DISCLAIMER: Not mine, yada, yada.
FEEDBACK: Yes, pretty please? Send any comments to larabeelover@yahoo.com
THANK YOUS: To the Sorceress, who sent me the most delightful forwards from TS lists. (Grin) And to Karen, for her wonderful betaing and all of her support.
"Larabee."
"Chris."
Chris jerked upright in bed, hearing the desolate tone of his boss' voice. "Sir? What happened? Is everyone alright?"
With each word, Chris' voice was infused with more and more tension. Mary slid up beside her husband, worry marring her pretty features.
At Travis' silence, Chris took a deep, fortifying breath. "Judge, just tell me that no one's dead."
"Not yet," came the angry hiss.
"Judge?" Confusion marked Larabee's voice and at Mary's inquiring expression, Chris could only shrug. "Orrin, what's wrong?"
"You had to leave for your honeymoon, didn't you, Chris? You had to leave me here with these yahoos, didn't you?"
Chris' grin was unholy as he leaned back against the headboard, tucking Mary into his side. He hit the intercom button so that they both could get a good laugh. "What did they do now?"
"Oh, God," Travis moaned.
One week earlier...
"Sir?"
"Yes, Rose?" Travis looked from his paperwork. "Is there a problem?"
Rose fought to keep the smile from her face. "Have you checked your email lately?"
Travis frowned. "No. Why?"
Her smile was enigmatic. "You might want to, sir."
Travis opened his inbox, then frowned as he saw the number of emails from members of Team Seven.<
From: JSanchez@atf. . .
To: ATFstaff@atf. . .
If anyone needs me, I'll be in the 6th floor bathroom, stall # 8 for the next 15 minutes.
From: JDunne@atf. . .
To: ATFstaff@atf. . .
I'm leaving my desk to grab another cup of coffee. Back in about 3.54 minutes.
Travis sighed. All the emails were like that.
"Rose?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Get me Team Seven."
"Yes, sir. Here or —"
"Paging Agent Dunne. Attention Agent Dunne. Please report to the vending machines on the 5th floor. Several packages of ding-dongs are awaiting you. Once again, paging Agent Dunne."
Travis was still frozen in place even after JD's voice had faded from the intercom system.
Rose lost her battle to suppress the laughter threatening to erupt.
"And that was before lunch," Travis moaned in despair. The intercom only magnified it.
"It gets worse?" Mary barely managed to ask through her laughter.
"Oh, God, yes..."
Travis paced before the six men, finishing his 20 minute lecture. "I want the shenanigans to stop! Do you understand me?"
"Of course, sir," Ezra said with a serene smile. "And would you like fries with that, sir?"
Travis froze. "Standish," he growled. "I'm warning you..."
"Of course, sir. I understand that. But still," Ezra's pleasant smile never wavered. "Would you care for some fries with that?"
The others snickered as Travis rubbed his eyes. "Out! All of you! Out!"
"Of course, sir, and would you like — "
SLAM!
Mary was breathless with laughter.
Chris' smirk was huge.
Travis still wasn't done.
"AD Travis?"/p>
"Yes?"
"Sir, this is the front desk. We think you might want to come down to the lobby, sir."
"Why?"
"Well, uh, sir, Agents Tanner, Dunne, and Wilmington have decided to do a, um, uh, recital, sir."
"A recital?"
"Yes, sir. Sorta like 'Stomp'...only with rolling chairs and um...dancing, sir."
Thump. Thump
"Actually, sir, they're pretty good. They're in time and everything!"
Thump. Thump
"Are you two laughing?"
"No...no...sir. Wouldn't...dream...of it!"
"Liars. Evie laughed at me too. And then..."
Travis stormed into Team Seven's bullpen, ready to give them the tongue lashing of their lives, only to stop dead in his tracks.
Loud jungle music and sounds pounded through the room, mosquito netting blanketed the area. Green fronds peaked out everywhere.
"This is incredible!" Josiah's loud voice boomed over the music. "Reminds me of the time I spent in Southeast Asia!"
Travis turned on his heels and left.
"Oh, God, and then there was the phone call from the Denver Highway Patrol..."
RRRIINNNGGGG
"AD Travis."
"Sir, this is the highway patrol. We have two of your agents..."
"What happened? Are they alright?"
"They're fine, sir."
"Then what seems to be the problem, officer?"
"Well, sir, they've been causing a slight disturbance with traffic."
"Disturbance? How?"
"Well, sir, Agents Dunne and Wilmington have been using a hairdryer to fool motorists into slowing down. Now while following the speed limits is a good thing, sir, we really can't let them keep doing that. So we've asked them to stop, and they have, but we just wanted to let you know. Thank you for your time, AD Travis."
Click
"Oh, my God."
Rose turned at her boss' moan. "Sir? Are you alright?"
"Rose, I need more antacids and more aspirin."
The secretary winced in sympathy. "Should I even ask, sir?"
"No, just..."
"Yes, sir, get Team Seven on the line."
Travis gently bounced his head on his desk. "Why the hell didn't he take them with him?"
Tears ran down Chris and Mary's faces and they both struggled to breath through their laughter.
The Judge glared at the receiver in disgust before abruptly hanging up.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" Jackson's voice was entirely too cheerful.
"Yes," Travis bit out the word. "Sit down."
The remainder of Team Seven glanced at each other warily before seating themselves.
Travis glared at every single one of them. "Go bug Chris or something... anything... just stay out of trouble... for a change."
"But, Judge," JD protested. "We don't know where he is! Neither he or Mary would tell us where they were going."
The judge's grin was unholy as he picked up the phone. "Rose, I need you to make travel arrangements for six agents."
The end?
...maybe not.
Continued in Bank's Nightmare, Or, How to get Free Tickets to Hawaii TS style!