Immortal Cascade 05 Immortal Endgame

by Carol Roi

  "Yes. I just need you to sign for it and it can be released to the owner."

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  Returning to Major Crimes, Jim was a little surprised not to find Sandburg waiting there. Dropping the bags at his desk, he looked up to see the door to Simon's office closed, the blinds pulled down in the classic signal that told everyone not to bother the Captain unless the world was coming to an end. Crossing over to Megan Connor's desk, he quietly asked the inspector, "Any idea where Sandburg is?"

  "Nope. Maybe he went down to records? He promised to return a file I was looking at." The Australian kept her eyes glued to the paperwork in front of her as her pen scratched across the report she was working on, filling in the blanks at the top of the form that would signify where the evidence she was turning in was to be routed.

  Wondering at the woman's cool tone, Jim shook his head and left her to her report. There was at least one other person he could ask. "Rhonda? Maybe you can answer my question?"

  The captain's secretary looked up from her typing and smiled at him. "You're looking for your shadow, right?" The woman waited until he nodded. "I overheard him muttering about trying to catch someone down in Robbery. He left about ten minutes ago."

  "Thanks, Rhonda." Jim returned to his desk, and started to tackle the paperwork that was waiting for him. He had just finished finalizing his second report, working directly with the computer to input the report in the PD's database, when he realized forty minutes had passed and still no sign of his partner. Sliding his chair back, he heard the crinkling of plastic under the wheels, and recalled the other detail he needed to take care of.

  Flipping open his notebook, he found the number to the Excelsior and made the call, only to discover both Lee Eolia and Jan-Michel LaFollet had checked out of their rooms around ten-thirty that morning. Putting on his best 'professional' voice, he asked the desk clerk, "It's really important I speak with one of them. By chance did they leave a number where they could be reached?"

  "Let me check, Detective… Ah, yes. It's a local number, and not one I recognize, so it's not one of the hotels in the city." The clerk rattled off the number, then apologized as he cut the conversation short -- explaining he was needed elsewhere -- and hung up.

  Jim looked down at the number he wrote, his brow creasing in concern and puzzlement. "That's Dee's home number." Further speculation was halted as he caught sight of his missing partner stepping off the elevator. Whatever Blair had wanted to talk to someone in Robbery about apparently wasn't good. The expression on the kid's face was pensive and serious. "Hey, Chief. Someone finally do you a favor and steal the Volvo?"

  Blair looked up at his friend's jest and shook his head. "Funny, man. Real funny. Even I know that such a crime, if it had happened --which it didn't--would be handled by the Auto Division, not Robbery." He nearly stumbled over the packages lying on the floor behind Jim's desk as he moved to place his backpack in its customary place. "What's all this?"

  "The stuff I promised to return to Ms. Eolia today, if I could. You have any idea why she and LaFollet would leave Pallas' home number as a way to get a message to them?" The kid had been acting skittish ever since before the QuestScape incident went down, and Jim found himself automatically tuning into his guide's heartbeat as he asked the question. It had started to race at the mention of Lee, but swiftly slowed back down to normal before the young man shrugged and dropped into a chair next to the desk.

  "Yeah, I meant to tell you about that. Turned out Dee knew Eolia's husband, and thought she recalled meeting Lee in Greece a few years back, so we ducked over to the Excelsior Sunday morning and talked with her. Dee found out J-M and Lee were about to lose their room and board there at the hotel, so she offered to put them up at her place for a few days, which is really going to cramp our style, at least until they either find other accommodations or until Dee and I leave for Hawaii, which ever comes first."

  No matter how many times he'd seen Sandburg do it, the young man's lung capacity and ability to talk a mile a minute -- complete with rapid hand gestures -- still amazed him. Smiling, Jim couldn't resist teasing. "Well, you two rabbits need to cool your jets for a while anyway. But that will make returning this stuff to Lee much easier." A gurgling rumble startled him into silence and he found his gaze going unerringly to his roommate's stomach. "Sounds like someone hasn't eaten."

  "Nah, I ate. Henri was nice enough to bring me a vegetarian sub earlier, but I think my tummy wasn't happy with that." Blair smiled as he rubbed his abdomen.

  "Well, if you'll help me by entering this evidence record, I'll finish up this other report and we can cut out of here for the day, Chief." He handed over a blank report tag and the bag containing the sabot slug Connor had found outside of QuestScape. Jim started to fill out the report tag on the other evidence he'd found in the pine tree: one strand of reddish brown hair, approximately twelve inches in length and wavy, to be checked and cross-matched, if possible, against the PD's growing file of DNA records.

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  They managed to leave the station's garage shortly after four-thirty PM, only to get caught up in heavy traffic. Jim leaned over and clicked the truck's radio on, just in time to catch the weather advisory on the local news station ~… Advisory for King and Cascade Counties… The National Weather Service has issued a snow advisory for the entire Northwest corner of Washington State. Accumulations from 3-12 inches can be expected with the storm front that is forecast to move into the area sometime around midnight. State Police are advising motorists to avoid travel into the Cascade Mountain range…"~

  "Well that explains the traffic. When are people going to learn to keep their pantries stocked?" Jim snapped off the radio, not wanting to hear any more. He concentrated on his driving. The roads were damp, there was a light mist falling, and the other drivers on the roads seemed to be in high gear.

  "What did you say, Jim?"

  Sparing a glance towards his roommate, the detective tapped his brakes as the car in front of him hurried to get through the yellow traffic light. The Ford coasted to a gentle stop. "Snow. Traffic. Idiots. Bad combination on damp roads."

  Blair Sandburg looked at their surroundings. They'd been in the truck, heading home, for nearly five minutes, but were nowhere near close to where they normally would've been. "Don't forget, it's only a few more days until Christmas. Bound to be a lot of accidents tonight, people not paying attention." He waved his hand towards the traffic light, one eyebrow raised in askance.

  Looking up, just as the driver behind him laid on his horn, Jim realized the light had changed while he was trying to figure out where his partner's mind was. Easing back into the flow of traffic, he finally had to ask. "Chief, what's on your mind that has you so quiet?"

  Chuckling, the student shook his head. "Man, most of the time you're begging me to be quiet, and the first time I am, something has to be wrong?"

  "It is your usual pattern." He turned onto Prospect Avenue, only to wish he hadn't. The traffic was moving slower than it had been on the other streets, if that was possible. "Damn, this is going to take forever."

  The silence filled the cab of the truck, until Jim Ellison couldn't take it anymore. "All right, spill it, Chief. Something's on your mind and it's got you thinking. Maybe I can help?"

  "Not this time, sorry, Jim."

  "Why not?"

  "Watcher business." Blair winced at the growl issuing from his partner. "Jim, I'd tell you if I could, but I can't. Not yet."

  "Maybe later, then?" Jim sighed as he pulled into the tiny parking area nestled between 852 and 850 Prospect, noting the presence of the rented Lexus that was being used by Lee Eolia and her bodyguard, Jan-Michel LaFollet.

  "Maybe. I'll have to clear it with Joe." Blair undid his seatbelt as Jim turned off the engine, grabbed up his backpack and reached for a couple of the bags belonging to Lee that Jim had brought
with them. As he opened up the passenger door, the wind whipped the smaller man's jacket around him. "Damn, that storm front may get here sooner than expected. It's getting damn cold."

  "Getting time for you to break out that silly hat of yours, pardner." Jim grabbed up the remaining bags and the two men raced into the building. Pulling the door shut behind him, the sound of metal clashing against metal caught Jim's attention. "Funny, I didn't see Connor's car…"

  Spotting the attentive way the older man had turned his head, Blair asked, "What is it, Jim?"

  "Sword work. Pretty furious pace too."

  The detective took off up the stairs, taking them two, three at a time, practically running. Blair had to race to catch up with him.

  The sound of someone getting kicked, in the stomach by the way the air gushed from their throat, greeted Jim as he approached the door leading to Diandra Pallas' loft. Without a second thought, he turned the knob and pushed open the door, just in time to see Dee kick a sword from her smaller opponent's hand, sending it flying. The opponent, long red hair spilling out from under protective headgear, did two back-flips in a row, avoiding the thrusting blade in Pallas' hand. Dropping the bags in his hands, he watched as the woman, Lee Eolia probably, fetched up against the far wall and grabbed a fighting staff from the racks there. She was turning back to face Dee, when her legs went out from under her. Diandra didn't back off.

  Without thinking, Jim moved in with all the speed and stealth his Ranger training gave him. Plowing into Diandra's side, knocking the sword from the woman's hand, he ended up on the floor with one knee braced against Dee's back as he pulled her left arm up behind her.

  "Get the fuck off of me!" The snarling voice coming from the woman beneath his knee sounded nothing like Diandra Pallas. Jim was off balance and it cost him. The Immortal wriggled, then with a wrenching movement, dislocated her left shoulder as she rolled towards him, aiming a kick in the direction of his head. It connected, not solidly, but it knocked him off of her. Rolling to his feet, Jim found himself facing an enraged Champion.

  Blair rushed into the loft just in time to hear Dee's fear filled snarl. Somehow she broke free of Jim's hold and kicked the sentinel in the head with her knee. Dropping his own bags on top of the ones by the door, he hurried to separate the two warriors. "Whoa! Break it off! Jim! Dee! Cool it!"

  His words must not have registered in either set of ears, for he barely managed to dodge out of the way as Diandra rushed Jim in a move that surprised Blair, but not his roommate. Jim stepped aside to let Dee's movement carry her past him, then reached out and snagged her up in a hold that looked painful. His hands locked behind her head, forcing her to look down at her own chest and the floor. Thinking Dee might be better able to hear him if she saw him, Blair moved to stand in front of the dueling pair.

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  Panic set in as Diandra's fear of being confined spurred her into action. The Champion raised her hands above her head, biting back a scream as pain shot through her injured shoulder. Forcing air out of her chest, she slipped the hold. Dropping to her knees, she swung in blind rage at the presence behind her, her right forearm impacting solidly on a muscled thigh. Then someone else was touching her, daring to place a hand on her! Without stopping to listen to the words they were mumbling, she lurched forward and brought her head down, head butting her second attacker in the stomach. That one out of the way, she leapt to her feet, turning her attention back to the man who had pinned her.

  Her left arm hanging useless at her side, Diandra was forced to use her feet and her one remaining arm. A flying scissors kick, followed up with a simple right cross, laid her attacker on the mat. She snarled in rage as the one she'd turned her back on took advantage of her attack on the first and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her hands to her sides. The man on the floor rose to his feet, and came at her again. Using his body, she walked her feet up his torso, delivering a swift kick to his jaw before finally breaking the other's hold on her. As she fell to the floor, she reached behind her, grabbing a handful of dark curly hair. She yanked the second man down to the mat with her, plowing his face into the thick padding forcefully.

  "Diandra! Lady Dorian! Stop! They're your friends!"

  The words, screamed in ancient Greek, cut through the battle rage and fear fogging her mind. She clambered to her feet to see Eolia limping towards her, a bloodied Jan-Michel helping her. Blair was getting slowly to his knees, blood streaming from his nose. Swinging her gaze around, she located Ellison, flat on his back, a flaming red jaw telling her the story. She'd managed to hurt both men while lost in the dark fury of battle. "Oh, shit. Lobo? Lobo, I'm so sorry!" Tears filling her eyes, she moved to his side, her attention devoted to her lover.

  Blair held a hand to his face as he waved off her apology. "I'll be fine. I don't think you broke it, angel." He allowed her to remove his hand from his nose as she looked over the damage she'd caused. "Ow! Stop for a second, will you? And tell me what happened."

  "That's what I want to know, too. Hell of a kick you got there, Dee." Ellison groaned as he sat up on the mat.

  Signaling for Jan to help her to Ellison's side, Lee spoke up. "It's my fault, Jim. Dee and I were sparring and got a little carried away." Loosening Jan's grip on her arm, she dropped to the mat near the detective, examining the swelling along his strong jaw. "Jan? See if you can locate a couple of ice packs, will you?"

  "Sparring? Looked to me like Dee was trying to take your damn head off. Would've too, if I hadn't tackled her when I did."

  "Ice packs are in the freezer, LaFollet." Diandra called out to the searching man in the kitchen. Turning her blue gaze back to her lover's roommate, she said, "I wasn't going to do anything of the sort, Ellison. It was a full contact match, and if you had stopped to notice anything, you would've realized my blade was blunted and wouldn't have hurt Lee."

  Jan-Michel returned with three ice packs, handing one to Diandra. "From what I saw, Lee here was doing pretty well, until her feet went out from under her." He crossed over to where his employer sat with Ellison and handed over the remaining ice packs. "What happened, Lee? And where did you learn those Xena-like moves? I never saw you use them against Azir."

  "Old injury." Lee placed one of the cold packs on her right knee, handing the other to Jim, gesturing for him to use it on his jaw. "As for the moves? I was desperate, okay?"

  "Lee was doing okay, but not as well as she could've. I was pushing her." Dee helped Blair to his feet as he held the icepack to his face with one hand.

  Jim looked from one woman to the other. "Okay, but why were you pushing her?"

  Diandra looked over at LaFollet, who nodded. "She wants to train LaFollet. I wanted to make sure she could."

  "Train him? For what? He's a Watcher, not a damn Immortal."

  Blair moved in to Jim's side, dropping to the mat to get a closer look at the damage Diandra had done. "Actually, Jim, he is."

  "What?"

  "I'm immortal, Detective." Jan-Michel reached up and removed the bandage from his temple, revealing no healing wound, just perfectly unmarred flesh. "I died Friday night. Gunshot to the head, my first death."

  Dropping the ice pack, Jim stared at the former Navy man. "And Azir el Sadih?"

  "My husband was an Immortal, Jim. LaFollet was his Watcher." Diandra and Blair both scowled as Lee shook her head, indicating to them she wasn't ready to tell Jim about her own Immortality. Instead, she asked, "Jan, do me a favor and grab my cane from my room?"

  Dee could tell from his expression that Blair wasn't sure what Eolia was up to, but he held his mouth shut. Damn it, it was the perfect time for her to come clean with Jim, and yet, she didn't. Diandra was puzzled by Eolia's words, and her actions. Immortals healed quickly. There could be no 'old injury' to bother the woman, so why the lie?

  "Uh, Dee? Maybe we should get cleaned up?"

  "Sure, Lobo." She helped him to his feet then glanced down at Jim. "I'm
sorry, Ellison. You sure you're going to be okay?"

  "Yeah, the ice and a little ibuprofen will do just fine, Dee. Thanks." With that reassurance, Diandra led Blair toward the stairs.

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  Jim got to his feet just as LaFollet returned to the room, a dark cane in his hand, which he handed to Lee. Ellison watched as the woman used the cane to rise to her feet, the action so smooth that it spoke of years of having to deal with a bum knee. "Well, there goes that idea I had."

  Brushing a few loose strands of hair from her face, Eolia looked up at the detective. "What idea?"

  "I was going to ask you out to dinner. But if you're hurting…"

  "What? This? I'll live. And I'd love to go to dinner with you. But I don't have anything to wear."

  Remember the reason he'd planned on coming over to Pallas' apartment, Jim crossed the mat and picked up the bags he'd brought home with him from the precinct. "Here, maybe you have something in here that will suffice?" He handed the bags to her and LaFollet, hoping that since Lee had accepted his offer, the bodyguard would see fit to leave them alone.