Warnings and summary are listed on the Summary Page
Many thanks to Cee for the edits.
"Keep the pressure on the wound. Mark, get that exit hatch open. Martin, help him." The two male guides started pounding on the handles of the hatch. Adam stripped his jacket off and pressed down hard on Dan's wound.
"They're jammed!" Martin yelled.
"Get it open! It’s the only chance we've got." Blair turned to the guide, Jonas, who had taken command of the situation and said, "If we're to make a run for it, we'll need a weapon."
"I'm on it! Stay back here." Jonas turned to head back towards the mangled front of the bus.
Blair turned his head back to check on the others when a rattle from the front grabbed his attention. He whipped his head around to see what looked like smoke gather at the front, but it didn't smell like smoke, it was more like...
"Gas!" Jonas was already coughing.
Blair didn't hesitate, turning around instantly and adding his weight to that of Mark and Martin who were straining to free the jammed handles. Blair coughed as the first tendrils of the gas reached them. Suddenly, the hatch was open. Though his vision was blurring, Blair saw the muzzles of the guns pointed at them quite clearly. He raised his arms.
"They were trying to run! The woman comes out first, then Slater."
Blair could barely see the speaker. Fighting his rising panic as he found it increasingly difficult to breathe, Blair shouted back at the blurry outlines, "He's unconscious."
"All right then," There was a pause, "The one called Adam and the woman brings him out."
Blair turned his head in the direction that he thought Tina was in and nodded. Blair coughed a little and watched as Adam and Tina manhandled Dan through the small exit area. When he heard a yelp from Tina, Blair rasped out, "Hey, what's going on?"
"Nothing to worry about little guide, nothing to worry about. The rest of you come out one by one, hands above your head."
Blair nodded to the three others. "I'll go last."
Martin made to protest, but Jonas pushed him towards the hatch. As Martin went through, Jonas and Blair exchanged grim glances.
At last it was Blair's turn. As soon as he exited the bus, he was pushed down flat onto the tarmac and the sleeves of his jacket and shirt were cut open by a very sharp knife. "What the…"
"Keep quiet, Guide, just injecting you with a little something to make sure you don't get up to anything."
Blair struggled, but two sets of hands kept his arm straight and firm as the sharp needle bit through the skin to the vein inside.
"All done. Now put your hands on your head and kneel."
Blair obeyed and turned his head slightly to his left and locked glances with Jonas. Blair sighed in disappointment as the man shook his head. Blair then took the chance to look down the line and saw that all of his fellow passengers were accounted for. That done, he turned to look at the men that had performed the ambush. Instantly he recognised the cold hard features of Mancini.
"What are you staring at, Guide?"
Blair looked up at the tall, scarred man who was standing over him. "Nothing, nothing. I was just trying to get my eyes to stop watering. You know, from the gas."
Before the guard could answer, Mancini shouted, "Frank, come over here a minute."
"Coming, Boss." But he didn’t move immediately. As the man stared at him, Blair swallowed and looked at the ground. Jonas whispered, "He's a mean looking son of a bitch. Unstable, be very careful around him."
Blair looked at Jonas, puzzled, and then remembered that Jonas's sentinel was an expert in this sort of situation. "I'll try and remember. Tell the others too." Jonas nodded. The sound of a large semi braking diverted Blair's attention. He looked in the direction of the noise, hoping against hope it would be someone unconnected to the raid, but his hopes died when he saw two of the gangsters move to the back of the truck even before it had come fully to a halt.
"Get up. You're going for a ride."
Blair saw Frank pull Adam roughly to his feet and then Tina. Martin smoothly went from kneel to standing and then Mark was yanked up by Frank. Frank bypassed Jonas and yanked Blair to his feet. "Hey, you missed one." Blair's gaze rested on Jonas.
Frank laughed and gave Blair a push. "No, we didn't. Boss's orders, get in the truck with the rest of your little friends."
Blair didn’t answer as he watched Dan being roughly dragged towards the back of the truck. He stumbled as someone pushed him in the back with a gun. "Hey, I just want all of us to go." He took a step towards Jonas. That was as far as he got before he felt pain explode all over the back of his head. After that, time slowed for him, contact with the ground only came after a long, almost timeless fall. After hitting the ground, Blair tried to push himself back up, the blackness claiming him only after he heard a single shot.
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As Jim came to, he shrugged off the helping hands that were rubbing his back. The hands felt strange, alien, not his guide. His guide! He sat up and looked around him, trying to scent Blair. Jim growled, as he couldn't locate his guide.
A nervous female voice asked, "Sentinel Ellison?"
Jim didn't reply at first. He was too focused on locating Blair, but then the voice came again and the strange alien hands were touching him again. He growled, "Don't." The hands lifted off him.
After a few moments, Jim took a deep breath and focused on the older woman who was kneeling by him and then the interested crowd of observers who were gathered around him. He wiped a hand over his face and said, "I'm okay."
The older woman looking at him with concern asked, "Are you sure? You look awfully pale."
Jim moved to stand up and found himself being given a helping hand by a man about the same age as the woman. He accepted the help as graciously as he could. Once he was standing, he asked, "I, uh, what happened?"
The couple looked at each other with the man deferring to the woman. She said, "You were walking in front of us, and I was just saying to Geoffrey here that I thought you looked familiar, and you collapsed to the floor." She leaned in and said, "The staff wanted to take you to the hospital, but I told them that all that man needs is his guide."
Jim raised his eyebrows at her and reached out his senses, 'that's why she felt alien, wrong.' She was a guide. He glanced at the older man, Geoffrey, who bristled slightly. He ignored him and returned his attention to the woman, , "Thanks... I, uh, was I out long?"
The woman shook her head. "No, a couple of minutes at the most." She bit her lip, "It was then that Geoffrey recognised you. We watch Cascade News, on the satellite feed, you see. You're on that a lot aren't you?"
There was a small cough from Geoffrey who interrupted, "Excuse my wife, Prime, Maisie...."
Jim allowed a half smile to cross his face. "It's genetic with guides I think." He sobered, "Thanks for helping me, but I..."
Geoffrey pulled Maisie back towards him, his arm around her, protecting her. "We understand. I hope he's alright."
Jim clenched his jaw. "So do I, so do I." He turned in the direction of the airline counters. He didn't quite know why, but he just knew he had to get back to Cascade.
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Images and sounds tumbled over and over in Blair's mind as he fought his way back to consciousness. As the last, single, gunshot rang out, Blair's eyes snapped open.
A hand pressed down on his right shoulder. A shaky female voice sounded next to Blair's ear, "He's awake."
Blair brought his hands up to feel the back of his head and grimaced as he touched the large bump that was beginning to form there. He focused on the blurry face that appeared in front of his eyes. Tina. At least she seemed to be okay. He asked, "Where are we?"
Mark appeared next to Tina's face. "We're in the back of a semi. We've been travelling about an hour. It's been bumpy. We've just stopped." Mark reached down and helped Blair sit up, leaning him back against the wall of the semi.
Blair swallowed as a wave of dizziness hit him. He tried to make sense of what had happened, but felt strange, hollow. The dark guide was screaming in impotent rage within him.
Tina anticipated his question and said, "Dampeners. You can remember them injecting us as we got out of the bus?"
"I think it was in the gas too," added Mark.
Blair nodded. He dully looked down at his left arm and saw the bruise where he'd been injected. After taking a moment to lick his lips, hoping that his tongue was a little less dry than the rest of his mouth, Blair asked, " Jonas…?"
Mark sighed. "Single shot to the head. They made me come back for you before they did it." Mark frowned and then kicked the floor of the truck. " The bastard that did it just stood there and laughed afterwards."
Blair was about to ask another question when the rear doors were thrown open and two of the gang climbed up. While one of them kept his weapon trained on the guides, the other turned to help Frank climb into the truck.
As soon as Frank stood up, he moved to the centre of the truck and faced Blair. "You'll only be with us for a short time, but even so, the Boss doesn't expect any of you to give him trouble. You'll be taken off the truck, one by one, hands on your heads. You will then be taken to your accommodation."
Blair quickly glanced around him at his fellow guides and saw they were all waiting for his guidance. He lingered last on the slumped form of Dan in the rear corner of the truck. "We need a first aid kit," demanded Blair when he turned his gaze back on Frank.
"That's up to the boss when you've moved," replied Frank evenly.
Blair made a decision, one he hoped he wouldn’t regret. Raising his hands onto his sore head, he murmured, "We'll move."
Frank nodded. "Smitty, bring the one in the corner." The second guard nodded and slung his gun over his shoulder and went past Blair towards the rear.
Blair winced when an inarticulate cry of pain sounded throughout the truck. But he knew what Jim would say now, keep control, keep control, so Blair took a deep breath and started to move towards the open truck doors.
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Jim stretched his legs out as best he could in the small cabin of the private jet he'd chartered to get back home. The fact that he couldn't get in touch with Sandburg may simply be down to the fact that the battery had run out on his cellphone, wouldn't be the first time that particular event had happened. Jim shook his head; he doubted that it would be that simple. Jim stared out of the window but couldn't see anything but endless clouds, and not wanting to zone, he reached down for his briefcase and took out the fat file that Donna James had passed to Simon. He laid the file down on the seat next to him and started to go through its contents.
The first few clippings didn't tell Jim anything different from the police files. Then he uncovered Donna's extensive background research on the Courcy family. He skipped the articles and notes about Roger Courcy's financial dealings. If he needed that information, he could get that from Steven. At the bottom of the file, Jim found a few typewritten pages dated a few days after the gun battle. It was obviously notes for a prospective feature article on the kidnapping and its disastrous aftermath. Jim only skimmed the biographical detail on Meggie Courcy since he already knew her age and the fact that she had been kidnapped and was still missing. As he read down, he began to see why Donna kept the file and her contacts with the local force. The questions she raised about the kidnapping and its aftermath were interesting.
After he finished reading the article, Jim sifted through the photographs of the isolated building where the feds had discovered traces of the kidnappers. He grimaced a little at the pictures of the basement room where, according to the investigators, the teenager had been kept. He searched through the papers and found a copy of the crime scene evidence summary. It confirmed what he'd thought; no natural light, one entrance, no sources of heat. Mancini hadn't taken much care of his hostage. Jim put down the pictures and yawned slightly. It had been a long and stressful day, and he doubted he would get any sleep when he got back.
Jim took off his jacket and laid it under his head to act as a pillow. He muttered to himself when his ear rubbed against something stiff in his breast pocket. He reached into the pocket and retrieved the business card that had somehow found its way there. Jim looked at it; 'Maisie Spencer, Counsellor (specialist Sentinels / Guides)', there was no address, just what looked like a cell phone number. Jim had to quirk a smile at the little icon of a goose in the corner. He tapped the card a couple of times and then slid it into his back pocket. A counsellor who was also a guide? He'd keep the card; show it to Blair when he got back to Cascade. Jim smiled a little as he could imagine Blair wanting to meet her. With a sigh, Jim closed his eyes. Somehow he knew that he wouldn’t be handing the card on immediately.
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Mancini slipped into what passed for his bedroom. Even though he and Mickey had found the abandoned school many years ago, he'd never bothered to shape it into a home from home. The furniture was still basic and spartan. He closed the door behind him and crossed to the pile of blankets next to his bed. He knelt down and shook his sentinel awake. "We're back."
Meg opened her eyes, "I know, I heard you all arrive." She sat up and started to scent her guide, Mancini let her do it. She always did it when he'd come back from a job. It calmed her when she knew he was all right. She twitched her nose with disgust and complained, "You took those tablets again. I don't like those tablets."
Mancini sat down on the bed and stretched. He bent down to take his shoes off and explained, "I needed you here. I couldn't risk my barriers crashing while I was away." Mancini deliberately kept his tone mild. "Did you have a good sleep?" He couldn't help noticing and admiring her physique where it was revealed by the blanket. And couldn’t help letting out a sigh of disappointment when Meg wrapped herself even further in the blanket.
"I didn't hear you go!"
Mancini lay down flat and yawned, the dampener always made him feel so tired these days. He reached out an arm and made contact with his sentinel's hair. He fingered one of her blonde curls as he answered, "You were flat out. I didn't want to disturb you."
Meg frowned. "Did you zone me? I can't protect you if you zone me."
Even though he couldn't link in just yet, Mancini still felt pleased. She was totally focused, as she should be, on protecting him. He stroked her head for a while before replying, "No. You were exhausted from your watch duty. You fell asleep straight after we bonded. I didn't see the need to disturb you."
"One of them is being sick." Meg's tone was matter of fact.
"Who? The gu..cargo?" Mancini hoped Meg hadn't noticed his slip.
Meg shook her head. "No, I haven't checked on them yet." She paused and then said, "The one, the one you did the deal with. He's complaining that his hands won't stop shaking. He's just dropped a glass of water. What did you make him do?"
"Why do you ask?"
Meg frowned in concentration as she listened to the conversation. "The other one, the friendly one, he's saying to Sean, that he should have refused to do it. That when the GDP and the Clan find out, no money in the world will protect him." Meg paused. "His heart's beating very rapidly. He's scared."
Mancini continued stroking her hair for a few moments, then merely commented, "I introduced the pair to the reality of the business."
"I've heard of the GDP, but who are the Clan? Are they a rival family?" asked Meg, a little nervously.
Mancini snorted, without thinking he commented, "The Clan? There is no clan. The GDP aren’t a problem." Mancini felt Meg's body begin to shake as it always did when somebody mentioned the GDP. He knew she was frightened of the GDP, even more so than of Frank, which was saying something, but other than to use her fear as another way of binding her to his side, he'd not delved deeper into what caused it. He wasn't interested in the cause, only the effect that it had on her. Gently stroking her head, he soothed, "Don't worry. We’ll be long gone before anyone gets here." After a few moments she began to relax against him. Mancini pushed her off the bed onto the floor. She knelt there with her head bowed. "Until the storm has passed, we're going to be stuck here. Frank and I are going to be busy, so I want you to make yourself useful in the kitchen, anywhere but under our feet. Understood?" Meg nodded. "The cargo is in the basement. Tell me what they’re saying."
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Blair glowered at the door and willed it to open. In the dim light of the basement room they had been locked in he could just about see the boot prints where he'd made connection with it. He went up to it and yelled, "We need more than a band aid here!" When there was no reply, he turned back to where Dan was laid out on the cement floor. Blair glanced at Dan's wound and grimaced, the bleeding had stopped on the journey, but the wound was gaping open and already looked raw and angry. Luckily, for the moment Dan looked as though he was asleep.
Kneeling down, Blair asked Mark and Martin, "Can you do anything for him?"
Mark gestured at the first aid material that had been left with them, some bandages, dressings, and anti -bacterial cream. "It's alright for a day trip in the car, but not for something like this. Maybe if they give us some suturing material…." He shook his head hopelessly and added bitterly, "At least we can't fry our barriers. Do you know how long the injection will last? I've ... I mean, I've never had the need for dampeners."
Martin replied quietly, "It lasts seventy-two hours. I have to have one every seventy-two hours."
Mark looked quickly across at Martin as though he was about to ask a question when Dan groaned a little. Mark turned back to his patient and spoke soothing nonsense to him. Dan quieted. Mark checked Dan's pulse and then reported, "He's holding his own at the moment, but if shock sets in...."
Blair's mouth set into a straight line. He nodded. "Its okay, don't worry, we're well overdue by now. They'll be out looking for us. It won't take them long to track us down."
Mark bit his lip and said quietly, "My sentinel said there'd be a big storm, bigger than the weather channel predicted."
Blair's stomach churned at the thought of being cooped up here. If Jim was delayed in the search, the wind and rain would wash away all their tracks. He fought to maintain an even exterior and said encouragingly, "It'll be okay. They'll find us."
Mark said quietly, "I know it sounds stupid, but this is the longest I've been away from Josh's side since we bonded."
Martin moved next to Mark. He guessed this was something the Prime probably wouldn't understand. "It feels odd doesn't it, like you've left a leg behind or something?"
Mark ran a hand through his ginger hair, "Yeah, it does."
Blair watched the older pair begin to talk together, and once he was satisfied that Mark was on an even keel again, he moved over to the corner where Tina had taken the younger guide. 'Adam, that's his name.' Blair blew out a big breath. He sensed that they'd all be looking towards him for support and to figure a way out of this mess if their sentinels didn't come soon.
Blair cursed internally as he stood over Adam, 'Damn.' Adam was curled into Tina's side, shaking and whimpering. Blair sat down on the other side so that the younger guide was between them and whispered to Tina, "What was he like in the truck, the same?"
Tina swallowed and reported, "When we got into the truck back there, he just crawled into a corner. I thought he'd come out of it, but as soon as we sat down here he did the same." Tina looked at Blair. "I thought they were going to kill you as well." Tina gulped air and then said, "Mark said that they all laughed. What sort of people do that?"
Blair didn't have the words to reassure her, or come to think of it, himself. Tina was an experienced guide to an experienced police officer. She knew all too well what sort of person would laugh at a killing. Seeking comfort and to give comfort, he held her hand tightly.
Tina sniffed. "I'm never going to see my baby again am I?"
Blair said, "Course you are." The gaze that passed between the two guides, two friends, said otherwise. Blair continued, "We have to believe. Jim and Niven will never give up on us. - The GDP won't tolerate someone killing a guide, especially not one of theirs. " Seeking to divert attention from their dire situation for the time being, Blair asked, "Has Adam said anything?"
Tina stroked the young man's back. "Not really, no, just whimpers and shakes. What's wrong with him?"
Blair frowned and swallowed. He recognised the symptoms. The young man was obviously having a flashback, just like on the bus. Blair looked across to where Dan lay. Hadn't Dan mentioned an 'unconventional background'? Instinctively, Blair tried to reach out and slapped his palm against the wall in frustration when he remembered he couldn't. Instead he touched Adam's face. Quietly, evenly he soothed, "It's okay, Adam, it's okay. Everyone's fine, just go to sleep now."
Adam pressed himself closer to Tina, muttering, "No, no, I told her that we should have waited."
Blair asked, "Waited for whom?"
Adam turned his face so that he was facing Blair, and in a childish voice he commented, "The adults of course. Of course, she always knows better. "
Blair looked at Tina who shrugged. Blair prompted, "Adam?"
Adam blinked twice and then said raggedly, "Senior Prime?" He looked around and asked, "Where are we?"
Blair smiled at the younger man with a confidence he didn't feel. , "It's Blair or Sandburg. We're in a basement somewhere." Blair paused. "You remember the bus..."
Adam shivered but nodded. Blair continued, "I think you should get some rest." Raising his voice, he declared, "All of us should rest then we can be ready. Mark and Martin, will you take turns watching over D… the Commander?" When they both nodded, Blair relaxed back against the wall. Shivering slightly, he wrapped his arms around himself and hoped they'd have some blankets soon.
TBC