by Cindy Combs
* * *
"...I'll check and see who's in the area. I think there's an expert in Seattle. If he's not available, I know a couple of guys here who would do a great job."
Sara paced a few steps back and forth in a small alcove. "Jake would appreciate it. And did you find anything out on the cross?"
"Maybe something, but I don't know for sure."
Sara rolled her eyes. "Gabe, spill."
"Well, I couldn't find any pictures, but there is a rumor about a cross that has been passed through a family line. Called the 'Key of the Miraculous'. Supposedly, after the cross and its wearer bonds, no one can take it from the wearer."
"But why would anyone want it?" Sara asked. "Is it like the Witchblade?"
"No, I couldn't find anything that says it gives the wearer special powers. The main theme is that it unlocks something, but what that something is ranges from great treasures to a weapon of unthinkable power. However, no one knows who the family is."
"Someone apparently does," Sara pointed out. "Any rumors as to where this treasure is?"
"No, though it's supposed to have originated in the British Isles."
Sara sighed. "Guess we'll just have to stay on our toes." Breaking glass shattered Sara's calm. As she lifted her head away from the receiver, alarms tore through the air. She quickly shouted into the receiver, "Something's wrong! I'm getting Jake!" She was running before the device was closed, racing back to the office. Two men in black monk robes and hoods blocked her entrance. Both men pulled out small swords. "You can not interfere."
Sara felt her bracelet instantly change, growing into a gauntlet. "You sure about that?" She lifted the newly formed metallic glove, a sword sliding outward from her knuckles.
"The Digitabulum Magae!" the challenger from the right gasped.
"Oh, so you've heard of it?" Sara returned, recognizing the Latin name of the Witchblade. "Good. So make it easy on yourselves and let me through."
Both men hesitantly brought up their swords.
Sara rolled her eyes. "Damn it, I don't have time for the hard option." Her partner needed her. She began to the swing, the Witchblade humming with anticipation.
* * *
Jim pulled the truck up to the mansion. Blair opened the door just as the alarm started. "Jim?"
Head tilted, Jim replied, "There was the sound of breaking glass just before..." Jim paused as he tracked the sounds of boots running up metallic stairs and piggy-backed his vision on his hearing. He pointed upwards. "There's McCartey! He's being chased up the fire escape to the roof!"
Blair squinted against the rain and distance. "We've got to reach him."
"Inside!" Jim ordered as he slammed his truck door. The two detectives raced to the entrance. Two women, examining the alarm system, looked up when they entered.
"Who..." the older woman began.
"Detective Sandburg!" the younger one exclaimed. Blair remembered interviewing her.
"Roof!" Jim shouted over the alarm. "McCartey's in trouble."
The older woman immediately pointed. "The door in that corner. Goes straight to the roof."
"Thank you, ma'am," Blair tossed out breathlessly as he dashed after his partner. The door opened to four flights of stairs. Without pause, Jim and Blair started to climb as fast as they could.
* * *
Jake was coughing by the time he reached the roof. He was already drenched by the pouring rain. The top of the mansion was flat, surrounded by a two foot high border. It had once been the site of Chance summer parties. Now it was Jake's escape route. Dashing through puddles, he raced to the door leading to the main entry, only to find two men wearing black hoods. What's with these guys? Jake thought as he skidded to a stop. He turned towards another fire escape, only to find his original pursuer had cut him off.
Backing away, Jake stumbled against a broken antenna from the pre-satellite days. He picked it up. It was a lot lighter than he would have wished, but at the moment he was desperate. Swirling it around, getting the feel of the lopsided balance, Jake bounced his eyes between the three assailants. "You do realize with the alarm going off, security should be here soon as well as the Cascade PD. You won't get away so easily this time."
"We have no fear of cops," one of them replied. He took a swipe with his knife, which Jake easily deflected.
"Perhaps you should." Jake looked up to discover the strong voice belonged to Ellison. But before relief could sweep through him, his old nemesis launched himself at Jake, knife held high. Jake was forced to concentrate on defending himself from the blade.
Meanwhile, the two others instantly sprang to attack Jim and Blair. Jim managed to fire a round before the first one tackled him. His gun slid across the roof, along with the assailant's knife. They rolled around in the puddles, water flying into the air as the men traded blows.
Blair blinked when the other one flew at him. The junior detective ducked, missing the swinging knife. The hooded man, unable to stop on the wet surface, skidded across and over the side of the roof. Blair blinked, then stepped lightly over to the edge. The man laid below, spread-eagle.
Shrugging, Blair turned back to see who needed his help the most. He missed Nottingham in the gloom, perched on the chimney as he watched the fighting.
* * *
Sara finished off the last of her attackers. Picking up one of their swords with her left hand, she dashed into the office, only to find it empty. Her fear rising, Sara spun around. Where was Jake?
Suddenly, a black panther materialized in front of her. Sara blinked. She realized it was the same panther she had seen at the hospital. Suddenly, Sara saw Ellison struggling with a hooded man on the roof, Jake fighting with another nearby. When Sara blinked again, she saw the panther turned to lope down the hallway. She raced after it, trusting it to lead her to Jake and Ellison.
* * *
Blair had his gun poised to shoot, but didn't dare take a shot. It was just as likely he would hit a friendly instead of a foe as the two pairs moved and swung. Trusting that his partner could handle himself, Blair edged closer to the shivering Jake and his guy.
Jim finally managed get his guy pinned to the wet roof. He slammed his head against the tile, then handcuffed him. He looked up to see how his partner and McCartey were faring.
Jake was coughing harder. He had abandoned the antenna when it had gotten tangled up with the assailant's knife. Grabbing a nearby lawn chair, Jake swiped at the man. The man caught the legs. Both stood there, holding the chair while glaring into the other's eyes. Jake jerked the chair free, then swung it again. He hit the man, unintentionally knocking him off the roof. Before he fell, the assailant again grabbed the chair. Suddenly, Jake was being dragged over the side, too.
Jim and Blair, witnessing the end of the fight, both dashed over. They were just in time to catch Jake's legs as the detective slid over the edge. Unable to hold the slippery chair any longer, Jake watched wide-eyed as the man who attacked him fell to his death below.
Sara burst upon the roof, frantically searching for her partner and the Cascade detectives. Spotting them, she was just starting to trot over to help when she saw the man in handcuffs move. He was going to try to run into them, sending all three men to their deaths. Furious, Sara felt an answering anger from the Witchblade. It changed into a glove similar to brass knuckles. Sara tackled the man, throwing a punch into his face and knocking him out.
Before she could land another blow to break his nose, Sandburg shouted, "Help!"
Sara looked up to see Sandburg and Ellison, struggling to find enough of a foothold on the wet roof to pull Jake to safety. She raced over and grabbed Jake's belt. They hauled him back onto the roof. Finally, Jake was leaning on her shoulder, coughing and shivering. The Witchblade now back into an innocent bracelet, Sara ran her hand affectionately through his hair. "Let's get you inside and warm you up."
Jake could only nod.
* * *
Den, Chance Mansion
"...So we got McCartey back insi
de as all of you were arriving," Jim finished up his verbal report to Simon.
"Any idea who these perps are?" Simon asked.
"Some kind of cult is my guess," Blair replied.
"An insane cult," Jim added, "considering this is all over a cross that doesn't seem to be worth much more than the gold it's made of."
Simon chopped down harder on his cigar. "Surely we have more than that."
Blair sighed. "Maybe our interrogation of the suspects will give us more."
"We can only hope," Simon replied sarcastically.
"More importantly, can we find out something to keep McCartey and Chance protected?" Jim pointed out. "We got lucky tonight."
Across the room, Jake was sitting in front of the fire. He had changed into dry clothes, but still felt chilled. He coughed hard.
A warm hand squeezed his shoulder. "Drink this." Jake stared at the plastic cup of cough medicine, then back up at his partner. "I said drink. Then you can have the tea Moira promised without spilling it because you're coughing."
With a sigh, Jake took the cup and swallowed the sweet syrup.
"Are you hurt?" Sara asked him softly.
Rolling his shoulder, Jake replied, "I think I wrenched my shoulder a little when..." He sighed. "I really didn't want that guy to die. Sure, I wanted him to pay for hurting Uncle Pat, but not without telling me who's doing this."
"And why?" Sara asked.
"Nah, I know why." Jake pulled the note out, hesitated briefly, and then handed it to her. "I found that in a hiding place of Uncle Pat's."
Sara read the note, frowning slightly. "How long have you had that cross?"
"Eight months," Jake replied.
Nodding to herself, Sara replied, "So we'll have to keep an eye on you for the next four." She examined Jake over the paper when he coughed. "Perhaps we can convince the Captain to let you disappear to a warm and dry locale to get rid of that cough."
Jake smirked. "That'll be the day, with us so short-handed." He studied her a moment. "You seem to be accepting this stuff at face value."
Sara gave him a warm smile. "Let's just say I know something about stories of the past and family duty. I'm with you, wherever this duty takes you, partner."
"At least until my training's finished and it goes back to just you and Danny," Jake softly countered.
Sara tapped the paper against her hand. "Well, about that..."
Jake looked up, eyebrows raised. "I'm about to be cut loose?"
"Actually, Danny and I talked about that this morning." Sara's emerald gaze stared straight into Jake's blue eyes. "With the new vacancies and the results of the last officer's exam, Danny's been offered a promotion to Lieutenant of Burglary. "
Jake blinked, then nodded. "He'd be a good at it."
"And it's better pay and better hours," Sara added. "Especially important with kid number two on the way. And he said he'd take it under one condition."
"One condition?" Jake repeated. "What more could he want?"
Sara smiled. "He wants you assigned as my new partner. Says he thinks you're the only one who has a chance of keeping up with me."
Jake snickered. "I think he has more faith in me than I do. You're a hard woman to keep up with, Pez."
Sara swatted him on the head. "Just try to stay within sight, Rookie. Especially until your four months are up."
"Yeah, yeah." Jake paused, then softly added. "Thanks."
"Any time, partner, any time."
* * *
Next day, Cascade PD Headquarters
Jim stepped out of the interrogation room, followed by Blair. "What a load of bullshit."
"Yeah," Blair sighed. "But bullshit a jury would eat up."
"Too bad I can't punch him in the nose again," Sara inserted as she and Jake stepped out of the viewing room.
"Then he and his lawyer could add police brutality to his 'mentally unstable and just following along' defense," Jake pointed out. "You've got to admit, it makes no sense for a group of men to attack me for one simple gold cross."
Jim shook his head. "Unfortunately, he and four dead men are all we have. And we have no evidence that there's more of them."
"Forensics is still going over Bonner's home," Blair reminded him. "Serena says there's some pretty weird, medieval stuff in his paperwork. Hopefully, something will let us know if there's any more you have to worry about, Jake." The group took a couple more steps into the hall as an officer came to retrieve the suspect.
Jim turned to the New York detective. "Does the name ring any bells?"
Jake shook his head. "Honest, I have never seen nor heard of the guy until he attacked me in New York."
"At least Jake and I found the gap in the cameras this morning," Blair pointed out. "When Mr. Chance returns home, he should be safer."
The suspect, in prison garb and chains, was escorted out of the room. His lawyer walked past them, glaring. Sara felt a small twinge of the Witchblade. She followed the man with her eyes as he left, but couldn't place her unease.
Once he was gone, Jim asked, "What are your plans now?"
Jake shrugged. "I'd like to stick around a couple more days. I don't want to leave until I know for certain about Uncle Pat. But our captain wants us back in New York as soon as possible."
"No rest for the wicked, or at least for those of us who chase them," Sara added.
Jim examined both of them. "You know, we still don't know if we got all of them."
Sara nodded. "I know. But now that we know what's going on, we'll keep an eye on Jake."
Jim and Blair nodded. Closed societies took care of their own.
"I do want to thank you for all your help." Sara held out a hand that was immediately grasped by Jim. "We owe you one."
Simon walked up to the group. "I just got news from the hospital." He gave Jake a wide smile. "Your uncle is awake."
As Jake's eyes lit up, Sara tapped his shoulder. "Then let's get you to the hospital."
* * *
Cascade General Hospital
Jake, wearing a surgical mask to keep his cold germs to himself, sat in the hard plastic chair next to the bed. He hated seeing his uncle look so frail. At least the doctors were now optimistic for a full recovery.
As Jake clasped his hand, blue eyes blinked opened. "Jason?"
Worried at the hoarse sound, Jake managed a smile. "Right here. Would you like some water?" At his uncle's nod, Jake helped him to slip from a small straw.
Patrick's eyes were worried as he studied his nephew. "You okay?"
"Just a cold. That's why I'm wearing this, to make sure you don't get it."
"Do... you... know?"
Jake leaned closer. "About the cross? Yeah, found your note. And don't worry, it's under control."
Patrick still looked worried. Jake patted his arm as he pulled out the cross. "Honest. See, still in my possession. The guy who attacked you is dead, and my partner's keeping an eye out for me until the rest of the year is up." Jake stared into his uncle's eyes. "I will continue the family duty. All you have to do is get better."
A weak smile spread across Patrick's face. He knew he had chosen well. His eyes closed as Jake continued to hold his hand.
* * *
Sara was pacing the hall outside Patrick's room. She suddenly looked up to find Nottingham blocking her path. Sara's eyes narrowed in anger. "So you FINALLY decided to show yourself?" she hissed, grabbing his arm and dragging him to a corner.
"I was watching out for you, Lady Sara."
"Did it ever occur to you that I can take care of myself?"
"But what about your Rookie? Perhaps it would be better to give the cross to the people who want it so badly?"
Sara crossed her arms. "If it does unlock a weapon, I'd rather have Jake protecting it than a group of people who would attack an old man."
Nottingham nodded. "It is a more honorable path."
"Damn straight it is."
"Then I will help you keep watch."
"We don't need..."
Sara paused, realizing Nottingham disappeared around the corner. She sighed. She couldn't even get rid of her shadow on the other side of the continent.
* * *
Secret location
"You failed!" the tall man in the black robes bellowed. The three men kneeling before him tried not to tremble.
"It will not be an easy task, Master," the bravest one replied. "Not only is the new guardian a warrior himself, but he is protected by the one who wears the Digitabulum Magae."
"What!" the Master exclaimed. "It was supposed to be hidden at the Vatican since Joan of Arc. Are you sure?"
The brave one nodded. "I saw it myself at the station. Both Turner and Houston were killed by a blade. And Pete said she struck him with it."
The Master waved his hand. "You are dismissed. I must ponder this new development."
As the younger members of the order left, the master barely contained his shudder. The Digitabulum Magae was reported to be a powerful weapon that drew to it what and who it required. It was troubling to think that a guardian was now within its influence.
With a wielder protecting the guardian, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve the cross. They would have to desist in their attempts for this generation. There was always the time of the next transfer.
If there was a next transfer. Did the alliance of the Wielder and the Guardian mean the time of the weapon was at hand?
The End
Author's note 5/5/04: Sorry again for taking so long on this one! The good news is that I'm about half-way through the next TS/MacGyver story, which will also add in Stargate characters. Hopefully, the bunnies will cooperate with this one!
