FIC: Conversations in anthropology (Sentinel, Gen)

Author: Selena

kennedy_bowman@yahoo.co.uk

Fandom: Sentinel

Series: Third in the conversations series

Pairing: None

Rating: PG 13

Archive: Yup if you want too

Summery: Blair meets up with an 'old friend'

The guys don’t belong to me, only Suzie does.


Conversations In Anthropology
By Selena

BLAIR: Hey Jim, you with me man? Have you even heard one thing I have said?

JIM: Oh, yeah. Sorry, Chief. I was thinking about something else.

BLAIR: Was it a work something else or a girl something else?

JIM: It was nothing, what were we talking about?

BLAIR: I was talking, you were distracted. You’ve been distracted a lot lately. What’s up, man?

JIM: It’s this Hudson thing. I guess I just keep expecting him to jump out of the shadows.

BLAIR: Now that’s just stupid. It’s been three weeks Jim, the guy is long gone. I don’t know where you and Simon got this idea that he is going to come after me, he doesn’t even know me. You two are just paranoid

JIM: Can’t help it, chief.

BLAIR: Yeah I know. Don’t suppose it would do me any good to ask you to tone it down?

JIM: Nope

BLAIR: That’s cool, oh hey, whoa.

JIM: What?

BLAIR: Over there, those girls.

JIM: Very nice.

BLAIR: No, I think I know one of them from somewhere. Look I will meet you back at the station

JIM: Just watch yourself, short eyes.

BLAIR: Hey it’s not like that!

JIM: Table leg, chief. Look, just don’t be too long ok.

BLAIR: Twenty minutes tops.

JIM: That’s a little pessimistic don’t ya think?

BLAIR: See you later, Jim.

GIRL#1: And so I said to him. . . . .

BLAIR: Suzie?

GIRL#1: Who’s Suzie?

SUZIE: Shut up, Anne. Blair, what are you doing here?

BLAIR: I think I should be the one asking that question.

SUZIE: I don’t really think we should discuss this here, Blair.

GIRL#2: Hey, is this the guy who’s been hassling you?

SUZIE: No. Guys this is Blair. Blair this is Anne and Tara.

BLAIR: Hi, nice to meet you. Look Suzie. Can we go somewhere and talk. It’s important.

SUZIE: OK. Look guys; meet me outside class will you. I’ll be back before it starts.

TARA: You’d better. Hillman won’t let you in other wise.

SUZIE: I’ll be there.

BLAIR: Hillman? As in Professor Hillman? You go to Rainier?

SUZIE: Yes, I do. Do you know the Professor?

BLAIR: I should do I was his Teaching Assistant for a year after I got my masters.

SUZIE: I just started at Rainier, I enrolled two weeks ago. I have waited so long to go to college, and now I’m here.

BLAIR: Wait a minute, is that why you drove getaway. To pay for tuition?

SUZIE: Well I . . .

BLAIR: Come on Suzie! There are easier ways, more legal ways to pay for college!

SUZIE: Don’t shout at me Blair, you don’t know me. You don’t know what I have been through to get here. It’s been hard.

BLAIR: You may have had a hard life, Suzie. But so have a lot of us, and we have managed without resorting to crime.

SUZIE: Screw you, Blair.

BLAIR: Suzie, wait. I’m sorry. Sit down, talk to me please.

SUZIE: You know I was a little surprised when I saw the news report about what happened. Why did you lie for me?

BLAIR: I don’t know, I guess I wanted to know what you would do if you had a chance. I never really thought I would find out. I have to admit I didn’t think it would be this.

SUZIE: Well then what did you think it was?

BLAIR: Oh I thought all kinds of things; some of them were real tearjerkers. I mean there was the sick parent, sibling with huge medical bills; I would have bought that one. Look, I know going to college is a good thing, but didn’t you think of getting a loan or something. I’ve been a student half my life and I manage. Although the paying it all back is going to hurt some.

SUZIE: That’s just it. Paying it all back. I don’t have to do that because I have made enough to last me until I get my doctorate, if I want to.

BLAIR: It’s bad money, Suzie. Some of it has a man’s blood on it.

SUZIE: I gave that payment to an animal shelter. Look I could give you a hokey tale of how my father drove getaway and that’s how I got into it, but that’s not true.

BLAIR: Then why. Come on Suzie, tell me another story.

SUZIE: Ok, My dad was a crook. My mother knew it, endorsed it in fact. She was less than honest too. Dad was mainly into petty theft, couple of hundred bucks here and there. Occasionally he would make it a couple of thousand, but that wasn’t often. Mom didn’t like this; it was fine when there were only three of us. But when I was ten my Mom had a little boy, my brother Danny. Dad graduated to bank robbery to support us all. Yeah I know you are going to ask why he didn’t just get a job right? My Dad was born a criminal and he died one too, he would never get a regular job. If it had turned out differently, Danny and I would have followed him down his path. (Sniff, sob)

BLAIR: If what had turned out differently?

SUZIE: I started to drive for him when I was sixteen. I could wait in the car outside the bank with nobody asking any question. I mean who would suspect a sixteen year old? Did that for three years. Last year Dad got greedy and double-crossed his partners. They didn’t take to well to that and set fire to our house. I wasn’t there, I was out on a job, I was working on my own by then. When I got home it was to late (sniff) Mom, Dad and Danny were dead. Danny was only nine years old; he never even had a chance.

BLAIR: Oh Suzie, I’m so sorry.

SUZIE: I would like to say I had a profound revelation about my life and decided to get on the straight and narrow. But I didn’t. I knew what I wanted to do with my life; I was planning my future before the fire. But it wasn’t really serious. Crime was just so much easier, and paid well.

BLAIR: What did change your mind?

SUZIE: I got lonely. As corny as it sounds I loved my Dad, it wasn’t the same without him. He may have been a crook but he took care of his family, and he never really hurt anyone except himself. I did a few more jobs purely for the money. The job with Hudson was to be my last one no matter what happened. I didn’t mean for it to go as bad as it did.

BLAIR: That wasn’t your fault. But speaking of Hudson, have you heard from him recently?

SUZIE: Um . . .

BLAIR: Suzie?

SUZIE: Yeah, I have. He called the number I use to arrange the jobs. He said he wanted to kill me for what I did. But he would let me live if I help him pull another job, not drive, pull. If I don’t he will kill me. I didn’t think he would, he didn’t know where to find me. But somehow he managed to trace me, and yesterday he showed up at my apartment and threatened me.

BLAIR: You should have gone to the police.

SUZIE: Blair, did you not hear one word I said, I can’t go to the police. I’m probably wanted in several states.

BLAIR: How many states?

SUZIE: BLAIR!

BLAIR: Look maybe I can help. Remember back when we were in the car, I said I work with the police?

SUZIE: Yeah, but you’re not a cop.

BLAIR: No, I’m not. Simon Banks, Captain of the Cascade PD mentioned that he might be able to make a deal with you.

SUZIE: Why would he do that?

BLAIR: I assume you know about the armed robberies that have happened lately.

SUZIE: A little.

BLAIR: How little?

SUZIE: Enough.

BLAIR: Enough to lead us to the perps.

SUZIE: You talk like a cop, you know that?

BLAIR: Don’t change the subject.

SUZIE: I know enough.

BLAIR: Simon would deal for that information.

SUZIE: What would happen to me?

BLAIR: Honestly I don’t know, it would depend on exactly what you had done. You would get a lighter sentence then you would get if you were caught at a scene. Possibly immunity. And you would be safe from Hudson, we will keep you safe.

SUZIE: I don’t know . . . .

BLAIR: Come on, Suzie. I know you don’t know me, but you can trust me. I will keep you safe, I promise.

SUZIE: I bet you could sell snow to Santa Clause, couldn’t you?

BLAIR: I could try.

SUZIE: So we’re really going to do this?

BLAIR: I don’t know, are we?

SUZIE: Yeah, I think we are.


END