Blair got to his feet and headed out into the jungle.  "I need to find Jim."  

Jim ducked under a liana.  He had to find Blair.  He moved softly through the mossy undergrowth, feet scuffing slightly over dried leaves.  He sniffed the air warily.  No scent of Rachins, just the jungle scents - water heavy on the air, wild orchids, damp earth...

He snapped back in time.  God, he was on the verge of zoning.

With no Guide.

He set off again, no fear in his steps.  He would know when the time for battle was.
   

Blair pushed a lowhanging branch aside and stepped into...

The clearing.

The owl was watching him.  "Ok, ok, I get the point.  But you have to tell me.  Where are they?"

Rachins stepped into the clearing.  Blair's heart skipped a beat, then began pounding wildly. Oh God, Jim

"What do you want?" The Sentinel stepped out from the other side of the clearing.  Blair heaved a sigh of relief.

"The Guide."

"No."  Jim lunged forward.  Rachins stepped up to meet him.

"Jim, JIM!"  Blair tried to run over, but an invisible wall trapped him in place.  "Dammit, LET ME OUT!"  he beat frantically on the barrier as he watched the battle.

~choose~

"Choose what?  What the fuck are you talking about?" Blair screamed as Jim took a heavy blow and stumbled to the ground.

~choose.~

Rachins had straddled the Sentinel, peeling hands closing off his windpipe.  Jim tried to throw him off, to no avail.

~make your choice~

Blair could see Jim's movements getting slower, jerkier as he began to lose consciousness.

"I choose to get out of this goddamned cage!"

The field melted away and Blair stumbled through, landing on his knees.  Hauling himself up again, he tore across to the other two figures. "No!  Rachins.  Leave him alone.  I'll do whatever you want, man, just leave him alone." Blair knocked the other man's hands aside, freeing his partners throat.  "Breathe Jim, just take slow, deep breaths."

The sky darkened as Rachins grinned in triumph.

"That's it Jim. In and out."  Blair encouraged. "That's good."

"Choose."  thundered the voice.

"Choose WHAT?" Blair screamed back.

A soft voice spoke into his ear.  ~choose your choice~

"What?"  Blair felt like a mouse trapped in a wheel, running three conversations at once.

~choose your choice.  choose your sentinel.~

"Choose my Sentinel.  What the hell does that mean?"

Choose my Sentinel.  Jim?  Rachins?

No.

Choose my Sentinel...

Blair stood up.  "I choose Jim."

Rachins' misshapen form flickered, briefly, as a look of desperation crossed his face.  "I can kill you, I can kill him." he threatened.

Blair wavered in his resolve, looking down at Jim. I can't choose his life as forfeit.  I don't have that right.

~choose your sentinel~ the voice insisted.

"Kill me, if you want."  Blair said firmly "It ain't gonna change anything." he stepped forward, punctuating each word forcefully. "I. Choose. Jim."

Rachins stepped forwards as the voice broke overhead. "The choice has been made. The Guide has chosen."

He twisted, black face looking up desperately at the sky.  "No!"

"You will return the form you have stolen."

"NO! He will choose me!"  With a mad scream, Rachins charged across the clearing, towards Blair.  Halfway across, his form erupted into flames, and Blair shrank back, closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, there was nothing there.

"He has returned." The voice informed him.

"Where?"

"The dark places of the soul."

Blair turned back and dropped to his knees beside his partner. "What about Jim?"

"He will recover."

"That is NOT good enough."  Blair raged at the sky.  "What the hell did you do this for?  Do you get a kick out of twisting peoples minds or something?" Jim groaned, and he moved his hands to soothe his partner's face.  "Shh. it's ok Jim.  We're ok, he's gone.  We won.  Take it easy."

"The choice must be made, between light and dark."

"What?"  Blair looked up, startled.

"This is the place of choosing."

"I don't understand." Blair said frustratedly.

"You chose the light....."

The voice faded, and the panther roared a final farewell before they phased out...

..and back in.

Blair blinked.  "Jim?"

His partner was sitting up.  "Chief?  What happened?"

Blair staggered over to still form of Rachins.  He was dead, eyes staring sightlessly upwards.  Gently,  Blair reached out and closed them.

"I chose the light."

All Content Copyright © 2001 Taleya Joinson
Last modified: November 12, 2010