Vin chat challenge: It was a dark and stormy night, or weekend...
ATF AU
It was a dark and stormy night, well weekend, really. The whole weekend had been gloomy, in more ways than one. What was supposed to be a fun, Fourth of July weekend off with friends had been dampened by a bad bust and lousy weather.
Ezra slouched in the recliner by the window, looking out at the drizzle. Since late Friday, thunderstorms had rolled across the sky, drenching the area and keeping anyone from leaving Chris' ranch, even though flaring tempers had them all wishing to go home.
Things looked so promising Thursday morning. The sun was shining and they were set to wrap up a two week long operation. By the end of the day, the bust was in shambles, only a few of the miscreants had been captured, three of the team suffered injuries and no one was happy.
He flexed his still sore hand, fortunately not broken when it had been slammed into a wall to dislodge his weapon as he fought with one of their suspects. Ezra sighed, wiped away the film of moisture building up on the glass and ignored Vin as he eased his way into the other comfy chair by the window.
Vin's injury, while painful, was also not as bad as it could have been. The team had come in announcing 'ATF' and 'Put your hands in the air'. In his lookout, high above the warehouse floor, Vin had seen the fight break out and decided that he would be of more help down below.
Unfortunately, his rigging got stuck, dangling him about ten feet off the ground. He cut the rope and dropped to the floor, but landed badly, ending up with a deep bruise on his ass. Nathan thought he would have done less damage if he'd landed on his head.
Ezra's lips twitched at the memory of that particular fight. Nathan had been furious when he heard about Vin's 'stupid stunt', Larabee's phrase. To be fair, Vin had been able to help take down a couple of the scum who were trying to pound Buck into the ground.
Buck probably had the worst of the injuries. Ezra still wasn't certain how the ladies man had ended up in a four to one fist fight, but he'd taken a lot of hits before they were subdued. Both eyes were blackened and he had a swollen, though not broken nose. His face was very colorful at the moment.
Somehow their backup had gotten the wrong address and raided a warehouse a few blocks over, both teams thinking they were going in the same one at the same time. Not surprisingly, more of the gun runners had gotten away than Team 7 had been able to subdue.
In the end, the misunderstanding about the street name, an 'Avenue' instead of 'Place' caused the trouble. Blame it on the city founders, but it left everyone in a foul mood. Friday was spent on reports and explaining why two weeks of work had been flushed down the tubes.
The expected fun Fourth of July weekend got underway with everyone driving out to Chris' place. Food and drinks were brought for a barbeque and expectations of fireworks. Then the storms rolled in.
The wet weather gave everyone time to stew. Buck could hardly see, Vin could barely walk, and while Ezra could shuffle one handed, he couldn't deal. Chris, Nathan, Josiah and JD took turns trying to help their friends and scolding them for being careless. Buck, Vin and Ezra took turns saying 'I'm fine' while being grumpy and whiny because they needed help for simple things. Tempers got shorter.
Saturday just got darker and gloomier, the storms not letting up and beginning to saturate the already soggy ground. Someone, possibly Ezra, had complained one too many times about the condition of Chris' driveway. Disparaging remarks about being a Mama's boy and getting a real car came out harsher than intended and twin green glares had to be forced into separate rooms.
Everyone seemed to have argued with each other at one point or another, usually over small things. Sunday morning, was quiet, as most decided to 'sleep in' to avoid more arguments. One by one, they got up, grabbed a cup of coffee and something to eat, and then found a quiet place to roost.
Ezra glanced over at Vin who was staring out the window as Ezra had been doing for the past half hour or so. He grimaced, recalling their particular argument. Vin had offered to take Ezra home in his Jeep after Ezra and Chris squared off. Ezra, still in a mood, rounded on Vin and his pile of junk. Needless to say, the offer of a ride home had been withdrawn.
He cleared his throat, gaining Vin's attention, and gave his friend a little smile. "I think even a four-wheel drive would have trouble in that quagmire," Ezra offered, by way of apology.
Vin glanced back out the window at the muddy drive. "Think Chris is going to have to fill in a few pot holes after this," he agreed. "Rain's letting up," he said, pushing up from chair with a grimace and heading for the door. He opened it and turned to Ezra with a raised eyebrow.
Ezra grinned and followed the sharpshooter out onto the porch.
The drizzling rain had stopped. The air was fresh with the smell of wet grass. The door opened behind them with a squeak and the sound of booted footsteps.
"The wind blew, the clouds parted and out came the sun," Buck said, moving to lean against one of the porch posts.
"How can you tell, Buck?" JD teased. "Can you even see anything?"
Buck ruffled the younger man's hair as he chuckled.
"Swelling's gone down," Nathan said, peering up at the clouds that seemed to be thinning. "He'll get lots of sympathy from the ladies for a while though, with those colorful bruises."
"Like he needs an excuse," Chris said, standing between Vin and Ezra. "Think I'm gonna have to lay in some more dirt and gravel for the driveway." He shook his head. "Don't suppose any of you would want to help with that?" He cast a knowing glance at Ezra.
Ezra held up his injured hand. "I would, Chris, but I'm not supposed to overuse my hand for a while, isn't that right, Nathan?"
The others chuckled and rolled their eyes.
Josiah sipped from his coffee mug and sighed as a patch of blue peeked through the clouds, allowing a ray of sunshine through. "If we never had any storms, we couldn't appreciate the sunshine," he rumbled, almost to himself.
"Sounds like a quote, 'siah," Vin said, cocking his head to look at the older man.
"Yep," was the only reply.
A few of them chuckled.
"Would you care to enlighten us as to the quotie?" Ezra asked.
"Dale Evans," Josiah said. "How about we rustle up something for lunch?" he said, as he spun on his heel and went inside.
"Dale Evans?" Chris repeated, incredulously.
Buck made circles with his thumbs to his pinkies then put them carefully over his eyes. "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!" he said, hop-skipping back inside like a kid pretending to ride a pony.
"Who was that masked man?" Vin asked, chuckling as he followed the Lone Ranger.
JD shook his head. "Kids." But he was grinning, too as he went inside.
Ezra looked up at the sky. A light breeze that ruffled his hair was clearing the clouds, leaving a bright, blue sky behind.
Chris nudged him with an elbow and they both turned to join the others, grateful that the storm was over.
The end
***Author's note: I did a little searching to find some good 'after the storm' quotes for Josiah. I liked this one by Vernon Howard, too.
~The outer storm ceases the moment the inner storm ends, for they are the same storm.
Dale Evans ~If we never had any storms, we couldn't appreciate the sunshine.
Feedback is greatly appreaciated. JudyL
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