History Lesson

by Lighthouse Hunter

Friday Evening – The Loft

"Are you sure you don't want to come Jim?" Blair called to his friend from his room, as he put the finishing touches to his packing.

"Chief, there's no way I'm spending the weekend renovating some old run down shell of a lighthouse. I don't know why you want to?" Jim's words more of a statement than a question.

"The Friends of Point Defiance Lighthouse are renovating it for future generations to enjoy. And one of the 'Friends' is a friend of mine," Blair defended.

"I take it your friend's a she."

"Yeah, but it's nothing like that. She's just a friend, you know like Margaret is. Guys can have platonic girl friends you know."

"Most guys yeah, but you Chief!"

"Jim," Blair shook his head and then purposely changed the subject back. "The lighthouse is over a hundred years old and it needs a bit of TLC. I want to help even in a small way. It's kind of rewarding to be a part of that. I can give up a weekend to help preserve a piece of history. Once a building like that is gone, it's gone forever man. Once it's been renovated it's hoped that school children will be able to visit it and see how a lighthouse works. The world used to manage just fine before satellites and GPS man."

"Okay, I hear you Chief. So, I take it none of the actual 'Friends' are going this weekend?"

"No, some big party or other tomorrow night. But hey, I want to go. I don't intend to work the entire weekend, but there are other reasons for going there too. The views of the Pacific are supposed to be amazing. It would be nice and quiet for your senses man."

"I've had a hard week Chief. I just feel like kicking back at the loft this weekend. Why don't we both go next weekend instead?"

"I've kinda set my heart ongoing this weekend, Jim. You're not the only one who's had a tough week. I really want to get away from Cascade for a couple of days."

"You okay Chief?" Jim asked concerned that his friend was getting burnt out.

"Fine, just want a change of scenery. I want to see trees and not concrete for a couple of days," Blair smiled at his friend, not hurt in the least that he wasn't showing the same enthusiasm for the lighthouse that he was. "Don't worry about it Jim. I gotta go, it's an hour's drive to the lighthouse and I want to get there before it gets dark. I'll see you Sunday evening okay?"

"Okay then Chief, enjoy your 'decorating'."

Blair laughed as he left. Already feeling better at the prospect of being away from his usual hectic lifestyle and the trappings that went with it for a couple of days at least.

Jim watched Blair leave and a few minutes later he heard the Volvo drive away. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't receive a call on his cell within the hour from Blair telling him his car had broken down again. The Volvo might be a classic, and Sandburg did love his car, but it wasn't a Ford.

Jim sat back on the sofa and took a deep breath and listened to the silence. The anthropologist would be gone for nearly two whole days. The Sentinel glanced around the empty loft; realising the silence was so strong it was almost tangible.

Damn! He missed Blair already.

For the next hour the Sentinel skimmed through the TV channels wondering if his friend had arrived safely at the lighthouse. Jim was thinking about Blair and the lighthouse. There were pros and cons for staying or going. Spending the weekend alone at the loft wasn't very appealing. Though he wasn't afraid of a little hard work, the thought of working hard on decorating some old shell of a lighthouse didn't really appeal either. The pro was that he would be in the company of his friend and there was never a dull minute when Sandburg was around. Blair had been passionate about restoring the lighthouse for the future and maybe he was right, that it would be rewarding to just be a small part of that.

His mind made up Jim moved quickly up the stairs to his room and packed a weekend bag. He dialled Blair's cellphone as he descended the stairs to the lounge area and told his friend he had changed his mind. The Sentinel could tell the delighted tone in his friend's voice. Blair told Jim he had left some directions on the desk in his room in case he changed his mind.

A little over an hour later (and Jim couldn't help but be amazed that Blair's directions had been correct and not sent him in the wrong direction) and Jim arrived at the lighthouse. He parked next to Blair's Volvo and got out of his truck. It was nearly dark but he could see the lighthouse clearly with his Sentinel vision. The lighthouse stood on top of a fifty foot cliff, a resolute and silent sentinel of stone. It was impressive; tall with two red and two white stripes on its exterior. The door was open and a welcoming light was shining from within. A few moments later Blair appeared at the door smiling broadly.

"Hi Jim," he called and raised his hand in greeting to his friend. "I'm glad you could make it after all." Jim moved to join his friend at this lighthouse. "Why'd you change your mind? Were you missing me already?" he said cheekily and smiling broadly.

"Sandburg you are so full of it. If you don't want my help then I can just as easily go back to Cascade."

"Seeing as you're here you might as well stay," the anthropologist replied his grin not fading. "I'll give you the grand tour."

Blair took his friend inside the lighthouse's base. Blair had his sleeping bag set up on the floor.

"It's a little basic at the moment but no different to when we go fishing and we camp out," and Jim nodded at that. "There used to be a house next to the lighthouse where the keeper lived but it was demolished. The lighthouse needs a lot of work, painting everywhere, some of the stairs' steps need replacing, the walls need plastering, the list goes on.

"So what did you plan to do this weekend Chief?"

"Paint the lantern room," Blair replied instantly. "There's an amazing view from the top. The Friends hope to get a genuine optic to replace the lens that was removed when the lighthouse was decommissioned.

"They've got a lot of plans for this place."

Blair nodded and then took Jim up the stairs and explained a little as they went of what the Friends hoped to refurbish and achieve. When they arrived at the top most part, the lantern room, Jim had to admit it was pretty spectacular. The optic was no longer there but the lantern room had a 360 degree view in all directions. It was too dark to see much now, but during the day it would be impressive.

^^^^^^^^^^

Saturday Morning – Point Defiance Lighthouse

Jim and Blair had risen early, had breakfast and then went up to the lantern room to start work. As they sanded down the woodwork in preparation for an undercoat Jim glanced out to sea. Blair was kneeling down and working behind him and wasn't looking outside.

"Look over there Chief," the detective said suddenly.

"What is it?" Blair asked alarmed and moving quickly to stand beside his friend.

"A pod of whales," Jim stated.

"Where?"

Jim pointed but Blair couldn't see anything in the vast blue ocean.

"I'll go get some binoculars," he said and moved quickly down to the ground floor and his belongings.

Jim looked at the surface of the sea his Sentinel eyesight naturally kicking in. He saw the black and white orca whales launch themselves out of the ocean and then splash down again. Orcas were common in the waters off the Washington coast along with a number of other species of whales. Whale watching tours could be taken all year but the best times were mainly in the summer months.

Blair reappeared a few minutes later. "Are they still there?" he asked hoping he hadn't missed the show because of his normal vision and needing an aid to see them.

"Yeah," Jim replied and pointed to his friend where the whales were frolicking in the water. "They're orcas."

Blair gazed to where his friend was indicating and was soon rewarded with the sight of the black and white whales.

"How many do you think there are?" Blair asked.

"At least eight," Jim replied "and at least two babies."

"Wow," replied Blair as he continued to watch the wonder of nature unfolding before them.

They continued to watch the whales for some time, as they continued moving north up the coast.

"That was amazing," Blair said grinning as the whales eventually went out of sight.

Jim nodded but his gaze was still focused on the calm ocean.

"What else do you see?

"A ship."

Blair glanced to where his friend was looking and to the west of them there was indeed a ship.

"It's probably heading towards Port Angeles or Port Townsend," Blair said.

"It looks stationary," Jim said as he focused his Sentinel vision on the vessel. It was too far, even for his enhanced eyesight, for him to make out any detail. He couldn't even see anyone moving about on board.

"It doesn't look in trouble," Blair said as he looked through the binoculars once more.

"No it doesn't," Jim replied.

The ship continued to remain stationary and after a few moments they moved away from the sight. The ship was nowhere near as interesting as the orcas had been.

They continued with their decorating until lunch and then through the afternoon, calling a halt around five.

^^^^^^^^^^

Saturday Evening – Point Defiance Lighthouse

Jim and Blair had a moderate fire going in a small pit next to the lighthouse. They were experienced campers so it was no hardship to set up a cooking area beside the lighthouse for something hot to eat.

A moderate wind was starting to pick up from out at sea.

"We're going to have a storm," Jim announced.

"How can you tell?" Blair asked, his curiosity immediately piqued.

"I can feel the change. The temperature's dropped by a few degrees in the last few minutes and the wind's starting to pick up."

"Really you can feel the temperature drop?"

"You can't?" Jim asked genuinely amazed that his friend couldn't, as the change was very obvious and natural to him.

The grad student shook his head.

"I'm glad we're sleeping inside the lighthouse tonight and not in a tent if we're going to have a storm. It's pretty exposed here," Blair stated.

Jim nodded and then the sound of a distant wolf pierced the air. It was a lonely call and both friends looked in its general direction. Unlike the orcas they doubted they would get a glance at the lupine. They were shy of humans and also too adept at hiding amongst the bushes and trees.

Jim stood up and moved to stand next to the lighthouse. He leant on the structure as he gazed out at the ocean, his eyes drawn the ship that was still there from that morning. The storm could be rough on a ship exposed to a Pacific Ocean storm, with the land tantalisingly in sight but with nowhere to shelter. Blair noticed his friend gazing out at the ocean.

"You okay Jim?"

"Yeah I was looking at that ship."

"From this morning? It's still there?"

"Yeah," Jim replied. "I hope it moves before the storm hits, it could get pretty hairy out there."

"They'd be experienced sailors and be able to cope with anything the Pacific can throw at them."

"You're probably right Chief," but Jim continued to watch the vessel for a few more minutes.

The sunset was spectacular as the sky darkened and the clouds bubbled up. The storm was building as the ship continued to stand resolutely in the bay.

^^^^^^^^^^

Early Hours of Sunday Morning – Point Defiance Lighthouse

The promised storm broke during the early hours of the morning. The Sentinel woke as the thunder crashed and lightning flashed with fulgent ferocity all around the lighthouse. The Guide continued to sleep through the onslaught. Jim listened to the lashing rain for a while. The lightning cast strange shadows from the lantern room down through the lighthouse's open construction. Jim couldn't help but think about the ship out in that churning maelstrom of nature's fury.

Quietly, so as not to wake Blair, the Sentinel got up and silently made his way up the stairs to the beacon's upper most room. He stood looking out over the expanse of water before the lighthouse. There was nothing but darkness in front of him. He couldn't see the ship in the gloom and driving rain. Without raising his Sentinel abilities higher he waited for a flash of lightening that he knew would come. He waited a few minutes and then there was a mighty flash of sheet lightning. It lit up the sea in front of the lighthouse. Jim could see immediately the immense size of the waves out there but he could also see the dark silhouette of the ship. It was still there, defiantly weathering the storm. The detective wasn't sure why it hadn't tried to outrun the storm as there were a number of ports along the Washington coastline it could have tried for before the storm hit. The captain of the ship was either very brave or very foolhardy. Knowing he could do no more, the Sentinel turned and left the ship to its fate. He made his way silently back down to the ground floor, his Sentinel eyesight immediately adjusting to the gloom of the lighthouse's interior. A clap of thunder rang out as he neared the ground floor that seemed to echo all around the structure at once, a unique perception from the beacon's round shape. He got into his sleeping bag and saw that his friend hadn't stirred. He decided to let sleeping anthropologists lie and snuggled down and soon drifted to sleep himself.

^^^^^^^^^^

Sunday Morning – Point Defiance Lighthouse

Next morning the sun was shining brightly as Jim and Blair got up. All indications of the storm had gone. The heavy clouds had moved away and left a blue sky with a few clouds in its wake.

As Blair made breakfast Jim went up to the lantern room. The ship was still there. It had weathered the storm and in one piece. But this morning it seemed closer to shore. Perhaps the storm has pushed it closer to the mainland. After breakfast the two friends went down to the beach to walk along the surf before continuing their renovating. The waves were still rougher than normal and a strong breeze whipped up the sand at their feet. Large amounts of seaweed had been deposited all along the beach as it had been pushed to shore by the force of the storm.

"Rough night," Blair commented toeing a piece of seaweed with his tennis shoe.

"You managed to sleep through it okay, Chief."

"The hours I work these days by the time I manage to get to bed I usually crash. Did the storm wake you?"

"Yeah, about one am."

"No problems with your senses?"

"No, fine."

"That's good," Blair replied as they continued to wander a bit further down the beach.

They came to a large rock outcrop, jutting out from the main cliffs behind them. Large boulders littered the area in front of it and Blair sat on one and took off his shoes to shake out some of the sand that had found its way inside them. Jim sniffed the air and glanced round them.

"I smell something," Jim stated his Sentinel senses testing the air.

"What is it man?" Blair asked getting to his feet immediately. "Maybe a dead marine animal washed up nearby because of the storm," the anthropologist offered.

"Maybe," Jim replied unconvinced. "I can definitely smell death."

The Sentinel moved along the boulders searching for the source of the scent. He stopped where the odour was the strongest and came upon a large pile of seaweed. Only it was way above the tide line, and everywhere was dry around it. Jim bent down and moved the seaweed aside and grimaced.

"What you found Jim?" Blair asked coming up behind his friend and leaning over his shoulder for a better view. "Oh man!" the anthropologist exclaimed and with a gasp took a step back. "Jim, there's a body, man."

Two unfocused and lifeless eyes looked up at them. The man's black hair on the left side of his head was matted together with dried blood. He looked in his mid-twenties and of South American appearance.

"Call it in Chief," Jim commanded and then stood up and began searching the immediate area with his Sentinel vision. The detective noticed a large number of footprints leading from the high tide line to where the dead man was lying. Any footprints below the tide line would have been washed away from the surf. Jim wondered where the dead man came from? Jim glared at the stationary ship at sea and wondered if it had any connection to the dead man.

Jim waited by the body as Blair went up to the lighthouse to await the emergency services to direct them to the scene. Within thirty minutes the police and coroner's office swarmed onto the beach. The beach was cordoned off as the police took the Sentinel and Guide's statements.

"Well that's not how I was planning to spend my Sunday morning," Blair commented after the last of the emergency personnel had left. The police had combed the beach and the body had been photographed and then removed. Then suddenly the emergency personnel had all left and the lighthouse was quiet once more.

Jim went up to the lantern room to watch the ship. Blair joined him as he was not a little concerned about the amount of attention the ship was eliciting from his friend. He was almost preoccupied with watching it. Blair wondered if the Sentinel was picking up some sort of vibe from the ship, which was making him almost fanatical about the vessel. He made a mental note to think on that later.

"How about some lunch?" Blair asked but his friend didn't reply. "Jim, lunch?"

"Sure Chief," the detective replied.

"Sandwiches okay?"

"Fine."

"Okay then. I'll go make them," Blair added and then looked concernedly at his friend. "Are you okay Jim?"

"Yeah fine Chief," he replied but when his friend didn't move, the Sentinel hazard a glance at his friend and saw the concern there. "It's just that ship, there's something...."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," and Jim didn't say anything else he just trained his Sentinel vision on the ship.

Blair left his friend to his thoughts and went down to the ground floor to make their lunch. He took it up to the lantern room when it was ready so they could watch the ocean as they ate. The lighthouse was in an idyllic location, not dissimilar in some respects to their home at the loft. It was the perfect location to chill out and while away an afternoon. From the uppermost part of the lighthouse you could see all the various shipping sailing by as well as numerous seabirds effortlessly flying past on the breeze. Blair looked out for more orcas like they had seen the previous day but he couldn't spot any. He was going to ask Jim to scour the water for any signs of the whales but he could tell that the Sentinel wasn't in the mood for whale watching.

"What's that?" Blair suddenly said reaching for the binoculars. Jim turned to where Blair was indicating. The anthropologist had seen a small boat heading towards the larger stationary ship. They both watched as three more smaller boats joined the first boat and they descended on the larger vessel. They all came up alongside and then at least ten men all dressed in black swarmed onboard the vessel.

"Who are they?" Blair asked. "Coastguard?"

"Could be or some other organisation."

Jim focused his incredible eyesight to its limit and onto one of the men rapidly moving up a ladder on the side of the ship and up onto the deck.

"They're DEA," he stated.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration," Blair said incredulous.

"Must be some sort of drug sting Chief."

"And we got a ringside seat," the grad student replied not a little excitedly.

They watched the scene unfold and then they both noticed a small boat break away from the larger ship and head towards the shore. Jim and Blair could see two South American looking men in the speedboat.

"Looks like two are trying to escape," Blair stated.

"Come on Chief!"

Jim and Blair quickly ran down the circular stairs and out the lighthouse's door. They ran over the headland and down the slope to the beach. They saw the boat hit the surf and two men jump out. Jim drew his gun as they ate the distance between them and the two men.

"Stay behind me Chief!" the detective commanded in his most authoritative voice and then focused on the two men. "Cascade PD!"

The two men in their twenties looked at Jim with horror and then immediately ran off in the opposite direction. Jim and Blair ran as fast as they could in hot pursuit. The detective's longer legs afforded him a slight lead on his partner. Jim didn't want to shoot them but they might not give him any options if they continued to run. The detective caught up to one of the men and tackled him from behind. They both fell to the sand and rolled. The supine man's friend stopped when he saw the detective grappling with his companion and immediately turned to help his friend.

"Look out Jim!!" Blair shouted as he saw the second man turn his attention to the Sentinel.

Blair launched himself without hesitation at the second man and they both rolled on the beach. The distraction of his partner involved with the second man caused the man underneath Jim to lash out and catch the detective in the stomach. Jim felt a blow to his ribs but a well placed punch of his own knocked the man out cold. Jim rushed to his partner who was somewhere under a mass of moving arms and legs; but the grad student was holding his own over the much larger man.

"Cascade PD!" Jim shouted and the man stopped and looked round to the sight of Jim's gun pointed at his head. The man raised his hands in supplication and got off Blair.

"You okay Chief?"

"Yeah fine Jim, never better!" Blair replied standing up and spitting out sand but also exhilarated by the take down of the two men.

The Sentinel then heard a motor board and looked round as a second boat beached a short distance from the first one. Two men dressed in black jumped out of the boat and rushed towards Jim and Blair with their weapons drawn.

"Detective James Ellison, Cascade PD," Jim identified himself immediately so there was no confusion as to who these two men in black were dealing with, and then held up his gold shield to confirm his identity. "My partner Blair Sandburg."

The two men had DEA emblazoned on the front of their bulletproof vests.

"Agents Michaels and Stanton," the taller of the two men announced.

They quickly had the two men, Jim and Blair had taken down, in cuffs and the situation was contained.

"Thanks for the assistance," Agent Stanton said. "These two managed to sneak away as we were securing the ship."

"What's going on?" Blair asked.

"The 'Santa Maria' is out of Columbia. These people are involved in a multimillion dollar cocaine smuggling operation."

"We found a dead body on the beach this morning," Blair stated.

"He was one of the crew." Agent Stanton explained. "We've had surveillance on the ship since it entered American waters. We think they were going to meet some contacts on shore last night but the storm caused the sea to be just a little too rough for a landing and our observations it would seem. We think one of the crew fell into the water as they tried to reach the shore, hit his head and drowned. The contacts on the beach must have hid his body and left. When we became aware of the body's discovery this morning we contacted the local authorities to leave the area as soon as possible." That made sense to Jim as the emergency personnel had left very abruptly that morning. "We were hoping the contacts would try to make the exchange again. Then we discovered the ship was hauling anchor so we decided to board her. We've got cocaine worth at least $4 million onboard."

"That will stop a lot of misery," Blair added seeing the good side of the confiscation of such a large amount of drugs.

"What about the contacts?" Jim asked.

"Vanished I'm afraid but we'll get them. We'll be waiting. Thanks for your assistance Detective Ellison," Stanton added offering his hand which Jim shook. The agent nodded at Blair.

They all walked along the beach up to the lighthouse where an assortment of vehicles were arriving. The two South American men were put into the back of a van and taken away.

^^^^^^^^^^

Sunday Late Afternoon – Point Defiance Lighthouse

A few hours later and the last of the DEA agents left. Jim and Blair had given their statements to them and then they were left alone at the lighthouse. It was nearing six pm and the Sentinel and Guide were packing up their things ready to leave. They hadn't actually done any work to the lighthouse's restoration that day; but they had helped stop a gang of South American drug smugglers.

'Not bad for a day's work,' Jim thought as the last of their belongings were loaded into their respective vehicles.

Jim glanced at his friend and realised Blair had nearly been at the lighthouse on his own that weekend. Thank goodness he had decided to tag along after all. The two men who had escaped the DEA agents on the ship might have discovered Blair at the lighthouse. They would have been desperate enough to try anything; rob him, take his car or who knew what their sort was capable of. At least the smugglers were all in custody. Shame their drugs contacts on the mainland had gotten away but their time would come. A large quantity of cocaine wouldn't be hitting the streets and causing misery to thousands of people. That was the satisfying part of the situation they had become embroiled in.

"See you at home Jim," Blair said cutting Jim off from his thoughts as he locked the lighthouse's door behind him.

"Okay, Chief," Jim replied as he got into the Ford.

Blair followed behind his friend's truck as they started their journey home.

^^^^^^^^^^

Monday Morning - Bullpen, Major Crimes

Jim and Blair entered the Bullpen. Rafe and Henri were already at their desks and Simon was in his office. Jim sat at his desk and powered up his computer as Blair sat in his familiar chair next to his partner. A few moments later and Simon Banks came out of his office and moved straight to his detective's desk.

"Jim, I just received a call from the DEA thanking you for your help yesterday. What's this I hear about you and Sandburg taking part in a drugs bust?" Simon's tone was not a little incredulous.

"We sort of stumbled on it, captain," the detective replied with innocence.

"We just went to renovate a lighthouse over at Point Defiance," Blair explained. "And then the next thing this ship arrives off the lighthouse and just sits there and sits there. We didn't know at the time but it had a cargo of drugs. Then there was this huge storm and one of the men from the ship drowns as they tried to bring the drugs to shore. Jim found the body. Then the DEA decided to storm the ship and when two of the men made a run for it, Jim and I were on hand to stop them escaping."

Simon just looked at the two men with his mouth open. He knew it had to be true as those two were a magnet for trouble. Blair had a good imagination but even he couldn't concoct lighthouses and drug smugglers.

"That's it in a nutshell sir," Jim said and Blair nodded exuberantly.

"Well try not to get into any trouble today," Simon stated as he turned to walk back to his office shaking his head in disbelief as he went. "Good work you two," he added proudly and continued back to his office.

The anthropologist had a smug look on his face.

"Okay Sandburg out with it," Jim said.

"What?" he replied innocently.

"I know you're itching to make some comment."

"No, no, I was just thinking to myself how that piece of history helped us help the DEA to capture a gang of drug smugglers."

"Only because we stumbled onto it."

"No, only because we were at that and I quote 'old run down shell of a lighthouse'," the grad student highlighted. "The lighthouse you didn't want to even help restore."

"Okay Sandburg I get the message. I promise to pay more attention to our history from now on."

Blair smiled but didn't say anything, nothing else needed to be said.

Simon Banks watched his two men from his office and shook his head. Those two were a day at the beach and then chuckled at his analogy.

Who knew what they would get up to next.

He turned his attention back to his paperwork as work carried on as normal in Major Crimes.

THE END

Author's Note:

Point Defiance Lighthouse is fictitious but there is a Point Defiance Park west of Tacoma, I just liked the sound of the name. I also wanted the lighthouse in my story to be situated on the Pacific coast whereas around Cascade etc. I imagine it to be all sounds and bays. So I toyed a little with the geography of the area – but I put it all back where it should be after I was finished.