Coffee and a variety of snack foods were waiting for them as they waited for the others to gather in the conference room. After the team members had sat down, Mac called for their attention.

"All right, people. You've had time to study the files and to examine the location for yourselves. Suggestions?"

Cole Donovan was the first to speak, or more accurately ask a question. "Are we limited to the option of two teams, one to attack the house and one to ambush Mendoza when he returns?"

"What else do you have in mind?"

Glancing nervously at Walter, Cole continued, "Higgins and I were talking. I know our primary objective is to grab the money, but we could also put a serious dent in the flow of drugs coming into the States and Europe."

Everyone at the table sat up a little straighter at that announcement. As cops, Jim and Blair were already in favor of anything that would slow down the flow of drugs into the country.

"I think we'd be better off with a three-pronged attack. At a minimum, Ellison, Sandburg and Finch are going to be needed to break into that safe, so I'm excluding them for the discussion of assigning personnel. Walter thinks with a few properly place C-4 charges, he can blow up the drug lab and set them back weeks -- maybe months -- of production. With Escoban out of business, and Mendoza delayed for weeks or months, we could really put a dent in the amount of drugs being sold."

"Sounds doable, so far. What do you have in mind for the team assignments?"

"Walter thinks that he can blow the lab in around ten minutes with the help of one other person, five if it's two. Figure at least three in the house, and three at the lab. That leaves six of us to set up the ambush at the gate."

Ellison joined the conversation. "Look, I think I've figured a way for me, Sandburg and Finch to get the money out of the safe. Actually, I'd really prefer it was only the three of us. I can get the three of us into the security control room. From there, Finch and I head for the safe, leaving Blair to monitor the situation from the control room."

"So that's why you had me talking to you from there," Blair added, finally figuring out what Jim had in mind. "It will be easier for me to pinpoint the guards from the control room rather than you trying to sense them."

"I knew you'd figure it out, Chief. Anyway, you can just plan on three of us infiltrating the house. This also has the added advantage that we will be able to communicate with each other once we have infiltrate the control room. It should make coordinating the rest of the plan much easier."

"Good, because I was going to suggest a further breakdown of manpower," Peter added. "I think it would be a good idea for us to keep an eye on the meeting that Escoban and Mendoza are having. Once the fireworks start, I believe with a little bit of expert shooting, we can lessen the number of Mendoza's men coming back through those front gates."

Everyone at the table looked to where Mac was sitting, waiting to see what he thought of the discussions.

"Alright, it sounds like we're going to have four teams of three people. Jim, you've got Blair and Harry with you. Walter, who would you prefer helping you set those charges?"

"Preferably, I'd have Renee and Darin. Renee's got plenty of experience with explosives, " he said with a wink. "And Darin can set the remote detonators and the timers."

"Sounds good. Sarah, I'd rather you stay at the front gate. You can help lay the land mines in the road and I'd really prefer to keep the team's medic out of one of the infiltration teams."

Sarah smiled. "Not a problem, Mac. Someone always does seem to need my services and I can handle a shovel with the best of them."

"Eric, I'd also prefer you stay at the front gate. Both Jim and Walter may need your services to get inside the perimeter, then you can keep an eye out for any stray patrols. Cole, you're in charge of the team at the gate, which leaves me, Everett and Peter to see what we can do about hurting Mendoza. Okay, each team break up and discuss how you're going to handle assignments. After lunch, we'll have our first trial run at the mock-up. Over the next few days, we'll throw different scenarios at you. Figure we'll have one trial run first thing in the morning from now until further notice. Dismissed, people."

The evening after their first trial run, word had come back from Peru that Escoban's processing plant had been destroyed. Mac believed that the meeting between the two drug lords was going to happen sooner rather than later. He had been pushing the team through multiple scenarios the last couple of days. Blair and Jim slowly shuffled down the hallway to their quarters.

"Man, I can't believe how sore I am right now," Blair said, rubbing his right shoulder.

"We've been doing almost fifteen hours day for the last five days and you can't believe you're sore? Not to mention that you got to sit out during this morning's run," Jim replied.

"I know. That really sucked. I didn't even get to die heroically. Nope, I was killed by a tree."

Jim started rubbing his forehead. He had been fighting a headache all morning and without the adrenaline rush from the training, it was growing worse again. "Chief, it wasn't a comment on your skills. I know you've jumped from planes before. They know, too. They just wanted to see what would happen if you weren't with me on the mission. Besides, it's not that uncommon for injuries to happen when jumping into dangerous terrain."

"How is your head, by the way?" Blair asked. Sarah had turned out to be an okay back-up guide, but Jim had suffered from several sensory spikes during the trial.

"Better, now. The sliders kept inching higher and higher if I didn't concentrate. I think my senses were unconsciously searching for you."

"That's not surprising, a sentinel needs a guide. Sarah could do okay in the short term, but I think we proved we work best as a team."

"I'm not gonna argue with that."

Blair groaned again as his muscles protested the long walk to their quarters. "All I want is a hot bath and a chance to soak before I have to go meet Darin."

"Just what is it between the two of you? You've been spending a few hours with him every night. What are you guys doing?"

"Darin's been showing me a few good tricks on the computer that may come in handy someday."

"Nothing I'm going to have to arrest you for, is there?"

"Only if you catch me. Besides, we spend most of the evenings erasing... uhm... a few files."

"Whose files?" Jim asked warily.

"Ours, mostly. It was surprising how many different government soup agencies had files on us and on some of the other members of the team. Don't look at me like that, Jim. We had Mac's blessing for the action. It seems he has Darin checking regularly to make sure all the team members stay safe."

"Mac is a good man to have as a commander. He actually sees his people as human beings, not as soldiers. I know Mac said he handpicked the team, but I didn't realize just how true that was. I was talking to Eric before and according to him, without Mac's intervention, the two of them might have had to split up. Joining the knights was the only way they could stay together."

"I know. I got the same story from Darin. It seems the Rangers wanted Eric, but not Darin, so they turned the Rangers down. I'm just surprised that they have the time to serve as Black Knights."

"Officially, they are still in active services with the U. S. Army. They are under Mac's command, so they are available for missions within the Order. It's a good deal for both sides. I think Darin and Eric are like you and I, they're very good at what they do separately, but put the two of them together and they're unstoppable. They complement each other's weaknesses."

Blair opened the door to their suite and immediately headed to his bedroom. Jim already had first dibs on the shower, so he flopped down on the bed, groaning loudly. "Man, I really need to soak in that whirlpool for a while. I don't think there's an inch of me that doesn't hurt."

Jim hadn't even bothered pausing in his bedroom. He headed straight for the bathroom. Hearing Blair's comment, he poked his head out and answered, "You earned every bruise and sore muscle. You're definitely showing yourself well here, Chief. You've got everyone convinced that you'll have no problems keeping up with us during the mission."

"Thanks, Jim. Now hurry up, would you? I'm sore. I'm tired. I'm starting to smell myself and it's grossing me out."

"Yeah, I know," Jim replied, waving a hand in front of his nose. "Think of how I feel. I've got the slider set as far down as it will go."

Instead of replying verbally, Blair tossed his pillow at the bathroom door, groaning with the sudden pain from the motion. Even stiff as he was, Jim easily ducked out of the way.

"Don't worry, I'll hurry. I'm meeting Renee at the firing range in twenty minutes." Jim said, sticking his head back out.

Blair rolled over on the bed and faced the bathroom door as Jim's words sunk into his tired brain. "Watch yourself, Jim."

"I thought you were over your distrust of the others, Chief," Jim called out from behind the closed door.

"I am. It's you I don't trust, not with a good looking, red-haired assassin, considering your history with women. Besides, I don't want Walter getting angry with us. He's way too good at planting explosives."

Jim poked his head back out the door. "That's cold, Sandburg, and for your information, Walter is going to join us there after he's done checking out his equipment."

"But true."

"Just for that, I'm not leaving any hot water for you," Jim yelled after turning on the water in the shower.

The following morning's training was interrupted by the news that the meet between Escoban and Mendoza was occurring that evening. At the news, everyone was ordered to grab their gear and meet at the hanger in fifteen minutes.

Several hours into the flight, Mac called for a quick discussion.

"Change of plans, people. We're supposed to hit some unfavorable winds over Central America, which will delay us by over thirty minutes. Rather than landing at the airfield, we're going to drop you just outside the boundaries of the estate. It should save you a good bit of time on your hike in. Remember what we taught you about parachuting into heavy jungle."

"Hey, Sandburg, watch out for trees when you land," Darin called out.

"Nah, I have to watch out for the lizards," Blair called back, though Jim was the only one who really understood the joke.

"What are you going to do, Sir?" Jim asked.

"Now that we know the meeting site, we're going to land the helicopter at an alternate site. Closer to the meeting for us, but it will be a much longer hike coming out. Everyone clear on their roles?"

Various calls of 'yes sir' reverberated across the headphones. Now all they had to do was be patient until they were over the drop point.

Blair watched Jim move silently through the jungle, waiting for the signal that it was okay for them to follow. They were still behind schedule from the delays in flight. Thankfully, the drop had gone smoothly. No injuries occurred during the landing. Despite being told they were being dropped close to the estate, they still had a bit of a hike to reach Mendoza's compound. They had been able to make up a little bit of time quick marching through the jungle, thanks to Jim's senses.

Once they had reached the outer perimeter of the compound, Eric had used his rifle to kill the two men who were patrolling the area. Blair sighed as he watched his partner flatten out onto the ground. He knew the others were already heading for the lab, able to coordinate their attack only by the ticking of a watch. Checking his watch, Blair noted that they only had another three and a half minutes to make it to the house and take out the guards in the security room.

Harry was fidgeting, watching Jim just as closely as Blair. "What's the hold-up?" Harry hissed quietly.

Blair didn't need to answer as two sentries came into view, patrolling the area by the house.

As soon as the patrol was out of sight, Jim waved for them to join him. Staying crouched as low as possible, they made their way across the open ground to Jim's position.

"Jim, we're behind schedule, we need to get moving," Blair whispered as he knelt down next to his partner.

"It's worse than that, Chief. I'm hearing too many people inside the compound for there to be only a skeleton crew."

"How many more?"

Jim closed his eyes and focused again. "I'm hearing somewhere around thirty people, maybe a few more."

"So what do we do?"

"We've got no choice. We need to move on them now. If we don't take out those guards in the monitoring room, the others will be dead as soon as they reach the lab. Stay with me. We're going to do this the hard way." As Jim was speaking, he was fitting a silencer to his weapon.

Blair swore softly as he reached into his pack to do the same. They needed to even up the odds, which meant they couldn't avoid the patrols now; they needed to take them out. His hands were shaking slightly as he fitted the silencer.

He almost dropped the gun when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He looked over at Jim, smiling at the concern he could read on the man's face. He tried to appear more confident and at ease with the situation than he was feeling inside. Jim must have seen something that made him believe everything was under control because he quickly set off into the building where the control room was located.

Harry was on his heels, leaving Blair to bring up the rear.

Everett looked at the carnage with disgust. "This was a one-sided slaughter. Mendoza didn't even go through the motions of making a deal. He just ambushed the poor bastards."

Peter examined the bodyguards lying on the ground outside the first car. "These guys didn't even get a shot off. No shells," he added gesturing at the blood soaked ground. He checked the remains in the second car. The third car was burning too hot for him to approach.

"How the hell did Mendoza pull this one off?" Mac muttered as he calculated the trajectories of the gunfire that had killed the driver and backtracked along the most likely line of fire.

Everett was doing the same from the passenger side of the car. Paying too much attention to the landscape in the distance, he discovered the hard way just how the attack had been carried out when the ground suddenly disappeared from beneath his feet.

"Tunnels? That's how he hid his men from Escoban," he yelled out to the others as he climbed out of the hole.

Knowing what to look for, it was easy to spot the other tunnels used during the ambush. There were almost two dozen holes spread out around the clearing, each only deep and wide enough to hide a single man.

The sound of gunfire off in the distance quickly drew everyone's attention.

"Sounds like Mendoza caught up with Escoban and what's left of his men. So what do we do now, Mac?" Peter asked as clouds of black smoke followed the noise from several loud explosions.

"We head back to the compound and abort the mission. It doesn't look to me like Mendoza has lost any manpower and if they make it back to the compound before we do, our guys won't stand a chance."

"Shouldn't we warn them?"

Mac shook his head. "When they have taken control of the security system, they were supposed to contact us. If we try to initiate contact, it may alert Mendoza's guard to their presence. No, we need to wait for them to contact us."

With the help of Jim's senses, they made their way into the mansion and to the hallway where the security systems were being monitored. It was the only hallway in the compound that wasn't monitored by camera. Instead of electronic monitoring, two guards were stationed outside the door twenty-four hours a day.

Jim pointed down the hallway and held up two fingers. Using only hand gestures, he indicated to Blair that he would take the target who was further away. Blair would have to handle the closer target. On the count of three, both men stepped out into the middle of the hallway, each hitting their target with deadly accuracy.

Immediately, Harry moved around the corner and headed for the door leading to the main security control room. Pulling out his tools, he quietly picked the lock on the door. Jim took up his position on one side of the door. Blair swallowed hard before taking up his place on the other side. It was so much harder than he had ever thought it would be. Being a cop, he was prepared to fire at a suspect, but only after identifying himself. There were rules that had to be followed in order to be a law enforcement officer. Here, there could be no warnings given, just a split second to fire, ending another human being's life forever.

Weapons at the ready, Jim held up two fingers again, then pointed inside the room. He saw the grief in his partner's eyes, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Later, he would help Blair come to terms with this, but for now they both had to put their feelings aside and finish the mission. Blair nodded. He was ready. Harry turned the knob, gently pushing the door open a tiny amount, just enough for Jim to see where the two men were positioned.

Again, using only hand gestures, Jim instructed Blair to take the target on the right side of the room, while he took the one on the left. He indicated that both men were sitting down in chairs and the approximate firing height.

Seconds later, neither of Mendoza's guards were alive to stop them from taking over the control room. Blair quickly familiarized himself with the layout of the monitors as Jim and Harry took care of the bodies.

"You ready, Chief?" Jim asked when they were done. Blair had almost no color in his face, and he was sweating profusely. Jim had his doubts about whether he should abort this phase of the mission.

"Ready when you are," Blair answered firmly. He had come this far and he wasn't going to let the rest of the team down now.

"Okay, remember, just talk in a normal tone. I'll hear you. And make sure you keep this door locked. This is probably the only hallway in the place they don't have wired."

"Got it. Go, Jim. Remember, we're behind schedule here," Blair said, waving at the door. "I'm fine." At the look of doubt on his partner's face, he added, "Okay, I'm not fine, but I'm dealing with it and I'm not going to let you down. Okay?"

"Didn't think that for a second, Chief." Taking a final look around the room, Jim was the first to exit, moving down the hallway to where Mendoza's study was located. Harry followed a few seconds later.

Blair's eyes darted back and forth across the series of monitors in front of him. He had the ability to watch Jim and Harry's progress as well as Walter, Renee and Darin at the lab. He made careful note of which monitors were watching the series of hallways leading to the study, so he could act as a spotter for Jim.

Jim and Harry made good time getting to Mendoza's study. Jim stopped at the door as Harry crossed the room to the picture hiding the safe. It was then that Blair noticed activity in the hallway.

"Jim, there's two coming your way. They're at the top of the hallway and they are checking all the rooms. I'll let you know exactly when they're outside your door."

Blair smiled as he saw Jim move in front of the camera, hold up two fingers and point at the door.

"Message received huh, Jim. Okay, they are two rooms ahead of yours.... now, next door, but I'm sure you can hear them for yourself now... be ready, because here they come."

Blair watched through the monitor as Jim took out both guards. He had waited behind the door, pulling the first guard into the room, and taking the second one as he stood just outside the door. Jim pulled both bodies away from the doorway and stashed them in a corner. Blair could see Jim shouting something at Harry, but without sound, he couldn't tell what the words were. Blair studied the monitors again, trying to identify the positions of the remaining guards.

"Okay, Jim, it looks like we have the eight guys still sleeping in the barracks. You've got two more coming your way, but you've got a few minutes yet. They seem to follow each other in fifteen-minute intervals. Pretty stupid. There are six guys outside patrolling the perimeter. Add in the eight we've already taken out, that's leaves around six to eight unaccounted for."

Through the monitor, Blair could see Jim heading for the desk and writing something on a memo pad that was lying there. A moment later he was back in front of the camera, holding the pad in front of the lens. "Almost done. One last number."

"Good, I want to get out of here." As Blair was speaking, he saw the next patrol entering the area of the study. "Okay, here we go again. These guys are checking the first room at the top of the hall. Oh boy, these two are a lot smarter than the last two. I think they've noticed something is out of place. Was there much blood out in the hallway, because they are heading straight for your door? They're coming slowly... hugging the walls opposite each other about two doors down from you."

Suddenly, Blair saw the study door fly open and Jim roll out into the hallway, shooting both guards. They hadn't been expecting the attack and had shot high, right where Jim's chest would have been if he hadn't entered the hallway low. Again, Jim dragged the two men inside the study, but this time even Blair could see the long bloody trail left from the bodies.

"Jim, forget the money and get your butts back here. There's another patrol just starting its round."

Blair waited for some type of reply from Jim. A second later, both Jim and Harry were standing in front of the camera, Harry holding up a full backpack, wearing a large grin. Jim was pointing to the door, a questioning expression on his face.

"You've got time, Jim. If you go right down the hallway, then take the second left, it will bring you back here. If you go now, you should miss the patrols."

Blair watched their progress long enough to know they were following his directions before his attention was drawn to one of the other monitors. Six of Mendoza's guards were heading toward the laboratory, escorting a couple of locals carrying chemicals.

"Jim, move it. We've got trouble here. Walter and the others are about to be discovered."

"What's going on, Chief?"

Blair spun around as he heard Jim's reply coming from the doorway. He pointed at the appropriate monitor. "Six of Mendoza's goons are headed their way and the two that were patrolling the area seem to be in a hurry to meet them. We need to get out there and help."

Jim quickly sized up the situation. "Harry, you've got two minutes to reach the front of the house. Once you're there, wait for our diversion. It should draw everyone to the west side of the house, leaving the way clear for you to get back to Cole and the others. Tell them what's happening. Have them come meet us in the jungle behind the lab. We'll get to Walter and the others. Hopefully, we'll be able to stall until you get there."

Harry gave them a sloppy salute and left the room.

"Sandburg, get two of those jackets off those guys, we're gonna need them," Jim said pointing at the dead men. "Caps, too!"

"I don't think I want to know what you have in mind," Blair muttered as he managed to get the first jacket.

Jim turned on his radio, it was time to contact Mac and let him know their status. Before he got a word out, he heard Mac's order to abort the mission and that he was on his way to the compound. "Too late, Mac. We're in trouble here. Meet us behind the lab, we're gonna get the others and meet you there." Hearing an affirmative, Jim put away his radio and watched the seconds tick off his watch, waiting for the two minute mark. "Thirty seconds, Chief," he announced as he shrugged on the jacket Blair handed him.

"Five seconds." Jim finished the count down and began flipping several switches on the control panel. Alarms began blaring. After throwing the last switch, Jim pulled down the cap, hiding most of his face and said, "Let's move!"

Blair followed Jim out of the building, then the two men headed for the laboratory.

"You set off the west perimeter alarm, didn't you?" Blair asked, slightly out of breath from the fast pace.

"Yeah, and cut off the radio signals. They won't be able to talk to each other until someone goes to the control room and resets the system. Let's move, I'm sure those guards are at the lab by now. I suspect our team is in deep shit."

As the alarms continued to blare, drawing everyone's attention away from the laboratory, Jim and Blair hurried across the compound. Wearing the same garb as the other guards, with the caps pulled low and the jacket collars up, no one recognized them as intruders as they approached the lab area.

Four of Mendoza's men had Walter surrounded, but had not done anything more than that. He was standing just outside the entrance to the lab. His hands were raised and Jim could see he was still holding the last C-4 charge in one hand and a remote detonator in the other. The reason for the stand-off became clear when Jim realized that the remote detonator was acting as a dead- man switch. Darin was perched in a tree on the edge of the jungle, undetected by the guards. A loud commotion from within the lab attracted everyone's attention.

Two of the guards were dragging Renee out of the lab. They had tied her hands behind her back and her right leg was dangling at an odd angle. Two more guards followed them. One had an eye that was clearly beginning to swell shut. Another guard was holding a bloody rag to his cheek. Neither of them had let their injuries distract them from their job though. Guns were raised and ready to fire.

"Good for you, Renee," Blair muttered as he ducked behind a row of drums. Jim was a few feet away, hiding behind some old pallets.

The head of the group was a large man, standing directly in front of Walter, his weapon pointed straight between Walter's eyes. "Does this bitch belong to you, Senor? Perhaps now you are not so willing to die."

Jim was hiding almost directly in front of Walter. Though a part of him wanted to let Walter know he wasn't alone, he had to give Harry as much time as possible to bring the Calvary. Jim was thankful that Walter didn't look at Renee. If those guards had any idea what Renee meant to Walter it would all be over.

"No? Then you don't care about what happens to her?" As he was speaking, the brute moved so that he was standing in front of Renee. Lowering his weapon he pulled out a large, serrated knife. With his other hand, he pulled Renee's head back exposing her throat. He pressed the knife against her throat causing a thin trickle of blood to run down her neck.

Blair tensed whispering, "Jim, what do we do?"

Shaking his head, Jim gestured for Blair to wait. There was still time.

"Are you sure you will not give me the detonator?" The guard asked again, moving the knife slowly downward.

Walter stared straight ahead, refusing to say a word.

Releasing her head, the man used the knife to slit Renee's shirt down the front. He had cut deep enough that he had sliced her skin as well as her clothes. One of the guards holding her, reached over and began fondling her, smiling with anticipation at the thought of taking the woman.

Refusing to surrender, Renee spit at the head guard. Though the move cost her dearly in pain, she used her good leg to kick the knee of the guard who was touching her. She was shocked when the blow was not returned. Instead the headman just sneered. "You need to be punished. We can make this last for hours, little bitch. Each of my men will have a turn with you. You'll beg to die before we are through with you. And as for your man, we'll make sure he watches every moment of our pleasure."

Jim saw the anger in Walter's face grow. There was no stopping the explosion now. Jim and Blair couldn't wait any longer if they expected to get the others out alive. He moving out from behind the cover, pointing his weapon at Walter, hoping the other guards wouldn't recognize that he wasn't one of them. Blair moved out behind him.

Walter saw them first. Jim could see a look of recognition appear in his eyes. One of the other guards surrounding him called out something in Spanish. He had moved so that his weapon was now pointing directly at Jim. The other guards were now looking at the newcomers.

Something in Walter's expression alerted Jim that things were about to take a turn for the worse. He saw Walter look at the detonator in his hands and then over at the woman he wanted to marry. Jim saw the look that passed between them, a look of desperation, then determination. Renee nodded and closed her eyes. Walter yelled a warning to them to get down. Jim managed to shove Blair to the ground, covering him with his own body as Walter released the dead man's switch and set off the charges.

A series of explosions shook the ground, then a ball of fire shot out from what was left of the laboratory. Shaken, bruised and slightly singed, first Jim, then Blair climbed to their feet.

A horrible sight was before them. The guards were all dead, burned beyond recognition as ever having been human. Of Walter Higgins and Renee Robeson, there was no visible sign of remains, nothing to recover, nothing to bury. Jim and Blair skirted the flames, looking for some sign of what happened to Darin.

Jim headed for the tree where he had spotted Darin before the explosion. The fires continued to burn, sending thick black smoke into the air. While it was difficult to breathe, the smoke would help hide them when Mendoza's men arrived to investigate the explosion.

Finding Darin was easier than Jim had hoped for. He was sitting on the ground underneath the branch where he had been hiding. Tears were running down his face, which was an unhealthy shade of gray.

Blair knelt down next to him, touching him on the shoulder. "Darin, are you hurt?"

At first, Darin didn't answer, then he turned his head and looked at Blair. "Why? Why did he do it? We wouldn't have left them here. He didn't have to do it."

"Walter was thinking that he needed to protect the rest of the team. We were outnumbered and he knew it. They could have killed all of us. He used the only weapon he had to protect us. Now, I do need to know if you've been hurt. We can't stay here. The other guards will be here soon and we need to move away from here."

As Blair and Darin had been talking, Jim was using his senses to scan the area, searching for any sign of either the Calvary or the guards. His ears were ringing a bit from the explosion and he couldn't focus. Shaking his head, he saw Blair was still kneeling next to Darin who was beginning to look a little shocky.

They didn't have time for this. He reached down and placed one hand on Darin's shoulder. "Look, there was nothing you could do. Your job was to set up the remote detonators. You did your job. "

Darin shook his head. " If I'd just..."

Blair cut him off. "You'd be dead right now, and so would they. Renee and Walter were unarmed, with no cover close by. They were sitting ducks. There was no way that the three of us were going to be able to take out eight of them. So don't even play the what if game." As Blair was speaking, he noticed Jim's attention was elsewhere. "Trouble?"

Jim nodded. "Coming at us from all directions, though it's not all bad news. Harry hooked up with the rest of our team and they're coming our way. " Jim pointed in the direction of the main gate.

"Darin, you've got to pull yourself together. We need to move." Blair said, patting him on the shoulder.

Darin nodded, and held up his hand to Jim. Jim pulled him to his feet.

With a slight bow and a wave, though it was clear his heart wasn't in the jest, Darin said, "Lead the way."

The three of them set off toward the rest of the team, though cautiously; well aware that the enemy was closing in on them. It wasn't long before they met up with the others.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece, Ellison," Mac said, his voice trailing off as he realized there were a few people missing. "Walter and Renee?"

Jim just shook his head.

"Even if they're dead, we need to go back for them. We can't just leave them with those butchers," Mac said, starting for the laboratory.

Jim grabbed his arm. "There's nothing left but ashes. Going back is suicide and you won't find anything back there."

The two men stared at each other, two alpha males vying for dominance. Mac looked away first.

"Damn it, I hate losing people. First the mess with Escoban, now this."

"What did happen with Escoban?" Blair asked.

"We got there too late. As far as we could tell, Mendoza ambushed Escoban, slaughtered his men and was in the process of hunting down the big man himself. We're pretty sure Mendoza caught him and we've maybe got a ten-minute lead on them. Maybe less now that we've sent off smoke signals for anyone to see. What can you tell me, Ellison?"

Jim quickly scanned the area. "Mendoza and the rest of his men are coming up the main road. We've got a couple of minutes at best. The guards from the estate are searching the area surrounding the lab. We haven't got much time before they pick up our trail."

"So which way do we go?" Mac asked.

Jim pointed north. "That way, deeper into the jungle. We're gonna have to lose them and I've got a few friends out there that might be willing to help us."

"Peter, take point. Single file, people, we need to move. Jim and Eric, the two of you bring up the rear. Keep us covered," Mac ordered, falling into line behind Peter.

They hadn't moved very far away from the compound when the first guards found them. Without warning, the sound of multiple gunshots filled the air. Eric went down in the first volley, taking several shots in the right shoulder and arm.

Jim returned fire, while at the same time trying to drag Eric into cover. Cole carefully took aim, hitting one of the guards while Peter took down the other. By that time, Jim had managed to pull Eric into a fireman's carry position. They paused only long enough for Sarah to bandage the arm, before setting off into the jungle again.

The next half-hour was spent running and shooting. Everett and Mac alternated carrying Eric, who remained unconsciousness. Each time they were forced to stop by Mendoza's trackers, Jim could hear the main group of guards getting closer and closer.

"Mac, we're moving too slowly. We need to get them off our tail for a while."

"What do you have in mind?"

"False trail." Jim pointed to a small stream that was running to the south. "You take the rest of the party into the water, walk upstream. I'll lay down a false trail to the south. There's a small village south of here where there's a telephone. It's possible they might follow the false trail. Heading there would make sense for someone on the run."

"Not alone, Ellison. Take Bush with you..." Just as Mac finished speaking, several gunshots were heard coming from the jungle behind them. Blair was almost knocked over as Jim fell against him.

"Jim! Shit! Jim, stay with me here," Blair shouted as he tried to control his partner's dead weight. With a little help from Mac, they managed to drag Jim under cover, placing him on his side.

Cole and Peter returned fire, killing the tracker who had caught up with them, but the damage was already done.

The others came out of hiding as Blair was looking for just how badly Jim had been hit. Sarah ran over to them and knelt down next to Blair, compression bandages in her hands.

"Easy, Jim. We'll take good care of you," she said soothingly, not realizing that her patient couldn't hear her.

"He's bleeding just under his lower right rib," Blair announced, reaching for one of the bandages to put pressure on the wound.

"I've got the entry point on his back, there's another one on his right shoulder. Check for the other exit wound, Blair."

Pulling back the jacket Jim had borrowed, Blair looked, "Nothing, there isn't one. The second bullet's still in there."

Mac shouted in frustration. "Peter, Cole, do as Ellison suggested. The rest of us will head downstream. You two head south for a few hours then circle around and meet us before nightfall. Sarah, can he be moved?"

"Give me ten minutes. Let me see if I can get that bullet out first. This is gonna hurt and I can't give him anything. You're gonna need to hold him down."

"What do you need us to do?" Mac asked.

Sarah looked around for her pack. Pulling a small scalpel and a pair of tweezers out of the pack, she tossed them to Mac. "Sterilize these. Use the alcohol swabs in the bag; we don't have time to boil them. Blair, see if you can't prop his shoulders up a little. I want to get a pressure bandage around his ribs before I try digging for that bullet."

Just as Blair started to lift Jim's shoulders up, he was surprised when Jim groaned and attempted to pull away from him.

"Easy, partner. Don't fight me now," Blair said, holding Jim firmly in place.

"Blair, what..."

"You were shot. You've got a couple of extra holes in you. Sarah's going to patch you up long enough for us to get you out of here, but I need you to do something for me."

"Can't," Jim said weakly.

"Yes, you can. I need you to work on that touch slider of yours. Get it down to zero for me, okay? Sarah is afraid to give you anything, so I need you to focus for me."

"Is he awake?" Sarah asked as she knelt down next to them.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure he's really with us," Blair answered.

"Am too," Jim replied, slurring the words slightly.

"Okay, I'm going to wrap up those ribs for you. It looks like that bullet went through clean and there's not much blood, so I think it will be okay," Sarah said as she began wrapping the pressure bandage around Jim's waist. When there was no indication of pain from her patient she began to worry. "Jim? Still with us?"

"Itzoff," Jim mumbled, his eyes closed.

Blair saw the puzzled look on Sarah's face and explained. "Jim's got his sense of touch turned down as low as it will go. He's not feeling anything right now. He can't do it for long, but for now, you can get the bullet out without him feeling it."

"Good. Mac! Have you got those instruments ready for me?"

"Right here, Sarah. What can I do?" Mac answered, handing over the scalpel and the tweezers.

"Hold his legs. Blair's already in a good position to hold his upper body steady." Sarah waited for her two assistants to get into position before she used the scalpel to open up the small bullet hole enough for her to see what she was doing. The bullet hadn't gone too deep, but unfortunately it had embedded itself in the bone. It took some twisting and pulling to get the bullet out.

As soon as she pulled the slug free, Mac sat back on his heels, running one hand through his hair. "Is he okay? He never made a sound, never flinched."

"He's okay. He's just got everything turned down," Blair explained again.

"I'm sorry to do this, but we've got to move. That advance party had radios on them, so I'm sure Mendoza knows where we are."

"We just need to make sure he doesn't start bleeding too heavily, so go easy on him." Sarah instructed. Mac nodded, gesturing for Everett to take care of Eric, while he gently lifted Jim into a fireman's carry.

For a fleeting moment, Blair was hesitant to let someone else take care of Jim. But he was forced to acknowledge that his partner was too heavy for him to carry through this terrain.

They had reached the river just before sunset. Unwilling to have them stumble around in the dark, Mac had ordered them to make camp for the night. Harry was sleeping soundly, having volunteered to take the midnight to dawn watch. Almost an hour ago, Peter and Cole had caught up with them, reporting that Mendoza's men had followed the false trail they'd laid down. They had brought back dinner for the rest of the team. Blair was thankful that they had gutted and skinned it long before arriving at camp. He didn't want to know what they were having for dinner.

Sarah was taking care of Eric under Darin's watchful eye. Sometime during the last few hours, several of Eric's wounds had developed a nasty infection.

So far, Jim had been lucky. There was no sign of infection in either of his wounds, though the bullet that had gone below his ribs had caused some severe muscle damage. It was very painful for him to move and the trip so far had been hard on him.

Through the firelight, Blair noticed Jim's eyes opening slightly.

"How are you feeling, Jim?"

Jim opened his eyes fully, looking around at the area. He tried to sit up, but wincing at the stab of pain, he decided that it wasn't a good idea. "I've been better," he said finally. "I'm so thirsty."

"That I can take care of," Blair said as he grabbed his canteen and sat down behind Jim. "Just a little for now, buddy," Blair said as he slowly helped Jim prop himself up.

"Thanks, Chief. What's the situation?" Jim concentrated on keeping his eyes open. He didn't want to go back to sleep until he knew what was happening.

"We seem to have lost our pursuit, at least for the moment. There aren't any other injuries besides you and Eric. Eric seems to be getting worse."

"How close is Mendoza? Do we know?"

"Cole and Peter laid down a false trail, but we figure sometime tomorrow morning they'll catch on. We heard an explosion a few hours ago. Judging by the location of the smoke cloud, Everett thinks Mendoza found the helicopter and had it destroyed. We're gonna need to find another way back home."

Jim looked at the surrounding terrain a little more closely. "So what's the plan?"

"Other than stay ahead of Mendoza? I'm not sure we have one." Blair answered honestly. Mac and Everett were off in the distance. Blair figured they were coming up with a plan, but they hadn't shared it with anyone else yet.

"Tell Mac that we're close to Chopec territory. If we follow the river downstream, we should reach them in about two days," Jim said, his voice fading as he started falling asleep again.

"You tell him, Jim."

"No, too tired. Need to sleep." Jim closed his eyes. He didn't have any energy left.

"But I can't tell him much. You're the one who knows where the village is."

Jim opened his eyes briefly before answering, "Don't worry, Chief. Once we step foot in their territory, they'll find us long before we come near the village."

Blair rocked back on his heels, watching as Jim drifted out again. "Don't know if I like the sound of that," he said softly as he climbed to his feet. If Mac and Everett were really coming up with a plan, they needed to hear this first.

Much to Blair's dismay, Mac and Everett were not very enthusiastic about Jim's suggestion of traveling down river, though they agreed to present both options to the rest of the team.

Everett presented his proposal first. "If we go upstream, I know there's a village with a radio only four days' journey from here. Heading downstream takes us further away from civilization."

"And I'm sure Mendoza already has established a presence in that village. We could be walking into a trap if we head to the village," Peter replied. He was in favor of heading deeper into the jungle. Mendoza would be less likely to follow them.

"We're talking about at least two days' travel in the wrong direction. We need to get both Jim and Eric to a medical facility, particularly Eric," Sarah added.

"The Chopec will be able to help both Jim and Eric. If he was awake, Jim would tell you just how badly he was hurt after his unit crashed here," Blair asked.

"Either direction will be tough on them. We need to find a way of transporting them without jostling them around so much. Jim's lost too much blood and Eric's fever is getting higher with each passing moment," Sarah said.

"What about rafting? It'll be easier on Jim and Eric than carrying them. There's plenty of logs down around here and the jungle vines will hold them together long enough for us to make it to Chopec territory," Blair suggested.

Mac looked doubtful, "We'd be an easy target on the river, no cover."

"Not if we stay ahead of them. Look, if we really push, we could have a raft together in under an hour. Between the current and poling, we could get a big enough head start to make it into Chopec territory before they know where we're headed."

"Are you sure these Chopec will help us against Mendoza?" Darin asked. His brother's fever was still climbing and nothing Sarah had in her supplies seemed to be helping.

"They won't help us attack him directly, if that's what you're asking, but they will be able to help Jim and your brother. And if Mendoza's men invade their lands, they won't get very far. Jim trained the Chopec warriors to protect the pass. From what he's told me, they're pretty good at it."

Mac walked away from the others, considering their options and concluded there really was only one choice. "Sandburg, you're in charge of the raft building detail. What do you need us to do?"

Blair rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Let's see, you, Peter, Cole and Everett start with finding us a few good logs. Darin, Harry and I will collect enough vines to tie everything together," Blair answered, pulling his Swiss army knife out of his pocket. "Sarah can keep an eye on Jim and Eric."

After several hours of back breaking work, the team had the raft built, everything loaded and had pushed off downstream. With four of them poling, they made good time. There were no signs of pursuit from Mendoza's men.

"Nice job, Huck," Mac said as he sat down on the raft next to Blair after they had their turn at poling.

"Thanks, Mac, but it was pure self-interest. Carrying your pack in addition to my own while you carried this lug was getting old," Blair replied, patting Jim on the shoulder.

"I heard that, Chief," Jim said, opening his eyes.

"It lives," Blair answered dramatically.

"I'm not so sure," Mac added doubtfully, looking at the pale, white skin showing around Jim's fatigues.

"Where are we?" Jim asked, raising his head to look around.

"We're making good time, Jim."

Suddenly, Jim shouted, as he tried to sit up. "Get to shore! Get to shore now!"

Both Blair and Mac grabbed Jim, stopping him from moving very far. "Jeez, Jim. Sarah will hurt you if you lose any more blood."

Through clenched teeth, Jim repeated, "Get to shore, Chief. Before they attack."

Mac quickly reiterated Jim's order to get to shore. "I thought you said it would take two days' to get to Chopec territory?"

"Walking, it would have. Make camp on shore. Don't touch any of the weapons. In fact, if you're wearing one, slowly pull it out and put it down."

"They're already watching aren't they?" Blair asked.

"I'm surprised they haven't attacked already."

The raft bumped against the shoreline. Jim turned his head to one side, listening to something. A broad grin spread across his face. "Well, I know why we haven't been attacked."

"Care to share?" Blair asked, curiously.

"Seems you have very distinctive hair, Chief. One of the bodyguards that came with Incacha to Cascade recognized you. Though they are curious why we didn't greet them properly."

"Maybe because the only person who could has been sleeping on the job lately," Mac replied.

All conversation was halted as three Chopec warriors stepped out of the jungle. Two other men followed them. One was clearly a Shaman, a young man who probably had been Incacha's apprentice, the other was the tribal chief.

"Help me up, Chief," Jim said.

"Stay put."

"No can do. I have to be on my feet to properly greet the tribal chief. It would be a very bad idea to offend him at this point in time."

Annoyed, but understanding the need, Blair helped Jim get to his feet as the Chopec chief approached. The Shaman approached Eric. When Darin moved in front of him protectively, the Shaman called something back to Jim.

"Darin, it's all right. He's the tribe's healer. Let him take care of Eric," Jim explained.

Jim and the tribal leader have a brief conversation, which ended abruptly with the Chopec Chief heading back into the jungle.

"Jim?" Blair said warily.

"We're good. He's going to order the warriors on patrol to watch out for Mendoza's men. We've been invited back to the village."

"So, it's over," Blair said hopefully.

"For now."

Jim and Blair joined Darin by Eric's side. Darin needed some convincing to let the Shaman examine his brother. After a few minutes, the young man gestured to one of the warriors to pick Eric up off the ground. As the Shaman passed the three men, he paused. He stared deeply into Blair's eyes, then smiled broadly at Jim. He used one hand to cover Blair's heart, using the other to cover his own and said something before following after the warrior.

"What was all that about?" Darin asked.

Blair wasn't sure what the man said, but the gesture indicated that the man had recognized him both as a Shaman and as Jim's Guide.

"Ashanti, which is his name, was acknowledging Blair as his equal," Jim explained, before wobbling slightly. He had been on his feet too long and needed a rest.

Darin managed to keep Jim on his feet, but he wasn't going to be able to carry him without some help. Thankfully, Mac had been keeping an eye on Jim and between the two of them, they could carry him to the village.

For the next two days, the Black Knights did nothing but sleep and eat, allowing the Chopec to guard their backs. Everyone was relieved when the warriors returned, reporting they had driven off the intruders from their land. There were several discussions about leaving, but with Jim and Eric still too weak to hike the long distance to the nearest point of civilization no final decision had been formalized.

The team wasn't sure how to expend their nervous energy while waiting for Jim and Eric to recover. Peter and Cole had gone out with the hunters during the day, helping to feed the extra mouths they had added to the village. The others did what they could to help with the day-to-day chores and gather food from the jungle. All of them wanted to return home as soon as possible.

Blair spent a good deal of his days with Ashanti. After Incacha had come to Cascade, Blair had tried to pick up a bit of the native language. With a lot of miming and the limited vocabulary Blair had managed to learn, they were able to understand each other most of the time.

It was the night that was difficult for Blair to deal with. He was having nightmares. They had occurred almost every night, after the Chopec had reported that Mendoza's men had given up pursuit. Jim figured that once the strain of getting everyone to safety was off Blair's shoulders, he had begun second-guessing what had happened during the mission. Blair woke up screaming at least once a night.

Ashanti had tried to his best to help, but the cultural barrier between him and Blair had made frank discussions difficult. To Ashanti, killing to protect the tribe wasn't something to be so upset about. Jim's attempts at getting Blair to talk about it had been vehemently declined with the explanation that Blair just wasn't ready to talk to him about it yet.

Jim had been spending most of his days with some of the younger warriors of the tribe. They had no Sentinel after Jim's departure. They had relied upon the knowledge and the training that Jim had taught their elders when his chopper had crashed all those years ago. Now, they had the opportunity to question and learn from the master. Being a Sentinel also automatically generated an aura of respect. Though he was unable to go out with any of the scouting patrols, the territory of the tribe hadn't changed over the years.

After a particularly long afternoon, Jim exited the hut and looked around the camp. The remaining members of the team were gathered around the main fire. Even Eric had been made comfortable near his brother, his right arm completely immobilized.

Blair managed to catch his eye. He nodded his head meaningfully at the lone figure standing at the edge of the jungle, staring into the blackness. Jim was the one most likely to pull Mac out of the pit he had fallen into once their pursuit had been halted.

Before heading over to where Mac stood, he grabbed a couple of cups and a container of the closest thing the Chopec had to alcohol. Smiling at the villagers as he passed them, Jim found himself at Mac's side before he realized he wasn't sure what to say.

Instead of saying anything, he poured a cup of the home-brew and held it out to Mac, letting the man decide to accept it or not. Mac took the cup and drank the contents in a single swallow. Suddenly, his eyes bugged out and he started coughing and sputtering.

Jim chuckled, taking a small sip of his own cup.

"Damn, Jim! Are you trying to kill me with that stuff?" Mac asked after he could breathe again.

"You looked like you could use a good kick. I figured this was better than taking you on physically."

"Not sure you could take me, huh?"

"Nah, just respect for my elders, Sir," Jim retorted.

"You'll pay for that crack, Ellison. Now, pour me another cup of that stuff."

Jim obliged his commanding officer, before asking, "So what's got you out here brooding?"

Mac gave Jim an angry glare. "Do you really have to ask? Walter and Renee are both dead. Sarah said that the nerve damage in Eric's arm is severe. Even if he can get back partial usage of the arm with therapy, he'll never be able to go out on another mission with us."

"We all knew what the risks were coming in here, Sir. It's part of the training and I know with your battlefield experience that you've got more than that on your mind. So, what's the rest of it?"

"You're a pain in the ass, Ellison. You would have made an outstanding general if you hadn't resigned your commission. You're right. What's mostly on my mind is how this mission went so wrong. My source of information for this raid was someone I have trusted with my life and my secrets for years. I never would have believed he could have been this wrong. Nothing went according to what the intel was. Starting with the ambush of Escoban to the extra guards that were at the compound. My gut is telling me that someone set us up to fail, but I don't like what that implies."

"We didn't completely fail. We did manage to get the money out of Mendoza's safe, but I understand what you mean. Who in the Knights stands to profit from your failure?" Jim asked, thoughtfully.

"No one I can think of. It just doesn't make any sense. The Order had plans for the money we were supposed to bring back with us. There will be a full investigation as to why we failed and I don't have any answers for them." Mac took another drink from his cup, much smaller than the first time.

"Sounds like we need to do a little investigating on our own. How much time do we have?"

Mac thought for a minute before answering. "The gathering of all four sections of the country will take place next month. I'll have to appear before the Leader and explain our status. They're not going to like the fact that we didn't get Escoban's money from Mendoza."

"I forgot about that. The original plan was to just get the money. Did you tell anyone outside the team about the changes we made?"

"No. Things moved so quickly that I didn't file my normal weekly report. Where are you going with this?"

"I don't think anyone was supposed to come back from this mission. We were supposed to split the team into two groups. If we had done that, the guards in the house would have been too many even for six of us and the ones at the gate would have been slaughtered by Mendoza's guards. We weren't expecting that he would have a full complement, remember?"

"Why? Were they after me? Do you think someone is onto the reform movement?"

"Possibly, or they were after me. Maybe someone figured out that the whole secret identity theory falls apart if you've got a Sentinel working for you. Either is possible. I'll guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next. We've got time to come up with a good story. For now, rather than brooding out here, why don't we join the others?"

"Okay, bring the rest of that firewater along with you. Hope there's enough to go around," Mac said as he climbed to his feet.

"Enough for what?"

"A toast. To Renee and Walter, who went out in a blaze of glory, just like they always said they would," Mac explained, before softly adding, "Even though it's such a damn waste."

"Amen, Mac," Jim said, pulling Mac back in the general direction of the others.

"Senor Mendoza, we could not follow them into the pass. I lost all but two of my men when we tried. Those heathens will not allow us into their territory."

Mendoza cursed, throwing a small piece of statuary across the room. "Who were those people? They entered my home, killed my men, stole my money and destroyed my operation. I want to know who the hell they are!"

Mendoza reached out and grabbed the soldier by the shirt, shaking him hard. "I want you to find out who they are and I want them hunted down!"

The man pulled away from his boss. "I shall have them killed. I'll see to it personally."

Mendoza backhanded the man. "No! I want them brought to me. I want the pleasure of overseeing their punishment and I want to enjoy it for a very long time."

The soldier nodded and fled the room. He had no idea of even where to begin. It was unlikely that one of the other families had done this. They were all too afraid of what Mendoza would do as retribution. No, this attack had to come from another source. And whoever they were, they had a relationship with the native Indian tribe to the North. That was the place to begin his hunt.

It was almost ten days before the team managed to leave Chopec territory and approach civilization. Once they reached the nearest town with a phone, it was only a few hours before the Order arranged to have them air lifted home. After a twenty four-hour observation period and a final examination by the doctor at Red Eagle Preserve, Jim and Blair were told it was all right for them to head home.

Blair unlocked the front door to the loft. Jim immediately headed for the couch and gingerly sat down.

Dropping off his pack in his room, Blair grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the refrigerator and handed Jim his before sitting down in the chair. At the glare from his partner, Blair said, "You're still on painkillers. No alcohol for you."

Jim groaned, but knew that Blair was right and didn't argue. There was something else he wanted to discuss anyway. He knew that Blair was still having nightmares. Not as frequently as the previous week, but they were still a problem.

"So what do you think about our first mission, Chief?" Jim asked, leaving it up to Blair if he wanted to discuss the nightmares yet.

Blair struggled to find the right words to explain what he was feeling, which was made more difficult because he wasn't sure about how he felt. "Okay, I guess. I'll admit my heart is having a little trouble with the part about killing without giving any warning, but my head knows that it's part of the job."

"Is that what the nightmares have been about?" Jim asked.

"I think so. I know enough about dream imagery to know that it not about having killed someone, but more about how I killed. I guess I'll just need a little time to figure out how to get used to this."

"Chief, I don't think you'll be able to do that. No, I mean, I don't want you to try to do that. It's not in you to do that."

"Jim, what are you saying? You want me to quit?" Blair's immediate reaction was to feel offended at what his partner was saying.

"No, that's not in your nature either. Look, I was brought up to think in a sort of ruthless way." Before Blair could express his disagreement verbally, although it was clear from the expression on his face, Jim continued. "My father taught me from the beginning that other people's feelings didn't matter. In fact, emotions were a waste of time and energy. The military carried that a step further and taught me that killing is necessary, part of the job. You were brought up in a completely different mindset. A long time ago, I told you that you needed to learn to check your emotions at the door. I was wrong. Remember what Mac said, about the reasons you were included on the team? He's right."

"I don't understand. I'm okay with being a part of this. I thought I made that clear."

"You did, but what I'm saying is that I don't want you to get use to the killing in cold blood part of this. There's a difference between getting used to something and learning to deal with the consequences. Do you see what I mean?" Jim knew he was putting this badly but he needed to get his point across.

Blair sighed heavily and thought about what Jim was saying for a few minutes. Jim remained silent, hopeful that Blair was better at figuring how what he meant then he was at explaining it.

"I'll admit, Jim, that I would not have considered becoming involved in the Order if you weren't a part of it. Watching your back has become second nature to me, whatever it takes, no matter the cost, whither thou goeth, and whatever other cliche you want to throw in here. I think I understand what you mean about learning to deal with having to kill. When we agreed to this deal, I knew it was a possible outcome. In the heat of the moment, I didn't have any qualms about it. It was them or us. I just need to work on this final step."

"Dealing with the aftermath," Jim said quietly.

Blair nodded. "And I will. Have no doubt."

"Never, Chief. Not about that, it's the one thing you've made perfectly clear over the last few years. No matter what happens, I know you've got my back," Jim replied firmly.

Blair smiled, comforted by the strong bond between himself and Jim. "As to the rest of it, well, I have to say that the lines are getting blurred for me. I'm having a hard time figuring out who the bad guys are. It was so much easier when I could say that the Order is bad and we're fighting on the side of good. Now, I just don't know who we're supposed to be fighting. It's not so black and white for me anymore."

Jim slowly raised the bottle of water to take a drink. His right arm was still bothering him and he had to be very careful about using it. "I know what you mean. Stopping these drugs from hitting the streets is a good thing. As cops, we never would have been allowed to fight the cartel this way. I know what we did was not exactly legal, but it definitely felt like justice to me."

"Still, the money is going into the Order's coffers and if it's used to fund more racial hate crimes, is that any better than if we had left Mendoza alone?"

"I'm playing devil's advocate here, Chief. What if the money's used to fund more operations against drug dealers or if it's used to help move along the reformer's initiatives? Isn't it worth doing then?"

"In this case, yes. I don't have an issue with what we did, I'm just afraid of what the future holds." Blair leaned back into the chair and put his feet on the coffee table, adding "And maybe that's why I'm worried about the blurred lines. How am I supposed to know when I've crossed the line, if I can't see it clearly?"

"Feet off the table, Chief, and don't think of it as a 'when'. It's more like an 'if' and I don't think you have to worry about that either."

"Why not?" Blair asked, removing his feet from the table as requested.

"First, you're too aware of you inner self to let that happen. The nightmares you've been having should have made that pretty clear."

"My inner self? I'm impressed, Jim. You have been listening to me."

"Yeah, I know. Mind you, I blame both you and Naomi for having corrupted me into the New Age. I'm no longer the man I used to be, which leads me right into reason two. I won't let you cross that line. I promise, Chief. We'll quit the Order before I will let that happen."

Blair thought about that for a moment, reveling in the thought that Jim would walk away from this on his say so. He rolled the bottle back and forth in his hands for a moment, before asking, "So what are we going to tell Simon?"

"Nothing about the mission. We don't need to drag him into this. As our friend, I'm sure he'll agree with what we did. But he's also a police captain in Major Crimes. Better we keep quiet and not force him into deciding whether or not to arrest us."

Blair pointed to Jim's bandaged arm and side. "Uh, Jim? I think he'll notice those two holes in you. You're still not moving real well here."

"Not a problem, Sandburg. For the next two weeks, you and I are going to be spending our working hours in the file room."

Blair closed his eyes and moaned. "Why?" he asked, with a truly pathetic whine.

Jim pulled up his legs and stretched out on his side. "As members of this new taskforce, we are expected to put together a list of the criminal element we put away and when they're scheduled to be released."

"But there is no team, so why are we doing this? Can't we just go on vacation or something?"

"Sorry, that would raise too many red flags. Not only would Simon know something was up, but so would Dr. Watson and I don't want to give him any reason to check up on me. Besides, there's a new file clerk down in the tombs," Jim added, waggling his eyebrows.

Blair perked up at that little tidbit of information. "Is she good-looking?"

"I'd say so. She's a little young for me, but you're right in the ballpark, age-wise."

"So what's the catch?"

"No catch. I know you were stuck doing paper work while Watson was holding up my release. Now you're stuck again for the next few weeks while I heal, "Jim explained as he rolled over and reached for the remote.

Blair got to it first and flipped on the TV.

"Sandburg!"

"Paperwork for two whole weeks. You owe me."

Jim settled back, carefully stretching out on the couch. He waited to see what channel Blair planned on watching. He was pleasantly surprised when the sports channel logo appeared on the bottom right corner of the TV screen and the game came on.

"Thanks, Chief."

Blair just smiled, sat back and watched the game. They had a few weeks of rest from both a detective's caseload and from the Knights. He planned on enjoying every minute of it.

The End

Author's note: Well, I hope it was worth the wait. Thanks to all of you who have written asking for more. Now that I'm done changing jobs and moving, the stories should come more quickly now. Speaking of which any TS fans in Toledo, Ohio?

PS -- For those of you wondering what happened to Herald Sentinel, the next part is coming soon. Honest! It's being beta'd and hopefully will be posted soon.

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