If there was an advantage to having his home broken into on multiple occasions, it had to lie in the familiarity Jim had gained in creative ways to get inside. A few moments' careful consideration sent him up the fire escape; he could get into Blair's room without alerting anyone to his presence.
By some stroke of luck, Blair had shut his doors that morning. Gun drawn, Jim crept across the floor as silently as he could, making a mental note to mention the joys of putting things away the next time he had a free moment with his partner. He crouched down beside the door, but couldn't see anything useful from his angle. He needed to know how many were in the room before he tried to go in, though, so he listened carefully for voices.
At first, all he could pick out were heartbeats, breathing, and the steady creaking of the pipes. Someone was watching a talk show next door, down below a baby was crying, and...
...there. Blair whispering something, his voice so familiar Jim focused on it without thinking.
"That's right, just a little looser."
Jim sighed in relief, a knot in his stomach he hadn't noticed till then releasing. Blair was alive, and his voice sounded strong. Anything beyond that, Jim could deal with.
There was a pause, then Blair whispered again. "Okay, he's looking away again. Go for it."
"Okay."
The second voice was a young girl's. Mary, Jim recalled after a moment's thought. She sounded nearly breathless with fear, but she was obviously brave enough to be helping Blair with something.
"Hey, what are you two whispering about?"
Jim recognized the new voice as the one from the phone. Footsteps crossed the floor, moving closer to Blair's room and to the place Blair's voice had come from. Not too far from the kitchen table, Jim judged as the footsteps stopped.
"Think you can untie those ropes, huh?"
Mary gave a frightened gasp. Jim heard sharp protests from Sally, Ann, and Alex, overridden by Blair's closer voice.
"Hey, man, leave her alone!"
Afraid to let things go any further, Jim eased the door open and stood, inching his way out into the hall. He could just see the tips of Blair's sneakers from where he stood. Cautiously, he leaned around the corner just enough to get a partial view.
He could see Sally sitting on the couch, her back to him and her posture suggesting that her hands were tied behind her. Ann and Alex were out of his range of sight. Blair and Mary sat back to back on chairs from the kitchen table. The man who held them hostage pushed them apart enough to lean between them. Focusing in, Jim could see him start to adjust the ties--not actually ropes, but pantyhose. Stripped off the ladies, Jim assumed, since that wasn't an item he or Blair kept around the house.
Jim didn't figure he was likely to get a better chance, so he moved forward. Blair's eyes widened as he came into view. Jim couldn't help but wince when he saw the darkening bruise and cut on his partner's temple. That, at least, explained how the man had gotten the upper hand. Blair looked like he'd survive, though, and he was obviously thinking, mouthing something at Jim that was either "get ready" or "red teddy."
Working on the assumption that Blair wasn't suggesting a romantic interlude, Jim nodded and moved forward slowly. His intention was to get behind the kidnapper before he could turn around. Blair watched him, biding his time till Jim was close enough for him to make whatever move he was planning.
Just as Jim was getting close enough, he put his weight down on a board that had been squeaking since the last major rain. He heard the beginnings of the creak before it could be audible to anyone else, but he couldn't shift his balance fast enough to stop the torturous noise. He froze, cursing and training his gun on the kidnapper.
"Freeze," he snapped as the kidnapper straightened up.
"Why don't you?" the kidnapper shot back, stepping sideways to reveal the gun he had pointed at Mary's head.
Jim felt a shaft of fear pierce his stomach. Training took over, dropping his voice to a soothing tone as his mind raced.
"You can't hurt her, you know. If you do, you'll lose any options you've got. Let her go, let them all go, and we can work a deal." Jim watched the kidnapper's eyes, waiting for that subtle twitch that would indicate what he was going to do. If he even began to move toward hurting Mary, he was going to die.
"We had a deal. The kid for everyone you see he--"
Before the kidnapper could finish, Blair made his move. Jerking his hands apart, he lunged upward, shoving the gun away from Mary's head and tackling the kidnapper to the floor.
Somewhere in the melee of bodies, there was still a gun, and Jim didn't dare interfere. He circled the fighters, but wherever he trained his gun, some part of Blair's body got in the way.
Suddenly the two bodies heaved, and somehow the kidnapper rolled on top of Blair, his gun under Blair's chin.
"Back off or he dies." The kidnapper's voice left no room for doubt.
Jim's vision telescoped to that one point, metal against his partner's jaw.
"He dies, you die."
The kidnapper's eyes met Jim's. For a sickening moment, Jim saw the bleak acceptance in the other's eyes and knew he was about to pull the trigger. Jim's own hand tightened on his gun, even though he knew it would be too late.
Then out of nowhere, a frying pan crashed into the kidnapper's head, and he crumpled like a rag doll.
Mary let the pan fall to the floor, staring down at the man with a look of fascinated horror. Then, with a soft wail, she turned and bolted toward her mother, falling down on her knees to bury her face in Ann's lap. Ann, still tied to her chair, could do little but croon reassurances.
Jim tried to ignore the sudden weakness in his knees as he pulled his cuffs from his belt and fastened them to the kidnapper's wrists. Only when he was sure the man was securely fastened did he bother to check for a pulse. A small part of him regretted finding one.
"You okay, Chief?" he asked, turning back to his partner.
Blair was still lying on the floor, touching his bruised temple gingerly.
"Ouch," he said fervently. He pushed himself up on his elbows, holding out one hand for Jim to pull him the rest of the way to his feet. "I'm fine."
Jim obligingly levered him up, reaching quickly to steady him as he swayed. "You sure?" He turned Blair's chin to get a better look at his temple. "It looks like he hit you pretty hard. You could have a concussion."
"Nah. I know concussions. This is just a headache." Blair winced as he leaned back to free his face from Jim's hands. "Okay, a bad headache."
"Well, there's plenty of frozen stuff in the freezer to put on it." Jim started to clap Blair on the back, thought better of it, and squeezed his shoulder instead. "How 'bout we get everyone untied?"
"Good idea."
Jim crossed over to Sally, quickly reaching around to undo the belt she'd been tied with. He pulled her up into a hug. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Everyone's fine." Sally spoke firmly, but Jim suspected she was speaking as much to convince herself as him. "Shawn, Jim? Did you find Shawn?"
"Yes, he's at the station, safe and sound."
"Oh, thank you," Sally whispered, tightening her arms around Jim's waist. "Thank you."
Jim held her for a moment longer, but then a sound on the landing outside the front door reminded him of something he'd forgotten to do.
"Damn," he muttered, lunging to rescue his door. He couldn't afford to replace it again.
He got to the door and opened it just as Brown and Rafe were preparing to kick it in.
"Hey, what're you trying to do? Do you have any idea how expensive it is to replace this door?" Jim asked.
Rafe stepped past Brown into the apartment, surveying the scene with an aggrieved expression. "You could have let us know you had things under control."
"Sorry."
"Damn, Hairboy, nice shiner," Brown added. "How'd you get that?"
Blair stood from untying Ann and Alex, brushing his hand across his face self-consciously. "I guess this guy must have followed us from Ann's house. He surprised us when we were coming out of the elevator, knocked me out, and the next thing I know, I'm tied to a chair and our hero here," he gestured at Mary, who blushed furiously, "was playing Houdini."
"What is it with you and the ladies, Sandburg?" Brown shook his head in mock disbelief. He glanced down at the kidnapper, who was just beginning to stir. "You want us to take care of him?"
"Yeah, if you don't mind," Jim answered. "I want to take the Lis up to the station to see Shawn."
"The captain called while we were waiting," Rafe said, putting emphasis on the last word. "He said he'd gotten a warrant on Chang and was sending Connor and Taggart over to pick him up."
"Who's Chang?" Blair asked. He walked over to join them, still probing at the swelling cut on his temple.
Jim swatted his hand away. "You're going to make that bleed."
"Thanks, Mom. Now who's Chang?"
"Long story. You up to driving down to the station? I don't think everyone's going to fit in my truck, and Simon's going to be wanting a report."
"I'm fine," Blair answered. He fixed Jim with a determined stare. "Don't you think you should tell me what's going on?"
Jim shrugged. "Like I said, it's a long story. I'd rather wait till we get to the station and tell it once."
"Wait a minute. I was knocked out and tied up, and I want to know why."
Jim gave his partner a gentle smile and turned to Sally and Ann. "May I offer you two ladies a ride?"
"Jim..."
Sally grinned. "That would be lovely, dear."
"Sandburg, will you take the kids?"
Jim ushered the two ladies out without waiting for an answer. Behind him, he heard the protest he was expecting.
"JIM!"
Like this episode? Email the writer: katilian@cairdean.com
Want to comment on production? Contact Black Panther Productions: bpproductions@wildmail.com
Stay tuned next week when the calendar may indicate that Christmas is near, but it doesn't feel like it to the men and women of Major Crime in "Miracle On Prospect Avenue" an all new The Sentinel.
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