Title: Blackmail

Author: Tayla

Fandom: The Sentinel

Pairing: Blair/Steven

Rating: PG

Category: Drama

Status: Completed January 8, 2003

Archive: Yes to WWOMB/Peja. All others please ask

Feedback: Yes, please. All constructive criticism will be graciously accepted

Series/Sequel: This might actually be a stand alone. Or it might be the start of another series. Not sure yet.

Disclaimers: The Sentinel and its characters belong to Pet Fly Productions and Paramount Network Television. No copyright infringement is intended. The author makes no profit and exists solely on the accolades from fellow fans.

Authors Notes: This has been floating around in my head since I read "Sex, Lies and Videotape" by Wendy Kump. Which I did like a lot. Blair in distress is always a good read. But my plot bunny hoped off in a different direction. This story is definitely not a Blair in distress story.

Summary: Steven tries to blackmail Blair into his bed and gets a big surprise.

Warnings: attempted sexual coercion.

Blackmail
By Tayla

Blair got on the elevator with a sense of trepidation. Of course elevators always made him a little anxious since he had almost been blown up in one. But he was more anxious about the meeting itself. He was confused as to why Steven Ellison wanted to meet with him, and why alone and why at this hotel.

Steven was now working with his father. The two men had reconciled, just as Jim and his father had reconciled. Ellison Enterprises had bought the company Steven had been working for, and now Steven was an executive vice president. A big mover and shaker in the business world. In fact, next week he was getting married to the daughter of an important business associate and both Steven and William were ecstatic about the upcoming nuptials. Blair didn't pretend to
understand the inner workings of the business world, and how Steven hoped to have a successful marriage based on economics concerns. After all, William Ellison's marriage had been based on the same things and hadn't lasted ten years.

Far be it for Blair to criticize though. His own romantic relationships were based on physical attraction and sex and usually didn't last more than a few weeks at best.

The elevator continued toward its destination. Ellison Enterprises kept a suite of rooms for visiting VIP's. He wondered again what Steven wanted and if there would be any one else in the apartment.

Two years of working with Jim and being kidnapped by various psycho's and terrorists had made Blair paranoid. He dug into his ever present backpack and pulled out his tape recorded. He checked the tape flipped it on and stuck it in his jacket pocket, just as the elevator doors opened on the eighteenth floor.

He made his way down the hall and knocked on the door. Steven opened it at once, taking his bag from him and ushering him into the room with a flourish.

"Blair, glad you could make it. Come in and have a drink."

Steven left Blair's backpack by the door and followed the young man over to the bar.

"What's your pleasure, Blair?"

"Um, whatever you're having is fine."

Steven poured them both a scotch and joined Blair on the plush stools in front of the bar.

Blair's breath caught in his throat as Steven sat next to him and gave him a warm smile. There was no denying that Steven was a handsome man. Blair had never made any excuses for his sexuality, and he had always thought that Jim's younger brother was a very attractive man. Blair struggled to rein in his libido and find out just what Steven wanted from him.

"Why did you ask me here, Steven?"

"Well, it has to do with Jim. He told me about the enhanced senses."

That was a surprise. Jim was always so careful about his senses and who knew about them. As far as Blair knew, only Simon knew their secret. Blair had never told anyone, not even his advisors. He realized when Brackett had showed up on their doorstep that he would never be able to publish a paper about Sentinels and keep Jim safe at the same time. So he had changed his topic, even going so far as to joke with his colleagues about what a crackpot Burton was and how he was sorry he had wasted so much time chasing a fairly tale. So finding out like this that Jim had told someone else was a big shock.

"Why did he tell you?"

"Because Amy is pregnant. He was worried that the child might turn out to be like him."

Blair recovered his composure quickly and hastened to reassure the expectant father.

"Genetically speaking there is very little chance of that. But it is still possible. If it turns out that your child is a Sentinel, or has any enhanced senses at all, Jim and I will do anything we can to
help you."

"That's very kind of you, but I didn't ask you here because I'm worried about the child." And now the smile that Steven favored him with held no warmth at all.

Blair was getting a very bad feeling about this.

"What do you want, Steven?"

"In a word, you." Again the cold smile, almost a leer.

A year ago Blair would have been thrilled to hear those words. When he first met Steven, after the murder at the racetrack, he had thought the younger Ellison to be a charming and attractive man. But he had gotten to know him a little better the past year, him and his father. They were both cold hearted, cut throat business men and sometimes Blair was sorry that he had encouraged Jim to reopen the lines of communication with the other two Ellison's.

"What do you mean, you want me? And what does it have to do with Jim?"

"I mean exactly what it sounds like. I want you, in my bed on your hands and knees, ready to take my cock any where I want to put it."

Blair choked on his drink.

Steven continued. "And if I don't get you, I will call a certain contact I have in a certain government agency and tell them all about Jim's special 'gift'. I'm sure there are certain people that would love to get there hands on Jim to find out exactly what makes him tick."

Blair was stunned. "Steven, you can't be serious! He's your brother."

"That's supposed to mean something to me? I haven't seen him in fifteen years. He left me in that house with that man and ran off to make his own future."

"I thought you liked your father. You seem to be getting along pretty well with him now."

"I may be like my father, but I detest him. I work with him because it's a way to get what I want."

"Money?"

"Money and power. And I also want you. That I can get all by myself."

"What about Amy?"

"What about her. She's a pretty little trophy wife that I can wear on my arm to impress business associates. We'll live in the same house, have a few children, throw some parties, and make some
business mergers. Then she'll have her life and I'll have mine."

"So, I'm just a last gay fling before the wedding." Blair tried to hide his revulsion at what the other man was suggesting. If he could keep him talking long enough, he might figure a way out of this.

"No, I was thinking of this as the beginning of a long a pleasurable association. And it can be pleasurable for you. I can be very generous."

"I don't want your money, Steven."

"Oh please, you're a poor grad student. You've been sponging off my brother for more than two years. Of course you need the money."

"I don't want it. I don't need it. Not everyone can be bought."

"Fine. Suit yourself. But I will have you, or Jim will pay the price. Now, do we have an agreement? Or should I pick up the phone?"

Blair narrowed his eyes and glared at Ellison. He had had just about enough of the man's arrogance and high handedness. All of his nervous energy and anxiousness suddenly turned to anger. This man was threatening his best friend, his Sentinel. It was time to take the offensive.

Blair glared at Steven as he considered his plan of attack.

"You don't know much about science, do you Steven."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it says. You're a businessman. You don't know much about science, or scientists, or their methods."

"But you do, I suppose?"

"Yes, I'm a scientist of sorts. I'm an anthropologist. I study people and their reactions to each other and their environment." Despite his revulsion to Steven, he warmed to his topic and fell into
lecture mode.

"That necessarily means that I study people in their natural environment. But the kind of experiments that you alluded to earlier would be medical and chemical experiments. The scientist would take blood and tissue samples and test Jim's reactions to certain stimulus, trying to find out the origins and the limits of his abilities."

"I might not be as smart as you, Sandburg, but I did figure that out." Steven said testily.

"You don't get it, Steven. In such an experiment, the scientist would need a test subject and a control subject."

Steven thought about that for a moment. "They could use you for that, I suppose. I would miss having your sweet ass to fuck, but I suppose I could make that sacrifice, for science sake." He chuckled evilly.

Blair shook his head and smiled wryly at Ellison's comment.

"You still don't get it. The scientist would want to have a control subject that is as similar to the test subject as possible." Blair let that thought sink in for a moment before he continued. "You
would be the perfect control subject. Same genetic background, same environmental factors when you were growing up. One brother with enhanced senses, the other without. They would want to know why. If they found a chemical origin for Jim's senses they would want to see if they could induce the same condition in someone else. That would be you. Two Ellison's to experiment on would be a dream come true for them."

Steven was beginning to look a little ill.

"Didn't you say that Amy is pregnant?" Steven just nodded, confused by the apparent change of topic.

Blair continued. "Perfect. A third Ellison to experiment on. And one they could raise in isolation, indoctrinate him any way they wanted. So Amy would be snatched up just as fast as you and Jim, and strapped down to a table for the next nine months until she delivers."

"Seven months." Steven replied, to dazed by the scenario to realize that that fact really didn't matter.

Blair just snorted, "Seven months then. Whatever. And if she doesn't survive the delivery, oh well, she wasn't going to be raising the child anyway. Or maybe she would survive. Then they could inseminate her with Jim's seed and see if they could make another little Sentinel."

Blair crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a finger against his lips as another thought occurred to him. "You know, "he continued conversationally, "They might even snatch up William and track down Grace, to see if they could recreate Jim. Or hell, maybe they'll just clone Jim, that way they would be sure to have the correct genes. I really don't know which would be easier, but then I'm not a geneticist."

Steven was staring at Blair, open mouthed with horror at the picture that Blair had painted.

"I don't expect you to be worried about what happens to Jim, or William or Grace. From the attitude you've shown me here today, I don't even expect you to be concerned about Amy or your child. But I do expect that you care a lot about what happens to your own precious skin. Trust me when I say that the type of people your thinking about contacting would not pass up the opportunity to experiment on brothers. It would be too good an opportunity to pass up. No matter
what assurances they would make about your safety, you would be snatched up and strapped down to a table just as quickly as Jim."

Steven was stunned into silence. What had seemed like a foolproof plan to get Blair into his bed had just backfired on him. Everything that Blair had said made sense. He had no illusions about the people he was contemplating getting involved with. They would take him and his whole family to try to recreated a Sentinel.

He was brought back from his dark thoughts when Blair tossed back the rest of his drink and put the glass back on the bar.

"Now, it there's nothing else, Steven, I really need to get back to work. But it was so nice talking to you." He ended sarcastically and turned to walk to the door.

Steven should have left it alone. He should have just quit while he was behind and let Sandburg walk out the door. But he was so obsessed with the idea of fucking Blair that he had to try one more time.

"I'll tell him."

Blair stopped and turned to face Steven. "Tell who what?"

"I'll tell Jim you're gay." Steven grinned in triumph. No way his straight laced cop brother would let Sandburg live with him if he knew the bastard was gay.

The grin fell off his face as Blair began to laugh. "Ah Steven, very good try, man. But he already knows. You can't hide that sort of thing from a Sentinel. He knew even before he let me move in."

Steven visibly deflated and slumped back onto the bar stool.

Blair continued. "Now I'm really leaving this time. Oh and just in case you have any more bright ideas . . ." he pulled the mini cassette recorder out of his pocket and showed it to Ellison. "I
know all about your future father in law. Alexander Van der Hoff is an alumnus of Rainier and he regularly contributes to the school. I've met him at a few fund raisers and I have to say he doesn't like me very much. I'm sure he's not all that fond of you either. He's probably well aware that his daughter's marriage is really a business merger and I'm sure he's fine with that. That's the way you rich people operate. I'm sure he expects you to have affairs, hell; he's had plenty of his own flings over the years. But if he were to find out that you're gay and having affairs with men, you will be divorced so fast your head will spin and he'll rip the guts out of your company while he's at it. So if you don't want to wind up being a pauper, you'll just leave me and Jim alone, or a carefully edited version of this tape will find its way into Van der Hoff's hands. Clear?"

"Perfectly clear." Steven responded still stunned that the man he thought was a mild mannered grad student turned out to have big teeth.

Blair continued to the door, but he couldn't resist one more dig at the defeated man that he once thought was so charming.

"You know, you didn't have to do the blackmail thing."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, curious in spite of himself.

"I mean, dear Steven, that I'm gay and I'm easy. And I've been drooling over your oh so straight brother for two years now. And frankly, you look enough like him to jumpstart some fantasies in my head. I would have bent over for you five minutes after we met. All you had to do was ask."

With that Blair left the apartment, leaving a much wiser Steven Ellison in his wake.

END