by Cindy Combs
Without lifting his suddenly swirling head, Jim quietly asked, "Why aren't you asking your brother these questions?"
"Because Blair apparently is protecting this person. Since it isn't his secret, it wouldn't be fair to ask him."
"Actually, Blair's in about as deep as I am." Several issues jumbled around inside Jim's brain, but there was one that he had to deal with now. He turned to face Sam. "Would you be willing to keep this secret?"
Sam's sincerity shone through his eyes. "You're practically family, Jim, and I know you wouldn't use your gift to hurt people. If you did, Blair wouldn't be involved. I won't tell anyone."
"Okay." Jim took a moment to close his eyes and think. "Blair really should be involved in this discussion. Why don't we pick him up, get some food, and then the three of us can talk this out?"
Sam thought a moment, then nodded his head. "Okay, as long as you answer one question now. Are you Blair's Sentinel?"
Jim sighed and turned the key in the ignition. "Yes."
Near noon, Hargrove Hall, Rainier University
Blair tossed his notepad onto his desk and plopped into the chair. He hated two hour meetings which accomplished practically nothing. There were too many things Blair juggled that were essential, so tying up time for something less than fruitful was frustrating. Especially when one of those things should have been to pick up his brother and start his vacation. Blair glanced at the clock. Jim should be bringing Sam soon, as long as there wasn't a delay at the airport.
The only problem was whether they should head for the cabin before finding out what was going on with MacGyver. Blair tapped a pencil on his desk as his thoughts turned inward. He had only known his father for a little over a year. During that time, Blair had come to realize that Mac, like Naomi, was a free agent. He traveled the world at a moment's notice and rarely stayed in one place very long. Yet unlike his mother, Mac always managed to keep in fairly close contact. Rarely did a week go by that Blair didn't at least receive an e-mail. If more time did pass, Mac usually mentioned there would be a delay ahead of time. From what Sam had said, Mac did the same thing with him, too.
Only now it had been well over two weeks since either son had heard from MacGyver. His own insecurity suggested that Mac might be tired of playing concerned father. Yet in his heart, Blair knew that was wrong. After all, another thing he had learned about his father was that responsibility was practically Mac's middle name. The older man felt bad enough for missing out on his sons' childhoods. He was doing everything he could to be a part of their lives now. He most certainly wouldn't ignore Sam in trouble. All the silence just wasn't adding up, increasing Blair's worries for his Dad.
With a sigh, Blair shook the glum thoughts out of his head. He might as well check his e-mail while waiting for Jim and Sam.
A few minutes later, a soft female voice asked, "Excuse me?"
Looking up from the computer screen, Blair spotted a slender young woman in shorts and a T-shirt standing in his doorway. Guessing she was a student, Blair questioned, "May I help you?"
She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, her long brown braid swinging slightly. "Hi. I'm looking for a Blair Sandburg. Are you him?"
"Yes, I am," Blair replied, pulling out a smile for the nervous girl as he stood up. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, this is going to sound rather silly," she answered, moving her hands around then reaching into her large bag. "I accidentally ran into a friend of mine, and he asked that I give this to you."
Blair relaxed slightly when the hand pulled out a computer disc. "Do you know what's on it?" he asked as he took the disc and glanced at it. He placed it on his desk as he turned back to the young woman.
"I haven't a clue," she replied apologetically. "We literally ran into each other in Miami, then MacGyver acted like he didn't even recognize me."
"MacGyver!" Blair's full attention was now on the young woman. "When did you see him?!?"
Surprised, the young woman was just starting to open her mouth when a menacing voice behind her growled, "That doesn't matter. You give us the disc now and you will both live."
Blair and the girl quickly turned to find two large men in the doorway, both holding guns on them. Blair carefully stepped in front of the girl, holding his left hand out in a placating gesture. "Hey, man, no problem. No need for anyone to get upset here." He slowly leaned back and picked up a disc, then offered it to the first henchman while warily watching the gun.
The man swiftly grabbed the disc. Turning, he and his companion dashed down the empty hall.
"Damn," the young woman nearly cried. "After all this, I can't believe I lost it!"
"You didn't," Blair replied as he slammed the door, turning to a set of shelves nearby. "They now have a copy of Rainier's Forms and Procedures for Fall of '98."
A large smile stretched across the young woman's face as she quickly joined Blair in moving the heavy shelves in front of the door. "Awesome! I was afraid I'd let MacGyver down."
Blair leaned back on the shelves as he grabbed his cell phone. "Nah, Sam and I've been worried about Mac. No way I'd let any message from him be stolen before I could read it." He pushed the speed dial, then looked back to the messenger. She was rather pretty in an unconventional way, though a bit young for him. "By the way, what is your name?"
Her smiled widened. "Lisa, Lisa Woodman."
"Hi Lisa," Blair returned with a smile of his own that quickly turned to a frown. "Damn!" He quickly disconnected and hit another button as he walked over to his PC.
"What's wrong?" Lisa asked as she leaned against the shelves.
"My partner's cell phone is off," Blair swiftly explained as he slipped the disc into the drive.
"Partner?"
"I'm a consultant for the police assigned to one of the detectives." Then he turned back to the keyboard and started talking into the phone. "Simon? It's Blair… I just had two guys with guns in my office…No, no one hurt… Big, bad and ugly, like usual…They tried to take a computer disc that Mac sent me…No, I gave them another one…No, I'm just looking at it - Damn! It's encoded…A friend of his dropped it off…Haven't had a chance to talk with her, either…No, I think Jim forgot to recharge the battery…"
A pounding sound echoed from the office door. "Sandburg! What's with the door?"
"He's here now, Simon. Yeah, see you in a few." Blair closed up the phone and yelled, "Just a minute, Jim!" Blair quickly turned to move the shelves back, Lisa lending a hand.
"Sandburg, what's going on here?" Jim demanded as he walked in. He glanced at the shelves he had heard moving around.
"Two gunmen tried to steal a disc Mac sent me, but I gave them a different one," Blair replied.
"You've heard from Dad?" Sam eagerly questioned as he stepped into the room behind Jim.
"Sam!" Lisa exclaimed.
"Lisa?" Sam replied in surprise, taking a couple steps to greet the young woman with a hug. Jim sent Blair a questioning glance, Blair returning a confused shrug.
"What are you doing here?" Lisa asked as she stepped back.
"I'm visiting Blair. What are you doing here? I thought you were still in South America."
"The teacher I was subbing for returned last week. I flew home yesterday, but ran into your dad at the airport."
"Is he all right?"
"I don't know." Lisa shook her head, worry deepening her eyes. "He wouldn't let me say his name and he was pretending he didn't know me. I didn't find the disc until I was on the plane." The worry in Sam's eyes increased as well.
"Sam? Hold on a minute," Jim called out, trying to gain control of the situation after consulting with Blair. He turned to the young woman, noting her white face. "Miss? Why don't you sit down here," Jim patted the arm of Blair's desk chair, "then you can start from the beginning and tell us the whole story."
As Lisa sat down, Blair whispered to Sam, "What's wrong?"
"Dad has known Lisa for years and adores her like a daughter. He wouldn't drag her into something unl
ess he was desperate," Sam whispered worriedly. Blair's own worry rose another notch. The glance Jim sent him also reflected that worry. He had heard Sam's whisper as well.
"...So I looked through the University directory in the phone booth next to the bus stop and found Mr. Sandburg's name and office number. I grabbed a map of the campus and came here. I honestly didn't see anyone following me. I thought I'd lost my tail in LA." Looking up, Lisa noticed that they had been joined by a very tall, nicely dressed black man and a slim white woman with long, auburn hair.
Sam comfortingly squeezed her shoulder as the tough-looking man who had come in with him asked, "Were these men different from the ones you saw in L.A.?"
"Yes. I've never seen these guys before."
"Someone called ahead," Sandburg suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"So what happened here, Sandburg?" the tall black man asked.
When Lisa looked at him questioningly, Sam realized no one had made introductions. "Lisa Woodman, this is Captain Simon Banks with the Cascade PD. This is Detective Jim Ellison," he indicated the other man with his hand. "He works under Captain Banks and Blair works with them. And this, " as he indicated the woman, "is Inspector. Megan Conner. She's an exchange officer from Australia." Megan gave her a friendly smile and a 'G'day'.
Lisa had politely greeted everyone with a smile and a nod of her head. Once introductions were complete, Blair quickly launched into a lively but thorough report of what had happened in his office. This gave Lisa time to quickly study all the new people. With the exception of Mr. Sandburg, none of them looked like the normal crowd she'd expect with MacGyver. Then she realized her friend didn't really HAVE a certain crowd he hung with. She'd seen him friendly with everyone from scientists to bail bondsmen to bikers. However, she was glad that it was to this particular group that MacGyver had sent her. She felt much safer within their midst.
As Blair finished, Jim asked, "So where is this disc?"
Blair patted his pocket. "Right here, safe and sound until I can take it to the loft."
"The loft? I thought you said it's encoded," Simon pointed out.
Blair shifted on his feet. "Mac's been working on some special encryption techniques that I've been testing out for him. Since he specifically told Lisa to bring it to me instead of Sam or someone at Phoenix, I'm assuming one of the algorithms I have should work."
Mac's been working on a way to prevent Blair's research from being hacked into, thus keeping my abilities secret. Jim felt another surge of gratitude towards Blair's father. MacGyver had always been there for them, even before the issue of Blair's paternity was raised. They had to rescue him, if Mac needed rescuing.
"Well," Megan drawled as she glanced at the clock. "Why don't you boys go home and work on the disc while Lisa and I pick us up some lunch?"
"Oh, you don't have to…" Jim began, not sure he wanted to put Lisa at the mercy of Megan's driving skills.
"As you would say, no big deal. Besides, it gives us a chance for some girl talk. I'm dying to find out more about Sandy's family."
"Sandy's family?" Lisa questioned, having no idea what the older woman was referring to.
"Sandy is Megan's nickname for Sandburg," Jim explained.
Lisa was still confused. "Why would I know anything about Mr. Sandburg's family?"
Sam immediately realized the problem. "Ah, Lisa, Blair's my brother."
"Really? Cool. You never said you had a brother."
"Um, actually, we found out last winter that Dad is Blair's dad, too." Sam shot a reassuring glance to Blair, who was becoming very uncomfortable with the current topic.
Shocked, Lisa turned to Blair. "YOU'RE MacGyver's son, TOO?" At Blair's embarrassed nod, Lisa softly muttered something. As Jim's eyes widened at the words only he could hear, she stood up and offered her hand. "Well, hi Blair. Any son of MacGyver's is definitely a friend of mine."
A few minutes later, Blair opened Jim's truck door and winced when he saw Megan peel out of the parking lot. "Think we should have warned Lisa?"
"Nah, Lisa can handle it," Sam replied as he followed his brother inside the cab.
Jim shut the driver's side door then took a deep breath.
"What's up, Jim?" Blair asked, reading the subtle signs of stress on his sentinel's face. He wondered if it had to do with what Lisa had muttered. Though considering Jim looked like he had been ready to burst out laughing for a second, Blair suspected it must have been good, not bad.
"WE have to talk," Jim replied pointedly, staring out the windshield yet not turning on the engine.
"About what?" Blair asked, confused. Swiftly, he discounted the encryption work since he knew Jim would approve of it. It couldn't be about his confrontation with the crooks, since Blair hadn't provoked them. He truly didn't believe Lisa was lying. What could it be?
Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Jim, I didn't mean to get Blair into trouble."
"Huh?" Now Blair was really confused, turning to look at Jim, then Sam, then back to Jim.
Jim sighed. "He's not in trouble, Sam. Actually, you probably should have heard about this before. Blair's been on my case to tell my own brother about it."
"Tell about what?" Blair questioned, though an unsettled thought sunk into the pit of his stomach. There was only one thing he'd been bugging Jim to tell Steven. "Wait a minute. You don't mean..."
"Yep, Sam's figured it out. Though apparently some conversation between you and Fraser is what clued him in."
Blair felt the accusing glance hit him. Jim's anger wasn't about Sam figuring out the sentinel stuff. He wanted to know just how much Fraser knew. "Honest, Jim, Fraser doesn't know it's you. He was one of my test subjects and figured out that I had found a full sentinel. He didn't press any further because he understood the need for secrecy. I never told him you were that sentinel."
Sam held his breath as his brother and Ellison stared at each other, silent communication sizzling the air in between them. Then a slight smile crossed Jim's face. "Which ones?"
Back in tune with his sentinel, Blair knew what he was asking. "Hearing, taste and smell. Fraser was my only one with three. I had kinda hoped that he'd have the other two, but both his senses of touch and sight were within normal range. I suspect that the three he has were strengthened due to his time alone in the Northwest Territories."
"Does he need a guide?"
"No, his three aren't as strong as yours. I suspect the full package is required to reach your level."
"Guide?" Sam questioned, sensing the storm was over and it was safe to ask questions again.
Blair looked at Jim. Jim nodded. "He should know. You're a guide, Mac's a latent guide, so Sam or his future children could be guides as well. It could be just as genetic as the senses."
"Wait a minute. You're a guide? Dad's a guide? What's a guide?"
After sharing another glance with Jim, Blair sighed and rested his head against the dashboard. "We have to talk. Man, do we have to talk."
Monday afternoon, Ellison's Loft
Jim opened the loft door, giving his friend a faint smile. "Hi, Simon."
"Any luck with the disc?" Simon asked quietly. Stepping inside, he noted Sandburg in the living area, tapping away at his laptop resting on the coffee table. However, the other young man was not hanging off Blair's shoulder as he had expected. "Where's Malloy?"
Jim waved towards the balcony. "He's out there thinking. Sandburg only started on the disc a couple minutes ago."
Simon's eyes narrowed, realizing there was more. "What does he have to think about?"
Jim sighed. "He figured it out, Simon. Or at least enough of it that Blair and I had to tell him the whole deal."
Eyes narrowing further, Simon asked, "What did he figure out? Not the..." Simon's voice trailed off.
"Yep, the Sentinel thing."
"Damn." Simon glanced out to the balcony. "As if he didn't have enough to think about with MacGyver missing. Oh well, at least Mac doesn't know." Then he caught a subtle shift pas
s over Jim's face. "Wait a minute... Are you saying that MAC knows about this, too?"
With a shrug, Jim replied, "Mac figured it out soon after the Galileo incident."
Simon rubbed his face. "Why am I NOT surprised." He took another glance at the figure standing on the balcony. "How is Sam taking it?"
"All right. He said it explained a lot. I think he's currently juggling everything we've told him into some kind of working knowledge. He's like Mac and Blair in that respect. They just don't learn facts, they process them into something flexible they can use later."
"Well, I've talked with Thornton..."
"Wait a minute, Simon. I hear Conner and Lisa coming." Jim turned back to the door.
"Sorry Jim, we didn't pick up any 'Mr. Tube Steak', so I hope you like Cashew Chicken," Conner greeted him.
A few minutes later, everyone but Blair had filled up a plate from the collection of boxes Megan and Lisa had brought. Taking the second plate Jim had filled, Sam carried it over to his brother. "Any luck, Indy?"
"Just about there," Blair replied absently as he stared at the screen, tapping at the keyboard. As Sam sat on the armrest and picked up a pea pod with his chopsticks, he witnessed the screen suddenly shift into a pale green. "All right! It worked!" Blair crowed excitedly.
Everyone gathered around as Blair swiftly paged through one of the documents. "What is it?" Jim asked.
"It looks like some historian's research. Dates and places indicate late 1800s, western U.S." Blair sat back, face wrinkled in puzzlement. "It doesn't look like it would be all that secretive, but there's a lot of information here. I can't really say until I've read through it."
"It does fit with what Pete Thornton said," Simon added.
"You talked with Pete?" Sam asked.
Simon nodded. "Apparently, Jack Dalton and another lady found some notes indicating that your father flew to Florida to visit some old college friend. Jack says the friend is a historian."
"A planned visit?" Jim asked.
"No, the signs indicate a last minute trip."
"That sounds like MacGyver," Lisa interjected. "He's always dropping everything to help a friend in trouble."
