"Hey, Vin, Ez, JD!" The three young men turned at the familiar voice. The rest of the team, along with Walker and Trivett were coming down the hall towards them.
"Why you boys out here?" Buck spoke again as he headed over to stand by JD's side. Once there, he noticed the tears in his eyes. Startled, he looked closely at Vin's and Ezra's faces as well.
"What happened?" Nathan demanded, also noticing their haggard features.
"Chris ... " JD managed only that word before a shaky breath cut his sentence short.
Josiah, Nathan, and Buck gasped. No! He couldn't be ...
"He's not dead!" Ezra quickly reassured his friends.
"Then what happened, brother Ezra, Vin?"
Vin and Ezra took turns telling of Chris's attack that afternoon and what the doctors had told them.
"Two days? That's all? Two days?" Buck harshly whispered.
"They think, they don't know for sure. Could be longer, could be shorter." Vin's tone made it clear what his opinion was of the doctors.
"They said that Chris's body can't handle the stress of the poison. They think two days is how long his body will still work right. After that, they don't know." JD's words were a bit muffled because his face was partially buried in Buck's shoulder.
The team stood there, digesting the information, realizing that they were on an even tighter timetable now. Finally the silence was broken.
"Did you gentlemen find anything of use to us?"
In response to Ezra's question, Josiah and Nathan briefed them on the day's happenings and the new information.
"So, we gonna go find this guy Manny?" Vin looked to Walker for that one, but the Ranger shook his head.
"It's too late."
Vin was about to protest, when Nathan intervened, "Vin, Walker's right. We're no good to Chris if we screw up because of sleep deprivation. Josiah, Buck and I haven't eaten all day and JD hasn't had a full night's sleep in three days. If we push ourselves too hard and we fuck up ... " Nathan left that to hang in the air. They all knew what would happen if they screwed up.
Vin drew in a shaky breath, but nodded his head.
"I've got plenty of space out at my ranch. You're all welcomed to stay there for the night." Walker offered. He knew that for the last two nights they had slept on the floor and in chairs in Larabee's room. It couldn't be comfortable.
"Thank you for the offer, Walker. But I think it be best if we stayed with Chris." Josiah smiled their thanks to the two rangers.
"Well, let's see if we can make y'all more comfortable then." Trivett admired the determination of these men and their loyalty to their leader.
A little while later, Walker and Trivett had used their influence to get five more cots for the agents, as well as the use of the next room, which had a shower and two more beds. The agents declined the beds, but gratefully used the shower.
That night, six men fell into a fitful sleep. This wasn't the first time they had spent a night in a hospital waiting for a teammate to get better. But it was the first time that their friend's life was in their hands. Every other time, the doctors had done what they could to physically save their brother, but this time, the doctors couldn't help them. This time, each and every man felt the life force within their fallen friend ebb away with each passing hour.
The next morning found Nathan and Buck at Chris's side, while Ezra and JD elected to go back to ranger headquarters to continue the computer research. That left Vin, Josiah, Walker and Trivett free to search out the man that had hired Hazel Green.
Buck hated waiting. Pacing about the room, Buck tried to dispel some of the useless energy coursing through his large body. He didn't know how Nathan did it, just sitting there, waiting for the test results on the gloves. The lab techs had promised that they'd be here by noon. Well, lunch had come and gone.
"Where the hell are they??"
"Buck, things like this take time."
"Well, Chris ain't got time!"
Nathan sighed, he knew nothing would placate Buck.
Buck went back to pacing, which really grated on Nathan's nerves.
"Buck will ya stop that goddamn pacing?!?!"
Buck ignored Nathan, his pacing picking up an even more rapid rate.
The only warning Buck got was the scrap of the chair leg against the floor before he was slammed against the wall. Buck felt his air being cut off by Nathan's forearm.
"I said, stop yer goddamn pacing!" The words were hissed through clenched teeth.
"Nathan! NATHAN! What the hell are you doing? Let go!" Buck barely got the words out, straining the whole time to push Nathan's arm away from his throat. "Let go, Nate! It's me, Buck! Let go!"
It was then that Nathan's dark eyes finally focused on Buck, his eyes widened when he realized what he was doing.
Nathan let go and pushed himself to the other side of the room, running his hands through his short hair. "Oh, God, Buck, I'm sorry! I don't know ... God, I'm sorry!"
Buck rubbed his throat, it hurt like hell. Nathan was definitely stronger than he looked. Buck wasn't mad, though. In fact, he understood all too clearly, "Hey, I know the stress is gettin' to me too."
"It's just that I feel so damn helpless!" Nathan stood by Chris's left side, watching him with scared eyes. His voice was only a whisper now, "Buck, what are we gonna do if Chris doesn't make it?"
Buck didn't speak, he followed Nathan's gaze, "I don't know."
"You know, this team is the best thing that has ever happened to any of us."
"Yeah, Nate, it is." Buck came to stand by Nathan's side, giving Nathan's shoulder a gentle squeeze, they both stood there in silence watching over their friend.
Their vigil was interrupted when the doctor entered the room a short time later.
"Doctor?" Nathan jumped up at his entrance.
"Gentlemen, I'm afraid I have bad news." The doctor looked from one stricken face to the other, wishing he had better news.
"The gloves didn't have enough residue left to get conclusive results. That's what took the labs so long. They were trying to isolate as much of the toxin as possible, but they weren't able to do it."
"So you're saying ... " Buck was nearing the end of his rope.
"We need a bigger sample to create the antidote. I'm sorry gentlemen." With that the doctor left.
"So what now?"
"I think we should call Vin and tell him that when he finds Manny, he needs to find out if the guy has any of the poison left or even better, if he's got an antidote for it."
Buck nodded his agreement with Nathan's plan and picked up his cell.
"That was Nate and Buck. Said the gloves were duds." Vin slammed the cell phone shut.
"Damn!" Josiah was not happy with what Vin had to report. The two ATF agents, along with the two Rangers were in Walker's truck, a silver Dodge Ram, heading for the Pink Panther.
"Nothing at all?" Walker glanced at the young man. Walker had to admire Vin Tanner. He had looked up the records of every man on the ATF team and was especially impressed with the ex-bounty hunter. Tanner was cool under fire and even though he was young, served as Larabee's second in command with ease and a quiet competence.
"Nate says when we find this Manny guy, to shake him down for any left over poison. The labs can create an antidote if they've got a big enough sample."
Understanding nods were exchanged as they pulled up to the Pink Panther.
The smells were the first things that Josiah noticed.
Apparently, the same went for Trivett, "Damn, smells like somebody died here."
"That or they've been taking lessons from Buck and JD about storing food." Vin threw a grin at Josiah, who could only shake his head. How that boy could joke at a time like this was beyond the older man. 'But then again, it's probably what keeps Chris from going crazy.'
Josiah, Vin, and Trivett followed Walker to the bar. When money exchanged hands, a table was pointed out and the law enforcement officers headed over.
"Manny?" Walker took the lead, as was his nature.
"Yeah, who wants to know?" The half-smashed pimp barely looked up from his drink.
"We have a couple of questions." Josiah said, taking the chair opposite Manny.
" 'Bout what?"
"Chris Larabee and the man who paid you to poison him." Trivett barely got the words out before the man bolted. Apparently, Manny wasn't as drunk as they believed because he quickly made his way to the street and down an alley before Vin finally caught up to him.
It was bad enough that the pimp had run from them, but then Manny made the mistake of taking a swing at Vin. The young man easily blocked his swing, countering with a swift upper cut to the jaw, a fist to the stomach, and a downward swing. Vin nearly rendered him unconscious by the time that Josiah was close enough to pull Vin away from the cowering pimp.
Josiah didn't let go until he was sure that Vin wasn't going to kill the man. Regaining some measure of control, Vin pulled away from Josiah's restraining hands. Vin then grabbed Manny by the shirt and slammed him into the wall.
"Tell me about the man who paid you to poison Chris Larabee." Vin was in Manny's face, snarling the question.
"I don't know the guy. He never let me see his face!" Manny wasn't that stupid. The guy that had paid him wasn't coming back, but the long haired agent looked like he was gonna rip his head off. Manny was a survivor, if nothing else.
"Tell us everything you do know." Trivett's terse question brought Manny's attention to the other law officers.
"He found me, paid five k's to poison some dude."
"We already know that! Give us something we can use!" Vin was getting impatient, Chris didn't have much time.
"The only thing he ever said that sounded funny was, uhm ... what was it?" Vin didn't know if Manny was stalling or too scared to remember, but his patience was now non-existent. Vin shook him again, earning him a response.
"Oh yeah ... yeah ... the guy said, 'He'll regret taking my potential glory from me. He'll regret the day he took what was suppose to be mine!' That's all I know! I swear!"
"What about the poison? Where'd you get it? Did he give it to you?" Josiah fired the questions in rapid succession.
"I ... uhm ... I g-g-got the poison."
"Where?" Vin demanded.
"Dr. Alan White. He's a chemist from UT. Me and some buddies broke into his lab."
"Dallas or Arlington?" Trivett shot out the two closest locations.
"D-D-Dallas."
Walker spoke for the first time, "Why don't you boys go see Dr. White. Trivett and I will take Manny here downtown and book him for attempted murder."
Vin caught Walker's keys and he and Josiah headed to the Dallas branch of the University of Texas in the silver Ram.
Talking to Dr. White had been nearly useless. The good doctor didn't know that samples of his experimental toxin had been stolen and he didn't have an antidote. But Vin and Josiah managed to convince the doctor to drop everything and to start working on an antidote. They had also obtained a sample to take to the hospital.
"You know, Vin, Ezra would say that we weren't very subtle back there."
Vin gave Josiah a feral grin that was reminiscent of Chris, "Nah, I think Ez would've approved. Let's get this back to Baylor."
Once back at the hospital, Josiah pulled Buck and Nathan out into the hallway to fill them in, leaving Vin alone with Chris.
"Hey, cowboy." Vin was leaning over Chris's body, their foreheads nearly touching.
"We found the girl that poisoned ya, but it turns out that some guy paid her, then some guy paid him. But we found a sample of the stuff and we're getting it tested right now, you're gonna be fine cowboy. 'Sides, I still got this really cool prank I wanna play on Ezra, you don't wanna miss it, do ya?" Vin knew he was babbling, not making any real sense, but he didn't care. Chris would want to know what was going on, and just because he wasn't awake didn't mean he couldn't hear them.
Besides, it made Vin feel better to talk to Chris. He needed to talk to his big brother, it was as simple as that. Vin sighed, the hand he was holding was limp and cold, and Chris's color was even paler than before.
Chris was dying.
Vin knew that, but he also knew that there was hope and if it was the last thing he'd ever do, he was going to save his friend. He made the silent vow to Chris, not realizing he was crying until he felt the tears fall onto his hand. Wiping them away with an angry hand, Vin made himself another promise. The bastard who made all this misery possible was gonna be caught and punished.
The young man looked down at his friend and like a child seeking comfort, climbed onto the bed. Shifting the wires and tubes, Vin carefully laid down next to Chris, falling into a light slumber.
"You know, if Vin and JD keep doing things like that, people are gonna start talking."
"Buck." Two voices joined in that single chastisement. Buck only grinned at them, then turned serious as he turned back to the window looking into his oldest friend's sickroom.
"So what now?" Nathan asked.
"We wait. When JD and Ezra get back, we compare notes and see what we can find."
Buck stared at the two figures on the bed, "They'd better be damn good notes, Josiah. Chris ain't got much time."
"Hey, Ez? What's a liege?"
"Excuse me, Mr. Dunne?"
"Liege? The other day, when Chris was ... uhm ... was crashin', you called him 'my liege'. I was just wonderin' what that was." JD swiveled his chair to face the Southerner.
"Liege, my young friend, is a title given to someone of power to whom one vows fealty."
Ezra turned to see JD's confused expression. He sighed; the present day education system was sorely lacking.
"In the Middle Ages, JD, the English system of government was called feudalism. In this system there was a lord, usually a very powerful or rich nobleman. The lord was so rich in fact, that he required help in managing his estates, so he would grant land to other noblemen. In exchange for the land, the nobleman would promise undying loyalty or fealty to his liege lord."
"Oh, like you did after our first case as a team?"
"Yes, JD, that is correct." Ezra was surprised that JD knew about that incident. He was sure that had been between himself and Chris, but the young agent had a habit of hearing things and being in places that he wasn't suppose to be.
"But Chris didn't give you any land." Ezra laughed at that observation and JD was still confused as to why the undercover agent had called Chris his 'liege lord'.
"The liege lord provided more for his vassals, the noblemen, than just land, JD. He protected the vassal against other stronger forces. For instance, sometimes a stronger lord would harass the vassal. The vassal would plead his case to his liege lord and the lord would make sure that the offensive lord would be dealt with."
"Oh, you mean like when we had to work with Atlanta PD. Chris sure did put them in their place!" The young man's eyes gleamed with glee at the memory. Ezra's eyes gleamed as well, but with the satisfaction of knowing that he wasn't alone in his fight against the unjust accusations that had plagued him all through his career with Atlanta PD.
"So what else?" JD's question brought Ezra back to the present.
"The liege also provided land for landless nobles, thus giving them roots of sorts. You see, JD, if a man did not have land in those times, he was useless. He was a relentless wanderer, doomed to roam from one place to another, never belonging anywhere. So you see, JD, when a lord gave land to someone like that, the liege lord was giving him acceptance and a place to belong."
JD's eyes were wide and glistening with tears now, the laughter quickly vanishing. Ezra was talking about himself and about all the other men in their team. One by one, Chris had found them, given them 'land', given them someplace to call home, someplace to hide from the storm.
"And the loyalty that was pledged between the lord and the vassal was incredibly profound. The vassal would stay with the leader in times of need until his or the liege lord's death. In this system of government though, it would be for the best if the vassal died first. For if the liege were to meet his end first, the other vassals would be lost without their lord."
Ezra hadn't realized that he had been crying until he felt JD's arms encircle his shoulders from behind and murmuring, "Its okay, Ezra, don't cry. Chris is gonna be okay. We're not losing anybody, not a brother vassal, not our lord. It ain't gonna happen. We're gonna be fine, you'll see."
Ezra placed a reassuring hand on JD's arm, their silent tears brilliant in the dimming light.
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,
Nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship;
It is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when
He discovers that someone believes in him and is
Willing to trust him with his friendship.
"So what do we know?" Nathan threw out the question. They had gathered in Chris's room, the staff had long given up their attempts to reprimand the men about hospital policies. Leftovers from their breakfast littered the room, but the area immediately around Chris's bed was immaculate.
"It's personal. The guy has something against Chris." Vin started the round robin.
"The perpetrator assumes that Mr. Larabee took something that he believed to be his or at least should have been his," Ezra picked up the thread.
"It can't be Sarah," Buck stated firmly and no one questioned it. They all knew this wasn't about a woman.
"Buck's right, the method of attack is too impersonal. Has too be about work." Josiah agreed; the profile of the crime just didn't fit with that motive.
JD listened to his big brothers brainstorm. It was something that Chris had started. When they got stuck on a case, Chris would throw out a question and everyone would contribute something. JD thought it was one of the things that made them such a good team; the fact that all of their opinions counted with Chris. Since JD didn't have anything to add to the round robin, he remained silent, lost in his thoughts. 'Potential glory ... potential glory ... stole what suppose to be mine.' The words keep nagging the young agent, something about that was familiar. Then it hit him, a memory of something Chris had shared with him.
"Did Chris ever tell y'all about how he got this job?" JD's abrupt comment brought his teammates' attention to him.
"JD, what does that have to do with ... "
"No, Buck, I'm serious. Did he ever tell you?" JD persisted, looking at each man in turn. They each shook their heads. When JD finally looked at Vin, he too shook his head and indicated for JD to continue.
"Chris told me, once, that he wasn't the only one Judge Travis wanted to head this team. The other guy was FBI and highly decorated. From what Chris told me, he was the better choice. But the Judge ended up picking Chris instead."
"JD? Get to the point." Again Buck questioned the relevance to the problem.
"Well, Chris told me that when the Judge announced the appointment, the FBI guy went crazy. He threatened Chris and Chris ended up having to defend himself physically."
" 'He'll regret taking my potential glory from me.' " Josiah repeated Manny's words.
"Good Lord, JD's right! We are, after all, the most decorated unit in the country." Ezra had to admire JD's reasoning, it made sense. If the FBI agent believed that the appointment should have been awarded to him, he would also believe that the team's glory should have also belonged to him.
"Did Chris ever mention the agent's name?" Nathan's question had JD furrowing his brow and shaking his head.
"If Chris ever mentioned it, I can't remember."
"Maybe Judge Travis could help us out with that." Buck looked at Vin. Vin nodded and picked up the cell.
Moments later, Vin gave them a name, "Samuel B. Clyde."
Everyone waited for Vin's next order, "JD, see what you can find out about him."
JD nodded and started typing. It took both his and Ezra's computer skills to finally hack into the FBI database. For some reason this particular file was especially difficult to access.
Ezra turned to his teammates, "Clyde's file was classified and it seems that he is one of the Bureau's most wanted felons. After he failed to win the ATF appointment, his career began a downward spiral, ending with his dismissal from the Bureau."
"From there, he got involved with some heavy hitters ... Colombian drug lords, Mexican Mafia. He even started his own little racket, hiring mercenaries via the internet to pull off jobs." JD picked up where Ezra had left off.
"What now?" Buck addressed the question to Vin.
"JD, Ezra, can you find out where Clyde is?"
"No, it's gonna take more than the two of us to get pass the FBI's firewalls." JD's crestfallen expression told Vin how much the Kid hated being inadequate in any way. Vin walked over to JD and gave his shoulder a squeeze.
"You did good, JD. Now we need help. Let's call in Walker and Trivett."