STRIKE FORCE

11:07 pm

Detective Jim Ellison gravely looked at each member of the stroke force.  "Does anyone have any questions?" 

Silence.

"Any suggestions?"

Silence.

Jim checked his watch.  "All right, people.  You all know your assignments.  If you run into a snag, contact either me or the next person on rotation."  He briskly nodded.  "Let's do it."

The other detectives of Major Crimes silently nodded.  A few of them murmured words of encouragement to Jim before leaving the bullpen.

Captain Simon Banks waited while Jim straightened his desk.  "It's as good a plan as we can make it, Jim.  It'll work."

Jim looked up at his friend.  "Except it doesn't take one very important thing into consideration, sir."

"What's that?" Simon frowned.

"Sandburg, Captain.  He still remains the wild card."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:54 pm

Quietly, Jim let himself into the loft.  Locking the door behind him, he then removed his jacket and put his keys in the basket next to his partner's.  He sat a take-out bag from Wonderburger on the kitchen island then turned towards the living room.  Hearing gentle snoring from one of the couches, Jim grinned.

Moving into the living room, he saw his roommate sprawled on the couch, one foot on the floor, glasses perched on the edge of his nose.  Scattered across the coffee table and floor next to the couch were the bluebooks Blair Sandburg had been grading.

Jim was never sure if Blair's so-called system of scattering the bluebooks was genuine or an obfuscation.  Still, better to assume he used an actual system than be faced with a pissed-off grad student.

Jim carefully kept the stacks intact as he transferred the ones from the floor to the coffee table.  Then he gently removed Blair's glasses and set them in the middle of the table.

Blair snuffled in his sleep and rubbed his nose.

Jim froze then relaxed when Blair settled down.  He eased Blair's shoes off and raised the younger man's leg onto the couch.

Sighing, Blair rolled over, facing the back of the couch and snuggled down.

Chuckling under his breath, Jim carefully covered his friend with the brightly colored afghan draped over the back of the couch.  Satisfied that Blair was deeply asleep, Jim ran a hand through his short hair.

He glanced at his watch as he walked back to the kitchen.  'Three.  Two.  One.' 

He automatically extended his senses and waited.  After a few moments, satisfied he sensed no threat, he quietly began pulling his food from the bag,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2:07 am

One of the perks about being a Sentinel that Jim kept hidden from even his Guide was the ability to read in the dark.  So it wasn't any problem to stretch out on the second couch and finally get a chance to read the autobiography of Ulysses S. Grant that he'd had for nearly a year.

It also wasn't a problem to hear the scratching at the fire escape outside Blair's bedroom.  Quickly closing the book, Jim sat up.  Grabbing his cell phone, he quickly stuck it in his pocket along with his badge.  Cuffs in one hand and gun in the other, Jim quietly crossed the living room to Blair's door and waited.

Listening, he heard someone force the window open.  Seconds later, he heard one pair of footsteps inside the bedroom.  Then the door slowly opened.

Jim quickly reached out and grabbed the intruder by the forearm.  Yanking him into the living room, he shoved the slightly-built man against the wall.  Gun at the man's forehead, Jim hissed, "Make one sound, and you're a dead man."

The intruder turned out to be both a teenager and a quick study.  Shaking in fright, he nodded.

Jim spun the boy around to face the wall.  "I bet you know the position," he murmured.  "Not your lucky night, sport…breaking into a cop's place."

"Shit," the teenager moaned.

Jim efficiently frisked the teenager then cuffed him.

The boy was surprised when Jim silently marched him towards the front door.  He watched while Jim unlocked the door and pocketed the keys.  Motioning for the intruder to precede him, Jim began dialing his cell phone.

"This is Detective Ellison.  I need a squad car to my home…852 Prospect.  Just caught a perp breaking into my apartment.  We'll be waiting outside.  Thanks."  He nudged the intruder.  "C'mon, let's get going."

"Damn," the boy muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:45 am

Jim stood back and smiled in satisfaction.  The damage to the fire escape window had been repaired.  'I can pick up a better lock at Home Depot later today.  But for now…'

After quietly packing his tools back into the toolbox, he picked his way across Blair's room once again shaking his head and wondering how his Guide kept from falling and breaking something just trying to get from one side of the small room to the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7:00 am

Smiling, Jim listened to the moans, grumbles, and snorts that usually indicated his roommate's return to the land of the waking.  "Morning, sunshine," he called from the kitchen.

Snort.

Jim looked over his shoulder to see Blair's right hand snake over the back of the couch.

Grunt.

Slowly rumpled curls extending in all directions appeared over the back of the couch.  Finally, Blair's face appeared.  He groggily looked around then pushed himself into a sitting position.  "I slept out here?"

"Yeah, you were so cute lying there on the couch that I just didn't have the heart to drag your ass to bed."  Jim turned back around to the stove.  "You've got about 20 minutes before breakfast."

Blair stood and stretched cramped muscles.  "Oh, man…this is going to be the day from hell.  At least I got all the grading done last night."

"Eighteen minutes, Sandburg."

Blair waved a hand in Jim's direction and walked towards his room.  Reappearing a few minutes later with clean underwear, he headed into the bathroom and shut the door. 

Jim had pancakes stacked on a platter and was sitting them on the table when the phone rang.  Quickly grabbing it, he answered, "Ellison."

"Heard about last night.  Everything okay?"

"Morning, Simon.  Yeah, I just got to pick up a better lock for the fire escape window sometime today.  Sandburg slept through it all.  He doesn't know a thing about it."  Cupping the phone receiver between his jaw and shoulder, Jim opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the jug of orange juice.

"Stay in touch," Simon ordered.

"Yes, sir."  Jim put the juice on the table then hung up the phone.  He was going to yell at Sandburg when the bathroom door opened and Blair trotted from the bathroom to his bedroom.  Shrugging, Jim yelled anyway.  "It's on the table, Sandburg!"

"Coming…coming…"  Blair muttered.  Minutes later, he appeared at the table.  "Oh, man, I am going to be so busy today.  Three classes of listening to students complain about their grades…as though it's my fault they didn't listen to the lectures or do any studying!"

Blair drained his glass of juice and poured another.  "Two departmental meetings…and I swear if Profession Brasseur starts his 'How do you expect us to teach with the current lack of proper funding?' speech, I'm going to fake an epileptic fit or something!"

Blair devoured the two pancakes on his plate and dragged a slice of turkey bacon through the maple syrup as Jim slid two more pancakes onto the younger man's plate and drenched them with more syrup and butter.

"Then I have to meet with my Honors Group students.  I love 'em to death, Jim, but sometimes I think they just live to take a subject and nitpick it to death!  I gotta figure out a way to get them to see the larger picture and not be so concerned about why a certain goddess is depicted with her eyes closed rather than open when it's more important to understand why this goddess was chosen as their main deity over the other deities."  He gulped the last of his juice.

"So all this means you'll be home late, right?"  Jim managed not to laugh.

"Yeah," Blair nodded, chewing on the last piece of his pancake.  "At least you get to take it easy today.  You're off, right?"

Jim nodded.  "There's some minor repairs around here I've been meaning to get to.  But other than a trip to Home Depot, I figure I'll be here most of the day."

Blair grinned.  "Good!  You need a day to just relax.  Why don't you get to that autobiography of Grant that you've been trying to finish?"  Standing, he took his dishes to the sink.

"Good idea," Jim admitted with a nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7:42 am

Inspector Megan Conner slowly opened the door to Blair's office in Hargrove Hall.  She'd spotted a young blonde-haired woman who had been loitering in the hallway until it was empty before stealthily entering the office a few seconds earlier.

Megan's eyes widened momentarily then she stepped inside the office and closed the door behind her.

"Oh, Mr. Sand…WHO ARE YOU?!!"  The half-undressed young woman quickly grabbed her blouse and held it over her chest.

Megan folded her arms and leaned against the door.  "The question is…who are you?"

"I'm Ami Berry."  The girl's voice wavered then she stiffened her shoulders and raised her head.  "Who are you?"

"Megan Conner.  Inspector Megan Conner."

"Inspector?"  Ami's hazel eyes blinked rapidly.  "Umm…you're a cop?"

"I certainly am," Megan nodded.  "Now perhaps you'd care to explain yourself, young lady?"

"I…"

"Do you have any idea just how much trouble Blair would be in if someone saw you in here…undressed like this?" Megan quickly demanded.

"Well…"

"At the very least, he would be fired from the University," Megan continued.  "The Administration might also press criminal charges."

"But…"

"His reputation would be shattered.  No other school would hire him."  Megan's eyes narrowed.  "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No!"  Ami quickly shook her head.

"Put your clothes on, Ami," Megan gently advised.  She glanced away to give the girl a bit of privacy.

"I didn't mean anything wrong," Ami sniffled.  "I…I just knew that if Mr. San…Blair could see me as something other than a student that he'd see how good we could be together."

"Ami, let me offer you a piece of advice.  Mr. Sandburg will always see you as a student because you've been in his class."  Megan walked to Ami and gave her a quick hug.  "Don't you think you'd better talk to someone about this…preoccupation you have with him?"

Ami wiped tears from her face.  "I feel so…ashamed."

"Don't be," Megan soothed.  "Come on, I'll walk you over to your Counselor's Office.  It wouldn't do for Mr. Sandburg to see us, now would it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:03 am

"Ellison."

"Infatuated student."

"Wonder if it's the same one he mentioned who's been leaving all the notes on his desk?"

"I hope so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:53 am

Jake Miller angrily stalked the corridor of Hargrove Hall.  'I can't believe Sandburg failed me!  Stupid Anthropology class!  Who the hell needs it, anyway?  He's not even a real professor!  He shouldn't be teaching!  He's not qualified!  Well, if he thinks he's gonna fail me, he's got another thing coming!'

Spotting Blair closing the door of his office, he yelled, "Sandburg!"

Startled, Blair turned around then frowned.  'Oh man, I do not need this now!'

"I deserve better than an 'F'!" Jake bellowed as he came closer.

"You deserve what you got," Blair wearily explained.  "Out of 50 questions, you correctly answered 17.  That equals an 'F' in anybody's book.  Now I suggest you start studying.  If you pull a 'B' or better on the rest of your tests and write a term paper that's at least a 'C', you should earn a decent grade that won't affect your GPA too badly."

Furious, Jake watched as Blair turned to walk away.  He clenched his fist and started to hit Blair in the back.  "Wha…"  Jake gasped as his fist was caught by two strong hands…hands which then pushed him against the wall.

Surprised, Blair whirled around to see Jake pinned against the wall, his books hitting the floor.  "Joel?  What are you doing?"

"This…student…was about to hit you, Blair," Joel Taggart calmly explained, stepping back slightly.

"That's a lie!" Jake angrily denied.

"No it isn't."

All three men turned to see two Rainier University security guards standing nearby.  "I saw the whole thing," one of them added.  "Do you want to press charges, Mr. Sandburg?"

Blair hesitated.  "No.  I'm sure he won't do it again."

Joel frowned although both security guards nodded.  "We'll walk him over to the Dean's Office."

"You heard him!  He's not pressing charges!" Jake shouted.

The older of the guards shrugged.  "That would be a police matter.  That doesn't get you off the hook with us.  Now pick up your books, and let's get going."

Muttering under his breath, Jake quickly picked up his books.

Joel shook his head as he watched the guards escort Jake down the hallway.  "What's the world coming to, Blair?  In my day, no student would have tried to hit a teacher."

Blair uncomfortably shrugged.  "I don't know,"  Then he smiled.  "What are you doing here?"

Turning to look at his friend, Joel shyly smiled.  "I was wondering if I could talk with you about a personal matter.  Do you have time for lunch?"

His smile widening, Blair nodded.  "Sure, Joel.  C'mon.  Let's see what's good at the cafeteria."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1:01 pm

"Ellison."

"Some kid was upset about the grade he got in one of Blair's classes.  He was going to hit Blair from behind."

"Where is he now?"

"Blair wouldn't press charges.  The University security guards took him to the Dean's office.  I'm headed there now to see what sort of disciplinary action they're going to take.  I'll get a report and bring it back with me."

"Good.  I'd like to have that on file.  Officially or unofficially."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4:34 pm

'Now who is he, and what is he doing?'  Detective Henri Brown frowned as he watched the young man furtively look around as he stopped in front of Blair's closed office door.  Quickly ducking around the corner, Henri counted to three.  Holding his breath, he glanced around the corner to see the door to Blair's office quietly close.

Henri quietly walked down the corridor and leaned against Blair's office door.  Hearing nothing inside, he quickly pulled his gun and opened the door.

"Oh…Mr. Sand…WHO ARE YOU?!!"  The half-undressed young man tried to pull up his pants, but stumbled backwards nearly falling on his ass.

Totally surprised, Henri lowered his gun.  "The question is…who are you?"

"I'm Ben Wallace."  The young man's voice wavered then he stiffened his shoulders.  "Who the hell are you?"

"Henri Brown.  Detective Henri Brown.  Cascade PD."

"Oh my God!  Are you the guy Mr. Sandburg is riding with?"  Ben's blue eyes widened in shock.

"You can thank your lucky stars I'm not."  Henri holstered his gun.  "What are you doing in Blair's office with your pants down?"

"Well…"

"Pull your pants up!" Henri barked.

Ben's hands shook as he pulled up his pants and fastened them.

"Well?!  Explain what's going on here!" Henri ordered.  "Do you have any idea just how much trouble Blair would be in if someone saw you in here…undressed like this?"

"Well…"

"At the very least, he would be fired from the University," Henri raged.  "Not to mention he could be brought up on criminal charges!  Do you have any idea how that would look down at the precinct?"

"But…"

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"  Henri put his hands on his hips and glared at the young student.

"I didn't mean anything wrong," Ben protested.  "I…I just knew that if Mr. San…Blair could see me as something other than a student that he'd see how good we could be together.  I've been writing him notes about us."

"That was you?" Henri demanded.  "Do you know you're that close to being considered a stalker?"

"But…but…we're supposed to be together!" Ben argued.

Henri reached out and grabbed Ben by the arm.  "C'mon.  You're coming with me."  He raised a hand when Ben opened his mouth.  "Don't say a word.  There's no way I'm taking the heat for letting you walk around loose.  Now come on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:15 pm

"Ellison."

"Infatuated student."

"Again?!"

"You mean Hairboy had another one?"

Sigh.

"Don't worry, man.  This one's getting some professional help.  He's the one who was leaving those notes."

Silence.

"He."

"Yep."

Silence.

"You aren't gonna make a big deal out of this, are you?"

"No, of course not.  Just came out of left field, that's all."

"Okay then.  I called my backup.  He's taking over early since I had to take care of loverboy here."

"Thanks."

"No problem, man."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7:21 pm

'How did a guy so dumb get into Rainier?'  Reaching into his pocket, Detective Brian Rafe pulled out his cell phone and dialed.  "Dispatch.  Connect me with Rainier Security.  Thank you."

Jake Miller looked around but spotted no one but a well-dressed man standing on the steps of Hargrove Hall speaking into a cell phone.  Walking around the Volvo as though he owned it, the student studied the car contemptuously.

'What a piece of junk!  Hell, I'm doing Sandburg a favor!  By the time I'm done, it'll look better.  I sure as hell can't make it look worse!'

Palming a can of pink spray paint, he began shaking it.  He was so intent on trying to decide what to write on the side of the Volvo that he didn't hear anyone approaching. 

"Cascade PD!  Put down the can!"

"What in the hell!"  Furious, Jake turned around to see the well-dressed young man from the steps of Hargrove Hall standing three feet behind him.  His anger disappeared as soon as he saw the gun in the young man's hand.  "You're a cop?!"

"Moron," Rafe muttered under his breath.  Raising his voice, he answered, "Yes, I'm a cop.  Now drop the can."

"Shit."  Jake dropped the can which rolled to the curb.  "Can this day possibly get any worse?"

Minutes later, Blair exited Hargrove Hall, happy to complete his academic day.  Seeing the crowd around his car, he began running.

"Hey, Blair!  How's it going?"

"Rafe?  What are you doing…oh God…Jim!  Is he okay?"  Blair grabbed Rafe's arm.

"Yeah, he's fine," Rafe assured him.

Blair saw Jake being put into the back of a Cascade PD squad car.  "Where are they taking Jake?  I told Joel I wasn't pressing charges?"

"Charges?  Joel?"  Rafe shook his head in confusion.  "I don't know about that.  I caught the guy about to spray paint your car."

"WHAT?!"  Blair quickly dropped his backpack and circled his car.  "Is she okay?"

"Well, there's no spray paint on it.  I'll leave the rest for you to confirm," Rafe teased.

"Oh, man…thank you," Blair smiled.  He fondly patted the hood of the car.  "But what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd check out the Registrar's Office about some night classes," Rafe explained with a grin.  "I found out they're open until 8pm this month in order to accommodate us working stiffs."

"Hey, that's cool!"  Blair grinned as he retrieved his backpack.  "C'mon!  I'll walk you over and get you all set up."

Rafe blinked.  "Thanks, Blair.  I don't know if I'm gonna take any classes yet.  I just thought I'd check out what's available."

"I know," Blair cheerfully nodded.  He took Rafe's arm and led him towards the Administration Building.  "But I can at least tell you which professors to avoid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:06 pm

"Ellison."

"I'm not going to night school."

"Excuse me?"

Sigh.  "Never mind.  I'll explain tomorrow.  I've got to head to the station to make my report."

"What happened?"

"Some moron decided to try to spray paint the Volvo.  With pink spray paint.  Seems Sandburg had an earlier run-in with him.  Joel has the details on that one."

"Yeah, Joel filled me in earlier.  Any damage to the car?"

"Hey, do you think I'd let anybody deface that classic?  See you tomorrow."

"Right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:29 pm

'Now where in the hell is he going?'  Captain Simon Banks shook his head as he saw Blair's Volvo pull into the parking lot of a small market a couple of blocks from the loft.  Pulling into a parking spot halfway down the block, he turned of the engine and tried to decide if he should follow the younger man or just wait.

Blair grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.  Locking the car, he again patted it on the hood.  "Why would somebody want to take out their frustrations on my baby?" he muttered.

Entering the small market, he waved at the elderly woman behind the register.  "Hey, Mrs. Ling!  I've got those books for your granddaughter!"  Setting the backpack on the counter, he didn't see the dirty middle-aged man approaching with a gun in his hand.

Outside, Simon sighed and reached for his cell phone and began dialing.

Inside the market, the middle-aged man shoved Blair to one side and pointed the gun at Mrs. Ling.  "Open the register!  Now!" he shouted.

Blair automatically raised his hands as Mrs. Ling backed away in terror. 

"Are you deaf!  Open the register!  Put the money in a bag!"

Hands shaking, Mrs. Ling fumbled with the register keys.

"Just take it easy," Blair soothed.  "She's cooperating."

"Shut up!"  The man waved the gun at Blair who flinched.  "Give me your wallet!"

Just then, Blair's cell phone, located in the backpack began ringing.

"Never mind!  I'll just take the whole thing!"  The robber grabbed the bag of money Mrs. Ling had shoved across the counter.  Stuffing it into his pocket, he reached for the backpack.

Not expecting it to be so heavy, the robber stumbled.  Trying to regain his balance, he cracked his elbow against the counter, hitting his so-called 'funny bone'.  As pain ran up and down his arm, the robber did three things.

First, he lost his grip on his gun.

Second, he lost his balance and fell backwards.

Third, he hit his head on the edge of the counter and knocked himself out.

Stunned in surprise, both Blair and Mrs. Ling stared at the unconscious man.  Then Blair looked at Mrs. Ling.  "I think you should call the police."

Outside, Simon closed his cell phone and muttered under his breath.  "Let's try again; and this time, Sandburg, you will answer your phone."

"Any unit in the vicinity, attempted armed robbery at the New China Market.  327 Prospect Avenue."

"SHIT!" Simon bellowed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:00 pm

"Ellison."

"Attempted armed robbery."

"WHAT!?"

"You heard me."

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine.  The perpetrator has a concussion."

Sigh.  "What did he do?"

"According to Sandburg and the witness, nothing.  The perpetrator tried to steal Sandburg's backpack as well as money from the register.  He was unprepared for the weight of the backpack.  It threw him off balance.  He fell and struck his head, knocking him unconscious."

Silence.  "But Sandburg's okay."

"He's fine.  As soon as he gives a statement, I'll send him home."

"Thanks."

Jim hung up the phone and shook his head.  This entire day called for a complete change of strategy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

9:58 pm

Tired beyond belief, Blair quietly unlocked the front door to the loft and walked inside.  Locking the door behind him, he slid his keys into the basket by the door and lowered his backpack to the floor.  Glancing into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Jim sitting at the kitchen table, staring at him.

"Hey, Jim," Blair wearily greeted.  "Man, you would not believe the day I've had."

Jim shook his head.  "Is this what passes for a normal day for you, Chief?  Or was today's madness just because of the date?"

"Oh, come on, Jim.  You don't believe in that superstition, do you?"

Jim glanced at the paper on the table in front of him to refresh his memory then stood.  "At 2:07 am, a perpetrator broke into the loft through the fire escape window.  That lock, by the way, has been replaced by a better one."

"What?"  Blair looked across the loft towards his room.  "I don't remember…"

"I kept him quiet so you could get some sleep," Jim interrupted.  "At 7:42 am, your office was invaded by one of your students, Ami Berry, who partially undressed in an effort to get your attention."

"Really?"  Blair frowned.  "Now that I would have remembered."

"Megan got her out of there before anyone spotted her.  Ms. Berry is currently scheduled for some serious couch time.  At 11:53 am, you had a run-in with a disgruntled student, Jake Miller.  But you know about that one."

Blair nodded.

"At 4:34 pm, your office was invaded again by one of your student, one Ben Wallace, who partially undressed in an effort to get your attention," Jim continued.  "By the way, he's the one who's been writing all those notes you received."

Blair's blue eyes widened.  "You mean the ones where…"

Jim nodded.

Blair cleared his throat.  "I see.  I guess he's getting some serious couch time as well."  When Jim nodded, he asked, "Who…?"

"Henri."

Blair closed his eyes.  "Oh, I'll be hearing about that, for sure."

"Maybe," Jim shrugged.  "At 7:21 pm, you had another run-in with your disgruntled student, Jake Miller.  But you know about that one as well."

"Yeah, Rafe…"  Blair narrowed his eyes.

"Finally at 8:29 pm you were the victim of an attempted armed robbery."  Jim crossed his arms over his chest.

"You actually had Major Crimes shadow me today?" Blair demanded.

"Before you get bent all out of shape, just stop and consider what your day would have been like if I hadn't had them shadowing you all day," Jim calmly pointed out.

Blair opened his mouth…then shut it…then opened it once again…then shook his head and threw his arms into the air.  "All because it's Friday the 13^th?"

"Let's just say that I figured if you were going to attract more trouble than usual, it would be today," Jim admitted.  He glanced at his watch.  "And since Friday the 13^th isn't over yet and since you look like you could use an early night's sleep, upstairs, Junior."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't mind dozing on the couch for one night, but two nights would not be good for my back," Jim pointed out.  "Besides, after hearing about both your student admirers, I'm sorely tempted to stick very close to you from now on."

Blair slightly smiled.  "Is that a fact?"

Jim nodded and pulled his friend into his arms.  "Yeah.  I figure I better stake my claim now before I get edged out."

"Oh…I don't think Ami and Ben pose any great threat," Blair grinned before he gently kissed Jim's chin.  Then he pulled back and stared up at his partner.  "You'd better be serious about this."

"Very serious."  Jim lowered his mouth and firmly kissed Blair on the lips.

Seconds later, Blair murmured, "Thank God.  Playing hard to get was starting to get on my last nerve."

June 2003

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