BAND OF BROTHERS
by
Dreamweaver and Talefeathers
Chapter 7
The Chapters
It was close to midnight before Detectives Ellison and Sandburg made their weary way into their Bayport Travelers’ Lodge room. If Blair had been required to spend the night in the hospital, Jim intended to spend it there also; he would have sent Daryl to the motel in a taxi, if necessary. But much Sandburg-resistance to the doctor’s suggestion that he be kept overnight had prevailed, and Blair had been sent on his way, bandaged, provided with crutches, and laden with pain meds.
Frank had been released as soon as his leg was set and the cast was semi-dry, but to Ellison’s surprise, he and Joe insisted on staying to find out how Blair was. As the minutes ticked by, however, Jim finally convinced them to head for home – by making the simple request that they take Daryl back to the motel! The Hardys agreed; moreover, they invited Daryl to ‘come over and hang out’ the following day at their home...since, as far as they knew, the NCAA playoff games were cancelled! If they were rescheduled to be played in a different arena, then at least the boys would be together, would have their tickets, and Daryl could go to the games with Frank and Joe – which suited everyone nicely.
When Frank quietly suggested this plan to Daryl, saying that getting him away from Ellison’s anxious hovering and Sandburg’s sick-and-cranky irritability would be a blessing to all concerned, Jim had been forced to choke down his combined hilarity and chagrin, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing! Since he couldn’t exactly argue the point – being quite aware of his own propensity for coddling his Guide whenever he considered it necessary, and also fully aware of Blair’s tendency to bitch and gripe while refusing to take it easy, when not feeling well – he had heartily condoned the idea when Daryl proposed it to him, a few minutes later!
Con Riley had proven to be an unexpected help, for instead of dropping his fellow detectives off at the hospital and going on home, as he easily could have done, he settled down in the waiting room and kept Jim company the whole time Blair was being examined, x-rayed and treated. He then drove them to the motel, when Sandburg was finally released to Jim’s care.
While waiting, Ellison had checked the time, subtracted three hours, decided Simon would still be in his office, borrowed Con’s phone and made a call of his own to the captain of Major Crimes in Cascade:
“Banks!”
“Captain? It’s Jim—”
“ELLISON? Why haven’t you answered your phone?” The captain’s bellow was so penetrating that Jim was forced to jerk the phone away from his ear, wincing in pain. “Why did I have to hear about this from my son, instead of my detectives?”
“That would be because my phone is in my motel room, sir, and I haven’t been back there since I left this morning. Sir.”
“And what’s Sandburg’s excuse?” Banks was not about to be appeased.
“Daryl didn’t tell you?” Jim blurted out in surprise.
“Tell me what?” the captain snapped. “I’d already heard about the corner of the building collapsing, but you and Sandburg weren’t in there, you were at a conference! Weren’t you?” he added suspiciously.
“Uh...yes, well, the seminar was over for the day,” Ellison hedged. “And...uh...Sandburg was with Daryl right at that particular time....”
There was a long silence, and finally Banks said, in an entirely different – much quieter and much more worried – tone: “Jim, what’s going on? Are you okay? Is Blair all right?”
“I’m just fine. And he’ll be fine.” Jim hoped frantically that he wasn’t out-and-out lying to his boss.
“He’ll BE fine?”
“Yes sir, I’m sure he will.” Crap, that didn’t come out very reassuring!
Banks sighed heavily. “Let’s have the full story, detective. Otherwise I’ll spend the whole night imagining worst-case scenarios that might have happened!”
Jim’s sigh echoed his captain’s. Then, taking lessons from both Joe Hardy and Blair ‘Dazzle ‘em With Fancy Footwork’ Sandburg, he rattled off the basics: “Blair was with Daryl and Daryl’s friend, Frank Hardy, when the corner of the Sports Complex went down, and they were trapped in the rubble. I and Frank’s brother, Joe, went in to find them...and we did so, but Blair and Frank were both injured when the ceiling caved in on them. Sandburg’s being checked out at a hospital right now, and Frank’s already been released.”
Banks was silent for a moment, stunned by the usually reticent Ellison suddenly turning into this fount of information. Finally he spoke. “You’re expecting Sandburg to be released? How badly was he hurt? And don’t tell me you don’t know, because I know better!”
“He has a knock on the head – probably a concussion – and a badly sprained ankle, and maybe bruised ribs. And yes, I am expecting him to be released.” Ellison crossed his fingers – several different pairs.
“Ellison, what aren’t you telling me?” Banks hadn’t made captain just because he could yell really loudly. He was intelligent as well.
Jim hastily reviewed – and rejected – several replies. Finally he merely said “Things you probably don’t really want to know. Sir.” If he had his way, Simon Banks wasn’t going to know the whole story and why and where Daryl and Blair had been, and just had bad things might have turned out, until Daryl felt like telling him! And that would hopefully be several years down the road.
“Ah....The senses thing?” Simon asked warily, just as Ellison had known he would.
“That’s right, Captain.” Among other things!
“Right.” Banks cleared his throat before continuing. “What about the rest of your police procedures seminars?”
“As far as I know, they’re still on for tomorrow.” Ellison gladly accepted the change of subject. “Assuming Sandburg’s feeling up to it, we’ll both attend.” Like hell he’ll attend, ‘cause there’s no way he’ll feel up to it. But maybe I can drop in...just to preserve appearances!
Another deep sigh emanated from the phone. “All right, Jim – it sounds like you have things well in hand. I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Take care of your partner.”
“I intend to, sir. And, of course, Daryl too.”
“And Daryl too, naturally. Goodnight, Jim.” A click ended the conversation.
Ellison handed the cell phone over to Riley. “Your boss hang up on you much?”
“Occasionally,” Con conceded, and pocketed the phone with a grin.
*****
“Jim, what time is it?”
“Quarter of nine.”
“What? But we’re supposed to be at the Conference Center by nine, aren’t we? Why didn’t you wake me – OUCH!”
“That’s why,” Ellison replied, gazing imperturbably down at his partner, who had curled back into the pillows and was clutching his ribs with a protective arm, and holding his head with his other hand. “We aren’t going anyplace this morning.”
“But the seminars—”
“For God’s sake, Chief, you can’t even sit up in bed! Please tell me how you’d manage to sit in a hard chair for three hours and take notes!” Ellison snapped in exasperation.
“Um...”
“Well?”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking! All right, you’re right, I probably can’t go,” Sandburg sighed, and allowed his protective Sentinel to adjust pillows and blankets around him to his liking. “But you could have gone, couldn’t you?”
“And leave you on your own?” Jim shook his head. “I’ll see about going to the afternoon session,” he appeased Blair. “Besides, wasn’t this morning’s something dumb like ‘The Fine Art of Writing Police Reports?’”
“Something like that, yeah,” Blair conceded. He gingerly wriggled to a more upright position, and pushed off the covers Jim had just finished tucking about him. “Nature calls, man, could you give me a hand to the bathroom?!”
Once on his feet, and supported by his crutches, Blair insisted that he was perfectly capable of taking a shower, and used the extremely effective argument that he was still mostly covered with grit and dust and grime, his hair was filthy...in short, “I don’t know how you can stand to have me in the same motel room as you, Jim! Just look at the mess I left on the bed sheets; the maid’ll think...I don’t know what the maid will think! But it won’t be complimentary, that’s for sure!”
Ellison had to concede the truth in his Guide’s arguments, although leaving a still-unsteady, barely able to stand, and hurting Sandburg on his own in the bathroom pinged so many Blessed Protector radars it took an act of will to make himself leave his partner alone to shower! In the main room, reluctantly acceding to Blair’s request for privacy, he dialed down his hearing, and spent a few minutes alternately pacing and staring out the window at an uninspiring view of the motel’s parking lot before he was startled by a knock on the door.
Before he reached the door, Jim had kicked up his senses a few notches, and identified the caller. “Morning, Daryl,” he greeted, opening the door with a smile. “You’re up earlier than I expected.”
“Hi, Jim!” The teen entered the room with a bounce that nearly equaled Blair at his most exuberant. “Guess what!”
“Why don’t we save time and you just tell me?” Ellison said, grinning.
“I just talked to Frank on the phone, and he says the basketball games – well, one of ‘em, anyway – one’s going to be played this afternoon at a college gym here in town! And they’re honoring tickets, so we can go!”
“That’s great!” Jim enthused.
“So Joe’s gonna pick me up this morning and we’re gonna hang out at their house for awhile and then go to the game—” Daryl broke off, and eyed the big detective apprehensively. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”
Ellison nodded judicially. “I don’t see why not. You were scheduled to go to games today, after all. It’s just being played in a different location, and you’ve got a ride there and back already arranged. I don’t see any problem.”
Daryl’s smile was blinding. “Cool! Thanks, Jim! You’re the greatest, man!”
“What time are you being picked up?” Ellison looked at his watch. “Have you already had breakfast?”
“Ten o’clock, and yeah, I went down to the coffee shop earlier.” Daryl settled himself in one of the chairs by the table. “How’s Blair?” he belatedly remembered to ask. “Where is he?”
“Bathroom. Moving pretty slowly, but he insisted on taking a shower.”
“Man, I don’t blame him! I couldn’t sleep last night until I took one; I felt like a litter box!” Daryl grimaced with distaste, recalling the gritty feeling.
“He would have too, if he hadn’t basically fallen asleep the minute he sat down on the bed last night.” Ellison got to his feet. “Can you stay here while I run down to the coffee shop and pick up some breakfast for Sandburg and me? I don’t want to leave him by himself.”
“Sure!”
When Jim returned, he was carrying a couple of bags, a box, and the morning issue of the Bayport Gazette. He arranged the food on the table and then tapped on the bathroom door. “Sandburg? Blair? Breakfast!”
“Okay...out in a minute!” came faintly from within.
Sandburg looked highly improved when he emerged, although a multitude of bruises showed up starkly on his fair skin. He was wearing boxers and a t-shirt, covered by a robe, and his hair hung in damp ringlets about his face. His ankle was swollen to twice its normal size, and the elastic wrap trailed from a robe pocket.
“Hey, Daryl,” he greeted, as he eased himself down in a chair. “You having breakfast with us?”
“Nah, already ate.” However, Daryl wasn’t above accepting the piece of toast Jim offered him. “Blair, guess what? There’s one of the games being played today, and I’m going with the Hardys! They moved it to a college gymnasium here in Bayport!”
“Good, that’s great!” Sandburg smiled at the enthusiasm. “You be sure and have a good time.”
“I will – hey, I gotta go; I don’t wanna make Joe wait. I’ll see you when I get back, ‘kay? Glad you’re feeling better! Bye, Jim!” Waving his toast, Daryl was out the door.
The detective partners looked at each other and laughed. “No wonder Simon’s turning gray,” Jim chuckled.
“And to think I used to teach classes with 30 or 40 of ‘em,” Blair sighed. “How did I do it, anyway?”
“Beautifully,” his Sentinel said with unexpected gravity. “Beautifully, Chief.”
Blair blushed, and buried his nose in his coffee cup.
After breakfast, Ellison re-wrapped his partner’s ankle and settled him on the less-dusty bed, with his foot elevated on two pillows and packed in towels filled with ice cubes. He also waited impassively, perched on the edge of the bed, until Blair reluctantly swallowed the painkiller the ER doctor had prescribed.
“All right, are you satisfied now?” Sandburg demanded irritably. “That pill’s gonna send me off to La-La Land for the rest of the morning!”
“And you’d prefer to be awake and stuck in this motel room?” Jim countered, gesturing at their Spartan quarters.
Blair considered that a moment and shook his head. “Not really, no,” he sighed. A thought occurred to him, and he brightened. “Jim – last night, you said you’d tell me what was so funny, when we were walking out. What was it?”
I promised, so I’d better make good on it, Jim thought. He explained about overhearing Frank and Joe discussing his amazing ‘tracking’ skills, and their speculations that he’d learned things from the Chopec. “Which I did, of course,” he admitted, “but I wasn’t using those, then! And then...” he grinned engagingly at his amused Guide, “Joe said he didn’t care if I was from Krypton, as long as I found you three!”
Blair sputtered with laughter. “Krypton, huh? Well, he’s not the first one to compare you to Superman. Sometimes I think you think you’re Superman, the way you keep throwing yourself into danger, regardless of the consequences, man!” Abruptly, he yawned. “Ah, damn, those stupid pills are kicking in!”
“Good.” Jim gently patted his leg and stood up. “You need to rest. We’ve got a plane to catch late tonight, remember?”
“Oh yeah...right. Going home....” Another yawn. “Night, Jim...”
Ellison glanced out the window at the bright spring day and smiled. “Night, Chief.”
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.