SquidgeWorld Archive

"Why do I have to wear my dress blues, Jim?" Blair was practically whining.

"Because the Chief is going to be there, along with Simon, all the other members of Major Crime and various other dignitaries." Jim was patient with the explantion, like a parent explaining an important rule to a child.

"Why couldn't this been done quietly with no fanfare?"

"Because you're a celebrity, Chief. And we're all proud to have you join our ranks."

"I'm tired of being a celebrity. I just want to be a detective and do my job."

"Now you know how I feel at times."

"I'm sorry I treated you like a lab rat, Jim. I guess I'm ready."

"Here. Let me straighten your tie." Jim adjusted the tie. "There. Now you look perfect. But I can't wait until your hair grows out again."

"I'm not sure I'm going to let it grow out."

"You have to, Sandburg. It's your trademark."

"I don't need a trademark, Jim. Let's go and get this over with."

Jim could still hear the strain and defeatism in Blair's voice.

"It'll be over before you know it."

They took separate vehicles to the station. Jim arrived before Blair and was afraid that Sandburg was going to ditch the ceremony. But he pulled in about ten minutes later. He got out of his car to see Jim standing there, waiting.

"I was coming, Jim. I just had to take a detour."

"What detour? We went the same way."

"I had to pull over to the curb for a minute to gather my thoughts."

"Let's go upstairs before Simon sends out a search party for us."

Blair grabbed his garment bag out of the back seat. He followed Jim to the elevator and they made their way up to the sixth floor. As the doors to the elevator opened, Jim smiled. He could hear the hushed whispers. They were planning to surprise his partner. He pushed Blair forward slightly. As Blair walked through the doors of Major Crime, the sound of "Surprise!" was heard. Jim's smile broadened. He knew how embarrassed Blair would be over the attention. Truth was, both men had more attention lately than either had wanted. Jim stood in the background as both the Chief and Captain Banks called Blair forward.

The whole thing was over about twenty minutes later. Blair had officially received his gold shield. When he was asked to give a speech, he kept it short.

"I want to thank the men and women of the Cascade Police Department who have gone before me. Because of them, I'm here today. And I promise to uphold the high standards as a detective."

Blair had looked at Jim when he spoke. There was applause all around. The assembled group congratulated Blair. He excused himself a short time later so that he could go change his clothes to get ready to work. He grabbed the garment bag and made his way to the bathroom. He hadn't heard the man follow him. The man quickly subdued him and carried him from the bathroom unnoticed.

Jim had been talking to Simon, the Chief and several others there. He suddenly realized Blair wasn't there and that the garment bag was gone. Blair must have gone to change his clothes. Jim asked the others there.

"Blair said he'd be right back after he changed out of his uniform. He said it was making him feel self-conscious."

"Thanks, Joel."

Jim went on to his desk and sat down. There were several open cases that he and Blair had to work on. The gathering was starting to break up and things were getting back to normal in the bullpen. Simon stopped by Jim's desk on his way to his office.

"Where's Sandburg, Jim?"

Jim looked up from the file he was reading. "He went to change his clothes. He's not real comfortable in his uniform."

"Well, I guess I can't loan him out to patrol when they're short handed."

"Not without my consent, Simon." It was practically growled.

Simon chuckled and held up his hands. "Okay, okay, Ellison. I want to see both you and your partner as soon as he gets changed."

"Right, sir. We'll be right in."

Jim went back to looking over at the files on his desk, waiting for Blair to come back. When he looked at his watch again, it had been over twenty minutes. Surely even Blair could change his clothes by now. Jim got up from his desk and walked towards the bathroom. He extended out his senses, so that he wouldn't walk in on something embarrassing. But there wasn't anything. Jim tried the door. It opened. Jim saw the garment bag on the floor, like it had fallen or had been dropped. Jim checked the stalls. Blair wasn't anywhere in the bathroom. Jim felt suddenly sick. Something had happened. He left the bathroom and saw a uniformed officer heading towards Major Crime.

"Jorgenson? Come over here."

"Something I can do for you, Detective Ellison?"

"Yes. Can you tell Captain Banks to come to the bathroom? It's an emergency."

Ah...yes sir. Right away."

It was a few minutes later when a not too happy Captain Simon Banks came out to where Jim was standing.

"This better be good, Jim."

"It's Blair, sir. He's missing."

Simon looked Jim in the eyes. "I thought you said he was changing his clothes?"

"He was. I was concerned when he took so long. I came in here. His garment bag is on the floor, unopened. Someone grabbed him."

"How could they grab him?"

"I don't know, Simon. But they did. We need to have Forensics check out the bathroom."

"Okay, Jim. I'll have Henri come out and keep guard on the bathroom. I want you try to track your partner."

"Thanks, Simon." Jim's relief was evident. He was sure he'd find something.

Jim was soon taking the stairs, trying to track Blair and his abductor. He could smell Blair's aftershave in the air and another smell. It smelled medicinal. Jim wasn't sure if it was from Blair or his kidnapper. Jim reached the garage. He checked -- Blair's car was still there. Jim found the envelope on the floor of the garage beside the driver's side door of Blair's car. Jim pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on before grabbing the envelope. He opened it. A picture and a note fell out into Jim's hand. The picture was of Blair -- after he had been grabbed. Blair was bound hand and foot, a gag in his mouth and a blindfold over his eyes. He was still in his uniform. Jim wasn't sure if he was conscious or unconscious. Jim unfolded the note.

`We'll be in contact. Don't try to find him. We know all your tricks.'

Jim went back towards the elevator with the note, picture and envelope. He'd drop the note, picture and the envelope off at Forensics, then go to the command center to see if there was anything picked up on the cameras in the garage. There had to be a clue somewhere. Blair and his captor had to be on one of the cameras.

Jim stayed in the command center and called Simon to tell him where he was and what he had found in the garage by Blair's car.

"I'm having a full sweep done of the station, just in case. Anything else that was helpful?"

"Not yet. I don't see anything on the security cameras yet. But I'll let you know."

"Forensics is almost finished in the bathroom. It doesn't look too promising there either."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

The phone call came an hour later. Into dispatch. Just a voice demanding that Craig Meredith be released from lockup within four hours or the cop would die. It wasn't even long enough for a trace. Dispatch transferred the call to Major Crime and Captain Banks. It was quickly determined Craig Meredith had been arrested a couple of days ago on outstanding warrants for previous criminal activities, including drug possession and sale and resisting an officer. There was no official connection to Major Crime at all. Simon let Jim listen to the call.

"They grabbed him because he had his uniform on. God!! I don't believe this. But the note was right: they know our tricks. There was no clear picture from the cameras in the garage. The kidnapper must be related to Meredith somehow and has some connection to the police department. We need to run a background check on Meredith."

"We've already started. And I'm having Rafe and Taggart interview Meredith to see if he wants to cooperate with us as to who might be involved in this."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Jim was barely keeping his cool.

"We wait for their next communication. Did you get anything from the last one?"

"No. It was too short. Sandburg may quit before he starts."

"I wouldn't blame him."

The next communication was two hours later. They asked to speak to the ones in charge. The phone call was transferred to Jim. With Simon listening in.

"We need to know the officer you grabbed is okay."

"He's fine. That's why we left the picture."

"That was hours ago. I need to hear his voice." Jim was hoping they'd let him talk to Blair.

"We'll call back in ten minutes. We'll let him talk then."

The line went dead.

"They know what they're doing. Do we have anything on the background check? Or from Meredith?"

"Meredith isn't talking. And the background check doesn't show any connection to the department."

Jim pounded the near wall. "Damn!! There's got to be something. Tell them to double check everything."

"I've told them, Jim. Maybe you can tell something when you talk to Sandburg?"

"I hope so. I just hope that it's long enough."

The phone rang ten minutes later. It was the kidnapper.

"Let me talk to him."

"Just a minute." Jim could hear a guy directing Blair to tell them his name and his badge number.

"My name is Blair Sandburg. Badge number 7954."

"Are you okay, Sandburg?" Jim kept his voice even and calm.

"jim...?" It was said under his breath.

Jim took a deep breath to stay calm. "Are you okay, Sandburg?"

"Yeah...I'm...fine..."

The phone was pulled away from Blair.

"He's fine. The exchange will take place at the expo center. An hour and fifty minutes."

The connection was gone. Jim held on to the handset, not wanting to let it go.

"Is he okay?" Simon's voice brought Jim out of his thoughts. He hung up the phone.

"He sounded tired. Possibly drugged with something. He recognized my voice. He said my name. He's alive."

"Any idea of where they are?"

"I couldn't hear any background noises. I thought maybe Blair would try to let me know where he was. But in the pictures he had a blindfold on. Maybe he doesn't know where he is."

"Chances are, he doesn't know where he is."

It was about a half an hour later when there was a tiny glimmer of hope. A cousin of Craig Meredith's, Arnie Mason, had been a beat cop for about six months. He had been fired about a year ago when he had been charged and convicted for excess force used. There was an address for Mason. Simon sent Rafe and Brown and then told Jim. He went with Jim, determined not to let him near Mason until it was determined if Blair was inside the house and they were on the right track.

Jim stood there watching as Rafe and Brown took the front of the house and had the patrol unit take the back. They approached the house and Brown knocked on the door.

"Police, Mason!! Let us in." They lined up to go inside.

Rafe was the one who pushed in the door and they went inside the house. They caught Mason by surprise and got him quickly into cuffs and turned him over to the uniformed officers. Then they started to check the house to see if Blair was there. They finally found him in the basement, still bound, gagged and blindfolded. He was flat on the floor.

Henri spoke up. "You get him released. I'll go call for the paramedics and let the captain and Jim know."

Rafe went over to Blair and touched him on the shoulder. Blair didn't move at all. Rafe removed the gag from Blair's mouth and took off the blindfold. He noted Blair was unconscious, but seemed to be breathing just fine. Rafe removed the ropes from Blair's arms and legs. He found Blair's hat over in the corner. He stayed with Blair.

Soon, the paramedics, Simon, Jim and Henri came back down to the basement. The paramedics looked Blair over and Jim hovered nearby. Simon went over to talk to Rafe.

"Was he unconscious when you got here?"

"Yeah. It didn't look like he had been beat or hurt other than being drugged."

"I had to physically restrain Jim from coming in here before we got the confirmation."

"I can imagine, Captain. If it would have been my partner, I would be the same way."

Jim knelt down by Blair's legs. He saw Blair open his eyes slightly. He was momentarily confused and tried to fight the paramedics. Jim moved over to Blair's side and into Blair's sight.

"Lay still, buddy. They need to check you out."

Blair finally noticed Jim there.

"'m I...fired?"

"Fired? I don't think so. Simon can't afford to train someone new."

One of the paramedics spoke up. "We're going to transport him to the hospital for observation."

"No. No hospital." Blair tried to protest the ride to the hospital.

"Sorry, Chief. I have to side with the paramedics on this one. It will probably only be for overnight."

"I'll get -- dock'd."

"I'm sure Simon won't dock your pay. It wasn't your fault you missed work."

The paramedics made sure that Blair was secure on the gurney. Jim told them that he'd follow them to the hospital. He was sure he could get Simon to take him to the hospital. He watched as the paramedics took the gurney up the stairs and out of the house.

Rafe walked over to Jim and handed him Blair's hat.

"You can give that to Blair when you see him."

"Thanks, Rafe. You too, Brown." Jim was truly grateful for what they had done. Jim turned to Simon. "Can you take me to the hospital? I need to find out if they are going to keep Blair overnight."

"Yeah, I'll take you. You know, we're lucky Sandburg was found alive."

"I know, Simon. Rafe and Brown found him just in time."

"He's a member of Major Crime, Jim. We stick together."

Simon drove Jim to the hospital. Jim stood outside the examination room while his partner was examined and poked and prodded. The doctor came out to talk to him about an hour later.

"We want to keep him overnight as a precaution. He's drifted off several times and we'd feel better if he stayed overnight for observation. He's agreed to it."

Jim was shocked. "He has? That's unusual for Blair. He usually wants to get out of the hospital as soon as possible."

"We'll move him to a regular room as soon as we have one available. It'll probably be a couple of hours."

"Can I stay with him until he's moved?"

"That's fine with me. Just let him rest if he wants to."

"I won't disturb him, doctor. Thank you."

Jim told Simon what the doctor said and that he was going to stay with Blair.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Tell Blair to rest up as long as he needs to."

"He was afraid you were going to dock his pay."

"It's not like he was goofing off. Unless he and his kidnapper were."

Jim let loose a short laugh. "I doubt that, Simon. I'll reassure him."

Jim was allowed into the examination room a short time later. He noticed Blair asleep there. It seemed to be a peaceful sleep. Blair dozed and awoke several times. But he was never quite coherent enough to engage in conversation with Jim. Jim would reassure him that everything was fine and then Blair would drift back to sleep. He roused up more when they got ready to move him to his room.

"Where are we going?"

"They have a room for you for the night. Remember?"

"Yeah. Jim? Do I still have a job?"

"Of course you do, Blair. Why wouldn't you?"

"I'm a ter -- rible detective."

"No you're not. You're a great detective. You learned from the best."

"Who? You?"

"Me. Rafe. Brown. Taggart. Connor. Rogers. Peterson. Even Simon."

"Yeah. You're all great..."

Jim patted Blair's forearm. "Just rest, Chief. You'll be settled in no time."

Blair relaxed in the bed and they were in the room a short time later. Blair seemed to snuggle deeper into the bed and fell off to sleep a short time later. Jim sat in the chair by the bed, noticing how young Blair looked with his short hair. He was young anyway, but the short hair made him look even younger. Jim had been able to get Blair's dress uniform after they had taken it off in the examination room. Jim would have to get Blair some other clothes when he was released from the hospital. He knew Blair wouldn't want to wear his uniform home from the hospital. Jim would call Simon in the morning and have him drop the garment bag off at the hospital. Whatever was in there would be good enough for Blair to wear home.

Jim thought about the way Blair looked in the dress uniform. He looked like a policeman, the ideal man of authority. There had been a transformation when Blair became a full-fledged policeman. But unless you were looking for it, it wasn't obvious to the casual observer. But to Jim, it was like an element of Blair was gone, replaced by a man who took duty and honor more seriously than he had ever before in his life. But the carefree trickster was still evident at times. Jim fingered the hat Blair had been wearing. There was some dirt on the side of it. Jim wiped it off. The uniform would have to clean and pressed again. Jim would take care of it.

Blair woke up early the next morning. Jim was already awake. He could tell Blair was more alert. The drugs must have dissipated through his system.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay. It's what partners do for each other."

"And friends?"

"And friends. Where else would I be?"

"Did you get the guy responsible?"

"Yeah. It was mostly Brian and H. And the others who found you."

"It meant something to hear your voice when he called." It was said softly.

"I told him I needed to talk to you."

"Simon let you be in charge?"

"It kept me focused and out of trouble."

"Simon's a great captain." Blair was smiling now.

"I was worried about you. The fact you could be grabbed from just outside Major Crime without any of us knowing."

"I'm fine, Jim. He didn't want to hurt me. At least I have no broken bones."

"Yeah. A considerate kidnapper." There was a sarcastic edge to Jim's voice.

"Why did he grab me anyway?"

"He just wanted to grab an officer to hold as hostage to get his cousin, Craig Meredith, released. The guy's name was Arnie Mason. He used to be an officer before he was fired for using excessive force on the job."

"Wow. If I hadn't had my dress uniform on, I would have never been grabbed. It's true. People identify with the uniform. That guy sure did."

"Is it okay if I have Simon bring by the clothes in your garment bag for you to wear home?"

"It's fine. It's just my khakis, a sweater and my loafers."

"I'll call him later. He'll have to take us to the station at least so I can pick up my truck."

"Simon kept you with him?" Blair sounded surprised.

"He thought I'd attack your kidnapper."

"You would have attacked him, Jim. Simon is a great captain."

"Yeah, you said that once, Sandburg."

"How's my uniform?" Blair quickly changed the subject.

"It needs to be cleaned. But don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Jim. So? Was there coverage on the news?"

"I don't know. I didn't see the news. I was involved with the whole thing."

"Oh. Yeah. That's right."

"You should get some more rest. The doctor might let you out later."

"From now on, no more celebrity."

"Don't count on it, Sandburg."