They had flown in to the airstrip, working on the assumption that if anyone had been pursuing the children, they would have done so on the road. As Jim cautiously glided the plane down the short runway, the rest of the team assembled their gear and got into position, Nikita helping Simon and Sharon with the unfamiliar equipment. Once they were on the ground, Michael took the lead, asking the group, "Is everyone ready?"

Five heads nodded in response. "Let's go."

Slowly, Michael led the group off the plane, followed quickly by Jim, Blair and Nikita. Simon and Sharon brought up the rear. Once the group was off the plane, Michael leaned back, asking Jim in a whisper, "You getting anything?"

"There's a cluster of heartbeats in the hangar, toward the back. Most of them are pretty fast, so I think it's the children."

"Anyone else?"

Jim felt the hand of his guide on his shoulder as he extended his hearing as far past the boundaries of the airstrip as he dared. Leaning in toward Michael he whispered, "I can't hear anything."

Trusting the older man's 'super-hearing' Michael spoke at regular volume. "All right, let's get the children and get out of here as quickly as we can. If no one's here now, they will be soon, and I'd rather we be long gone when they get here."

Heading straight to the hangar where Jim heard the children, the team approached cautiously, not wanting to frighten the children or attract the attention of anyone who might have been approaching. They also wanted to give Jim ample quiet to alert the group if he heard anything.

Within moments, though, an excited little girl who had just seen her 'mother' shattered the quiet. Jim winced as an excited cry of "Mama!" pierced the air and a ten-year-old girl ran into Nikita's arms.

Concerned by the attention that Angela's emotional outburst might have attracted, Michael looked to Jim for an all-clear. The Sentinel quickly gave it, after he re-adjusted his hearing to see if anyone else had heard the child. Relaxing, Michael holstered his weapon, allowing himself a moment to check on his adopted 'daughter'. Coming up from behind Nikita to look into Angela's eyes, he whispered, "Hello, petit."

"Hello, Papa," whispered Angela in reply. "I'm so glad you're here."

"You shouldn't have called out like that, petit. We could have hurt you without wanting to."

"I know, Papa. I'm sorry." Allowing herself to relax and look around, she looked up to a man who seemed to be as big as a house. Shamelessly walking over to him, she asked, "Are you Jim?"

Looking down into Angela's innocent face, Jim couldn't help but break out into a smile. "Yes, I am."

Politely, Angela stuck out her hand for Jim to shake it. "I'm Angela. Daryl's told me a lot about you. He knew you would be coming."

Jim shook her hand firmly, the way an adult does when trying to encourage a child who's acting like a 'little adult'. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Angela."

"Likewise," replied Angela.

Breaking in to the formal introduction, Michael got down to business, his mind always conscious of how short a time they had to get everyone out. Looking down to meet Angela eye-to-eye, he asked, "The others are with you, petit?"

Angela nodded. Taking her 'father's' hand in her own she encouraged him, "They're back here, Papa. C'mon!"

With Angela now taking the lead, she excitedly led the group to the back of the hangar, behind some carefully placed cardboard boxes. There, hidden behind and inside many of the boxes, Jim heard the heartbeats of at least five dozen children. Quickly, Angela started tapping gently on many of the boxes, quietly telling her comrades, "We've been rescued - you can come out now."

Slowly, the children started coming out of the boxes. Sharon couldn't help but notice that some of the children were as young as five years old. [I wasn't taken until I was twelve. Guess they're starting earlier these days...]

As the children started milling about, many of them started talking in the confusion, until Daryl's voice from the back called out, "Quiet, you guys! We may have been rescued, but we don't know if it's safe yet!"

Simon had to fight back the emotion and the urge to call out when he heard the voice of his son - a voice he once thought he might never hear again. He stepped back behind Sharon, a move that seemed to confuse the young profiler. She whispered to Simon, "What are you doing, Simon?"

"I'm not ready for him to see me yet," was Simon's only reply, and even that was spoken in the barest whisper, two years of pent-up emotion dancing dangerously near the surface.

Even Jim couldn't help but smile at Daryl's caution - apparently the gutsy young man who had stood up to terrorists in police headquarters had become quite a capable leader. Within moments of Daryl's warning all five dozen children were stone silent, with the exception of Angela, who Jim heard whispering, "Don't worry, Daryl! My parents are here, and they've taken care of everything."

"Your parents?" whispered Daryl. "You mean Nikita and Michael?"

Angela replied, "Yep. And Jim too."

Cautiously, Jim heard Daryl hoist what seemed to be quite a heavy load, then whisper with a grimace, "Mary Marie, we've got to put you on a diet..."

Another young girl's voice shot back, "Well, if you had remembered my Xavier chair, you wouldn't have had to carry me..."

"Well at least I'm not carrying you far," whispered Daryl in reply, "just some place where I can keep an eye on you."

"Like I'm going to get into trouble?" replied Mary Marie.

Daryl couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm not even going to -go- there, girl..."

Quieting down, Daryl crept out from behind the crate, a gun in his hand and, apparently, Mary Marie on his back. Spotting Nikita first, Daryl holstered the weapon, allowing himself to stroll out calmly and find a place to put down the young girl on his back. Going straight to his friend, he embraced her in greeting, closing his eyes for a brief moment and allowing himself to stand down. He greeted the operative, "Hello, Nikita."

She responded in kind, "Hello, Daryl. How are you holding up?"

Breaking the embrace, he looked her straight in the eye and smiled. "Pretty good, considering. Thanks." Spotting Jim and Blair not too far away, the teen's excitement nearly bubbled over as he ran over to his friends, nearly running over Jim in his haste to embrace them.

Laughing Jim returned the hug, greeting the teen, "Gee, we've missed you too, Daryl."

Blair wanted to say something, but found himself unable to get words out of the choke hold that Daryl had put on him. [The kid must have taken up weightlifting as an extracurricular activity...] Besides, he knew there was one more reunion left that would be far more important than theirs.

Breaking the embrace, both Jim and Blair stepped aside, revealing Sharon standing next to a tall stack of boxes. Daryl looked to Jim and Blair, confused. "What's up, guys?"

Blair placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder, empathizing with the boy. "Just wait, Daryl."

Slowly, Sharon stepped aside, allowing Simon to step out from behind the boxes and lock eyes with the son that, two years ago, he thought he had buried. His voice choking back powerful emotions, Simon was barely able to get the words out as he called to his son, "Hello, Daryl."

It wouldn't have taken much to knock over Daryl Banks at that point. A strong breeze would have done it. His eyes wide with shock, Daryl could barely speak. "Dad? Is that you?" Hesitantly, the teen took two steps forward, not believing the evidence of his eyes. Simon matched him step for step, wanting to confirm for himself that his son was, indeed, alive. The closer they came to each other, the more they started to believe that this was, in fact real.

Finally, their hands came together, and each one had the physical confirmation that the other was alive, and real, and standing right in front of them. Almost instantly they were locked in an embrace, the tears flowing freely for both men. Breaking the embrace after a moment that seemed to end far too soon, Daryl looked up into the eyes of the one man he thought he would never see again and asked, "What are you doing here, Dad?"

Not quite sure if he could answer with the truth, he replied, "Son, it's a long story."

Stepping back, he noticed the bracelets on the wrists of his father, Jim, Blair and Sharon. There was only one way that he could have gotten something like - that- to match with Jim and Blair. The shock in his voice mixed with the barest hint of anger, he asked his father, "They got you, too, didn't they?"

Solemnly, Simon could only nod, and Daryl stomped his feet in response, cursing under his breath in frustration.

Knowing that the time for sentiment had most definitely past, Nikita asked Daryl, "Are all the children accounted for, Daryl?"

Wiping back the tears and steeling himself, Daryl nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Addressing the group of adults, Michael lifted Angela in his arms and declared, "Then let's get them out of here."

Immediately the children formed two single-file lines, each pair of children holding hands. Impressed at the children's quick obedience, Blair started to lead them toward the front of the hangar. The now mammoth group had almost made it to the transport plane when Jim tilted his head in an uncomfortably familiar gesture. Noticing the gesture immediately, Blair handed the responsibility of the children to Sharon and went to tend to his partner. "Jim? What is it?"

Drawing his gun, the Sentinel informed his Guide, "We've got company, Chief. And they've got a transport that makes the one the kids piled into look like a Volvo. Get them in the plane, Chief."

Drawing his own gun, Blair nodded his acknowledgement. "Right." Taking Sharon and Nikita with him, he started heading the children toward the plane at top speed, hoping the two women and Daryl could provide sufficient cover.

Once he saw that the children were safely protected by the plane's bulletproof shield, Jim pulled Simon and Michael to one side of the hangar. Michael immediately asked, "Suggestions, gentlemen?"

Turning to Jim for intel, both men weren't disappointed. "They have at least a dozen men who are spreading out around the perimeter of the base. Their leader is staying in their van, telling them that they'll move out when all the men are in position."

Michael mused, "That means we need to get them before they're all in position." Looking up at the Sentinel, he commented, "I wish we all had your ears, Jim."

It was as if a lightbulb went off in Jim's head. He told the other two men, "Maybe you could, gentlemen, maybe you could." Leaning down to use the dirt floor of the hangar as a chalkboard, Jim started to outline his idea.

Since they needed all the shooters they could get to complete the mission, Jim and Blair were the only ones who stayed behind in the transport plane, Daryl helping them to guard the children while Simon, Michael, Nikita and Sharon spread out to take care of the enemy. Since the Red Cell squadron had managed to cloak the transport and their men to avoid being detected by radar, they had to rely on Jim's senses and their tracking devices for their own men to accurately keep tabs on everyone.

Jim sat in the plane's copilot seat, staring intently at the radar of the surrounding area. Standing above him, Blair placed both of his hands on Jim's shoulders, guiding him, "All right, Jim, deep breaths. Imprint the radar screen of the area in your mind. Use your hearing like radar to keep tabs on everyone in the area. Can you hear our team?" Jim nodded, and Blair continued, "Can you hear the enemy soldiers?"

Jim nodded again. "I hear all of them. They're trying to get closer to the plane."

"You're on a headset, Jim. Can you direct the team where to go?"

After a brief, tense moment, Jim began rattling off instructions. "Simon, you have three men about fifteen feet ahead of you at ten o'clock, twelve o'clock, and two o'clock. Michael, two of your men are at nine o'clock and one is at two o'clock. Nikita, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, and one o'clock. Sharon, your three are sticking together at four o'clock."

Turning down his hearing to compensate for the burst of gunfire, Jim could pick out the twelve shots as they fired. When the gunfire died down, Jim scanned the area, and realized that only their men and the transport were left. Relaxing, he smiled. "We got 'em, Chief."

When he heard that, Blair allowed himself to relax and stand down, then tensed immediately when only Michael and Nikita returned to the plane. Had two of the shots been Red Cell's, and not theirs? Confused, Blair turned to his Sentinel for reassurance. "Jim?"

Already scanning the area, Jim picked up the two familiar heartbeats of his friends, both headed in the direction of the Red Cell transport. Smiling, he told his Guide, "I think Simon and Sharon are just trying to get themselves out of abeyance, Chief."

Allowing himself to slump down on the floor and rest, that comment did little to reassure him.

Jim's directions had been right on the money. It hadn't taken long to take out the half-dozen Red Cell agents-in fact, the poor fools barely knew what hit them. Within moments Sharon and Simon had reunited. Looking his new partner over, Simon assured himself she didn't seem all the worse for wear. Still, he asked anyway, "You okay, Share?"

Sharon nodded. "You?"

Simon nodded in response, and started to head back to the plane when Sharon stopped him. "Nope. I wouldn't go that way yet, if I were you, Simon."

Confused, Simon asked, "What do you mean, Share?"

In response, Sharon pulled out two bright-orange handled weapons. Recognizing them as Jay's 'wall-splitters', Simon gawked in amazement at Sharon's resourcefulness. "How did you get these back?"

Sharon grinned in reply. "It's good to have old friends. Now c'mon. We have to get the transport before it gets away.

As if on cue, a huge black van pulled out of the woods, trying to drive straight into the plane. Not wasting a minute, Sharon handed a weapon to Simon, and the pair aimed right at the truck, firing the minute they got a clear shot.

The impact with the van seemed to happen in slow motion. One of the bullets hit the back of the van, blowing through the metal and fiberglass with devastating impact. The other bullet went right into the engine, first stopping the vehicle dead in its tracks, then causing it to explode in a ball of fire.

Once the pair had recovered from seeing the shock of the blast, they ran straight back to the plane, concerned about the condition of the children and their friends. They were greeted with relaxed smiles from their teammates and a relieved embrace from Daryl. Content now that the mission was over, Sharon called out to Jim, "Can you get us back to Section, Jim?"

Firing up the engines, Jim muttered under his breath, "Count on it, Share. You can count on it."

Epilogue - Five Years Later

"You can't possibly be serious."

"Why not? They know the area better than anyone we've got. They've proven themselves to be the most efficient and effective team we've had over the past three years. At least three members of the team possess top-notch leadership skills. And they've all become first-class operatives. You can't possibly deny the need for a new substation, can you?"

Operations ran a hand across his face in frustration. He had the numbers right in front of him, showing just as great a need as Madeline had suggested. And, like it or not, they probably were the best team for the job. "But don't you think it will only increase their chances to try and escape Section together?"

Madeline shook her head. "Not when they realize what the need is. We give them a certain degree of autonomy, to do things as they see fit, within limits. And we remind them that those bracelets they all wear are not only linked to each other, but to us via satellite. I can push the button at any time."

Realizing that he was not going to get out of this, Operations sighed. In his heart, he believed that this was a mistake. But then, if he had followed his heart seven years ago, they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. "Very well, give them their new assignment, and get them on the next plane."

Madeline almost took a perverse enjoyment in hearing the casual conversation abruptly cease the minute she walked into her office. It never ceased to amaze her that, after five years, Team Sentinel had grown closer than ever, accepting their new team member as one of the family right away. Of course, it didn't hurt that young Daryl was the Watcher's son, either.

But, the bracelets they all wore on their wrists kept them in constant reminder that she held the power to wipe out the lot of them. As such, they regarded her with a mixture of disgust, fear and begrudging respect. It was good to know that no matter -what- the unconventional team did, she was still the one in control. Walking to her desk and sitting down in her chair, she quietly announced to the group, "I have a new assignment for you."

As she handed out thick dossiers to each member of the group, she continued, "The Pacific Northwest has seen a five-fold increase in activity, both overt and covert, over the past seven years. Apparently, while local law enforcement had been capable of containing the problem in the past, they can do so no longer. We have been sending operatives back and forth to the area on a mission-by- mission basis, to the point where it is becoming a major drain on our resources. Forced with no other alternative, we are opening a new substation in the area. Hopefully a constant Section presence will begin to bring the situation under control. Simon, I'd like you to run the substation, with Sharon as your second- in-command. Jim, Blair and Daryl will be your operatives and Jay will handle your computers and weapons needs. Naturally, you will all still answer directly to me, and your bracelets will still be able to be activated by satellite uplink should a critical situation arise."

The team looked at each other in disbelief. Simon had only run a couple of missions at this point. And now the team was being given control over an entire -substation-? Sharon asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Why us, Madeline?"

"You know the area better than anyone. We don't have to worry about any sort of personality conflicts, because you have already proven yourselves to be one of the most efficient teams in Section. And we have reason to believe that your departures from the area was the reason why we have encountered this problem in the first place."

Jim had already put two and two together, and his excitement was starting to spread through the group like wildfire. Deciding she better let them go before their attitudes corrupted any -more- operatives, she chased them out of her office, concluding the meeting with, "You leave for Cascade in the morning. Dismissed."

Police Commissioner Diane McPherson looked over the city skyline and sighed, sipping her cup of coffee and praying for the miracle she knew was not coming. She was definitely getting too old for this kind of work.

Some days it amazed her that she hadn't been voted out of office by now. In fact, she had just been elected to a second term, mostly because she ran unopposed. Apparently, no one else wanted to try and clean up a city that was going straight to Hell.

As she took another sip of coffee, her thoughts wandered back yet again to the friends she had lost so long ago. She began to understand the reason why God had blessed her city - more than any other place in America, Cascade needed the wisdom of a Guide and the protection of a Sentinel. But now that those men were gone, there was nothing left. Nothing left but grief, and sorrow, and memories. And because that gift had been such a closely guarded secret, only she was left alone to mourn the loss.

Draining the last of the coffee cup, she realized that she could put it off no longer. She needed to cross the reception area, get to her office, and get to work. Maybe today she would come up with the idea that would start to get some of the evil off the streets for good. [Yeah, you just keep thinking that, McPherson. You just keep thinking that...]

As she opened the door to her office and stepped through, her eyes wandered again to her view of Cascade, and the first twinkling star in the night sky. Sighing, she couldn't help but think of the old children's rhyme [Why not? I've tried everything else.] and began to recite:

"Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight; Oh wish I may, Oh wish I might, Please grant the wish I wish tonight."

"Wherever they've gone," Diane called to the star, "Please bring them back. We need them. I miss them."

A deep voice that she never thought she would hear again called out from the shadows of the room, "I've missed you too, Diane."

The empty coffee cup dropped to the desk, spilling coffee on a mountain of papers as it fell. It went unnoticed by its owner, though, as she turned around to see the Sentinel, his Guide, their Watcher and the Warrior step out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

Unable to speak, Diane stumbled past the desk and back to the door, wanting desperately to turn on the lights in the room and make sure that she wasn't seeing ghosts, or worse, going crazy. A hand on her wrist, though, stopped her in her tracks, and she found herself looking into the eyes of Cascade's Sentinel. "Please," he stated simply, "Don't do that. It's safer this way."

Finally regaining her ability to speak, Diane stammered out, "W-w-what are you doing here?"

"We came to help," Sharon replied. "We heard of your problems and knew you couldn't handle them on your own."

"Everyone thinks you're dead," exclaimed Diane. "Wait until I tell Chief Warren..."

She crossed the room again, moving straight to the phone. She had picked up the line and was about to hit the speed dial when another strong hand stopped her. Looking up into the blue eyes of the Guide, she set down the phone under his guiding hand. "Please," whispered Blair, "No one must know that we're here."

Diane regarded the Guide with confusion. "I don't understand."

"Our lives are very different now," Simon responded, "And it would put both you and us in great danger if anyone knows that we came to you tonight. Just know that if you ever need us again, we'll be here."

Diane was still confused. "I don't understand. How will you know when I need you? How can I reach you?"

The moonlight reflecting off their silver bracelets as they disappeared back into the shadows, the Sentinel replied, "Don't worry. We'll find you."

-end-