Rating: PG-13 for language and minor violence.
Disclaimer: No I don’t own them. They belong toTrilogy/CBS/whomever. And I’m making no money off
of this!
Thanks To:
Mog for creating this WONDERFUL universe to play in.
Sara for inspiring me and making sure it makes sense. (By the way, she owns Vin)
Ezra for being so darn loveable and hurtable
He was cold. That’s all his pain clouded mind could register at this point. He was cold. He was also in an immense amount of pain. Furthermore, the concrete floor of the warehouse was doing nothing for his comfort level.
He tried to push himself into a sitting position but his body protested violently leaving him weaker than he thought possible. He pushed the encroaching blackness away from his vision. No, he had to stay conscious. He had to know how the others were.
Things had gone terribly wrong. Ezra thought he had the situation under control. After two months of gaining the arms dealer’s trust, he had phoned in to Larabee. “September 7. 121 Floral Street. ‘Pat’s Used Cars’ warehouse.” Those were the last words Ezra had spoken to his colleagues. His friends.
They could very well be the last words Ezra spoke to anyone if he didn’t get help soon. Blood was freely flowing from the gunshot wound in his right side and from the one in his right thigh. He tried to crawl away from the stack of crates he was using for cover so he could get noticed by his friends, if they were still alive.
How long ago was it that the gun battle had started? It had seemed like it lasted for an eternity but it also felt it had lasted for a few fleeting seconds. Enough seconds to get himself shot twice.
He shouldn’t have made the call so soon. Maybe that was what tipped Antony Flamingo off. It didn’t matter now. His cover had been blown and his friends had been setup.
All Ezra knew that one minute he was on the phone and the next he was being fingered as a Fed. But instead of Flamingo calling off the deal, he decided to use it as a trap to catch the ATF team known as “The Magnificent Seven.” And there wasn’t a God Damn thing Ezra could’ve done about it. He was promptly tied up and had the common sense beat right out of him.
Ezra continued to crawl. Shit! How were the others? Where were the others? If only he could’ve gotten to a phone and warned them. But he couldn’t. Shit! They walked right into the trap. If one of them got hurt... or even worse. He just wished, that once, the ATF team just wouldn’t show up.
But Ezra knew they had come. He distinctly remembered
Ezra made a mental note to thank Vin for his ability to shoot.
Then all hell broke loose. The warehouse erupted into gunfire. Ezra
unsteadily tried to make his way to cover but not before he’d been shot twice.
He thought he saw
He couldn’t quite remember. Ezra didn’t know about anyone else, however. He succumbed to oblivion shortly after diving behind the stack of crates he was now so painfully trying to get around.
He reached out his hand again to pull himself slowly across the cold concrete floor. It was then that he noticed his expensive Armani suit saturated with blood. His own blood. And most definitely some blood of the assailant that Vin had shot. If Ezra had been thinking straight, then he would have been most upset over the loss of yet another good suit. But at this point in time all he wanted was to get warm again. He was so damned cold!
Suddenly, the oppressive silence that usually accompanies the end of a
gunfight was shattered. Ezra heard
“Yeah,” came the voice of the sharpshooter.
“Everyone all right?”
No.
“Yeah, Buck got grazed on his arm. Other than that everyone is fine.”
“Ez?”
“I thought he was with you.”
The men exchanged glances. “Ezra??” they both yelled.
He heard them. Those blessed voices. Ezra didn’t know anything could sound so good. Using the last of his waning strength, he wrapped his hand around one of the crates and pulled his torso into view, then promptly passed out.
Vin saw it first. The bloody hand
that came out from behind a crate followed by an arm in a grey Armani suit.
Vin grabbed
“Shit!”
Both Vin and
“Get a paramedic over here now!”
Vin placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulder and softly shook him. “Ez? Ez? You still with us?”
The green eyes fluttered open. “About damn time.” The voice was slurred and weak but saints be praised, it was a voice. “Everyone... ok?” Ezra managed to get out.
“Yeah, everyone’s good ceptin’ you pard.”
“Good,” he whispered. “It... was... a...” Ezra tired and his eyes fluttered closed again.
Vin looked at
Soon, Ezra was on a gurney hooked up to various machines that were making
general bleeping noises and an oxygen mask was placed over his nose and mouth.
The only indication that he was even alive was the slow uneven rise and fall of
his chest.
At the hospital, the six men were seated in the all too familiar waiting
room of
“I still don’t get it. How did they found out who Ez was and when we were coming?” JD voiced.
“Could he have let something slip?” Nathan asked as he shifted positions in his chair.
Buck shook his head. “No, Ez’s too good. What do you think Chris? Chris?”
Chris snapped out of his thoughts. “I don’t think Ezra gave anything away. I think someone else did.”
JD’s eyes widened. “A mole?” he whispered.
Chris shrugged. “I’m not sure. It could be that someone recognized him...”
“Or we could have a leak in the department.” Josiah finished for him. It was a morbid thought; someone that was supposedly on their team turning to the other side for a few bucks. Not only foiling a major bust but risking the lives of his teammates and friends.
The group remained silent for a moment each taking in the recent turn of thought. Finally Chris spoke, “JD, I want you to do some research for me.”
The kid automatically straightened in his chair, “What kind of research?”
“The illegal kind.”
The kid beamed. “You want me to hack.” It was no secret to the seven that JD had an uncanny ability to do anything with a computer. They had used his services more than once to find out information that you couldn’t get through the usual channels and Chris intended on using that skill again.
Chris nodded. “Just do some checking on the teams that were there tonight at the bust. Look for anything unusual in their bank accounts. Such as a big sum of money being deposited or a huge sum being switched to another account.”
“Why only on the teams there tonight?”
“Everyone wanted to get Flamingo so the bust was kept under wraps. Only the teams there tonight knew what was going down.”
JD nodded and straightened the backwards cap on his head a big grin on his face. But he faltered when he remembered just why he was doing the job.
“Buck, go with him.”
JD and Buck stood to leave but JD turned before they reached the elevator. Josiah seemed to read his mind.
“We’ll call as soon as we know.”
JD nodded and jumped between the doors sliding shut.
Chris stood as well and stretched. Then began making his way towards the door. But Vin’s soft voice stopped him. “Where ya going cowboy?”
“I’m going to ‘question’ some prisoners.”
“Need help?”
“Nah. I’ll be fine.”
Vin knew exactly what his partner was talking about. Anyone that tries to mess with Chris tonight was going to have a tornado of trouble on their hands. Though he didn’t show it, Chris was concerned for Ezra. Vin picked it up in the tightness of his muscles and his clenched jaw. Hell, Vin picked it up on everyone. The way Nathan kept fiddling with his Swiss Army knife keychain. How Josiah seemed lost in thought but was actually reciting prayers over and over in his head. How Buck had been unusually quiet and how the kid had more nervous energy than usual. And he could sense it in himself too.
If it were him lying in a hospital bed with his insides open for all to see, he knew that Ezra would be doing the exact same thing. Sitting in the waiting room, flipping through a deck of cards, trying to mask his worry. He had seen it before. He had seen it with all of them before. In the three years that this team had been together, they had more than their share of mishaps. Concussions, gunshots, surgeries. They’d been through it all and they were all still in one piece. And Vin prayed that after tonight they still would be.
The only light in the office came from the computer screen as JD and Buck searched through various bank account files. It had taken the kid only around thirty minutes to break the numerous access codes and get all the banking information about the agents. With most of the agents using direct deposit it was easy to find out account numbers, balances, deposits and withdrawals.
But so far everything seemed normal. JD sighed heavily and typed away at the keyboard taking in the numbers with surprising quickness. Buck was finding it hard to keep up with the kid and finally just sat there and watched the numbers scroll down the screen.
Finally after a while, JD lashed out and hit the desk with such force a jar of pencils and pens fell over.
“Whoa, son.”
“Sorry, Buck. I just can’t find anything. No big deposits, no big withdrawals, no one switching banks or closing accounts.”
“Have you looked at everyone?”
“Yes. Everyone that was there tonight.” JD took off his cap and ran his hand through his dark hair.
“Damn it! Ezra is lying in a hospital bed, possibly dying and I can’t find out why he’s there.” JD hung his head his dark bangs falling into his eyes.
Buck looked at his partner, best friend, brother. He knew exactly what the kid was going through because he was going through the exact same thing. There was nothing they could do but wait for that phone call from Josiah. “I understand kid.” Buck tried to keep the emotion out of his voice but failed.
JD looked up into the face of his best friend and could see the water on hanging on his lashes that JD knew were on his as well. Buck put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry JD. Ez ain’t going anywhere. I still owe him money.”
JD smiled. “Well then he’s not going anywhere.”
“Come on kid. Anything else we can look at.”
JD thought for a moment. “Maybe we can look for a pattern of some sort.” Buck looked at his friend, urging him to go on. “Well we know that we get paid on every other Friday. So we rule out that. But if someone was putting in money like every Wednesday or something. That could be a clue.”
Buck smiled and slapped JD on the back. “There ya go kid. So let’s look.”
Chris Larabee was pissed. Those bastards down at holding wouldn’t even let him near the prisoners.
Damn it! It was his teams bust. He should handle the interrogations. But some ‘higher authority’ had decided that now, since the team had a personal stake, that team 2 should take over the investigation. And Harrison had made sure that Chris understood that. Literally, shoving it down his throat.
Larabee was more than pissed. His undercover agent had spent a good two months working this. And now that it was over he wouldn’t be the one who got to wrap it all up. Not that Standish liked writing reports. He hated it actually, especially when something went wrong. But when he did write them, his way with words and his photographic memory made them actually somewhat exciting to read. A chill ran through Chris as he wondered whether he would actually read a report written by Standish ever again.
Larabee walked to his car in the building garage. His black clothes melting into the night and fitting his mood perfectly. If only he could punch something. Then his eyes lit upon an object. Harrison’s car. A nice new shiny Mercedes. The adult in him said “walk on by” but the teenager said “go for it.” Chris looked around and seeing no one else walked to the car and grabbed the hood ornament off of it. The metal broke easily under the fury-tightened muscles of his hand. Yes, childish. But it felt damn good.
Besides it worked for Robin Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
Josiah stared at the doctor with his penetrating blue eyes. “What do you mean by...complications?”
Dr. Waters let his eyes rest on each of the men before continuing. “We almost lost him during the surgery.” There he had said it. He could see the pain that registered in the men’s eyes before him. But he had to tell them the truth. “It is amazing really that Standish even survived at all. He had lost substantial amounts of blood. He had sustained two gunshot wounds. Several broken ribs and a severe concussion. The next few hours are critical. But I would advise you to contact the next of kin.”
“What are his chances, Doc?” Nathan asked.
Dr. Waters looked down at the clipboard in his hands avoiding the gaze of the tall black man. “He has a chance Mr. Jackson. A slim one. But he has a chance.”
“Can we see him?” was the soft reply from Vin.
“He’s being moved to ICU now. I’ll let you know when he is settled in.”
“Woohoo! Buck look at this!” called JD, excited about his recent find. His slim finger pointed at the screen.
Buck moved from his position in one of the more comfortable office chairs to now peer anxiously over
JD’s shoulder. “What have you got kid?”
“I looked for patterns. Three guys have been regularly depositing on the same day of the week and roughly the same amount. Johansson, Harrison and Likens. See, Likens every other Wednesday. Harrison and Johansson every Monday.”
Buck grinned widely. “Good job kid. Can you print this out?”
JD’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “Sure thing, Buck. But we want to keep this between us and the others. This is Federal Bank stuff.”
“No problem kid.”
Suddenly, Buck’s cell phone rang. JD and Buck exchanged glances. He carefully reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the beeping device.
“
“What did they say?”
How did he break this to the kid? “Well son.” Buck paused as he saw JD’s eyes fill. His voice was tight with emotion. “He’s out of surgery and alive. But they don’t know.”
“Well, I do. Ez ain’t going to leave.” JD put as much faith and conviction in his voice as possible. Then suddenly he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Buck rested a comforting hand on the kid’s neck.
“Come on let’s get to the hospital.”
Feeling slightly better Chris walked to his car, the Mercedes hood ornament still clutched firmly in his hand. He reached the door of his truck but stopped when the silence of the garage gave into the beeping of his cell phone. A lump suddenly appeared in his throat as he fumbled for the phone secured in the inside of his black leather duster.
“Larabee. On my way.” That undercover agent had more lives than Cuervo. Chris silently thanked God one more time that day.
Chris bypassed the nurse and walked straight into the room marked 217. He already knew what he would find when he arrived. The other men would have taken up residence in the cramped hospital room. Chairs and cots would be rearranged and a space would be left for him. It was always the same, no matter who was in the hospital bed. The others would be there. But to his surprise Buck and JD had not arrived back yet.
Chris moved to his spot beside Vin, who was propped up in a chair with his feet on the end of Ezra’s bed. He studied the younger man for a minute before looking to their injured comrade.
Ezra lay still as corpse. He also resembled one. His usually expressive face was slack. His skin was a strange pasty gray while dark bruises on his face and upper body gave a striking contrast. His left eye was swollen shut and his lower lip was split. Various tubes and wires ran from Ezra’s arms, chest and nose to medical equipment. This was one operation the undercover agent wouldn’t soon forget. Or any of them for that matter.
Vin’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “What did ya find out cowboy?”
“Nothing. Guys in holding wouldn’t let me near the bastards.”
“Damn.
“How’d you know?”
“Only know one agent that drives a Mercedes.”
Chris looked down into his hand where he still clutched the hood ornament. He half smiled. Damn Vin was observant. “What did the doc say about Ez?”
“He might wake up. He might not. Josiah tried to call Maude but got the Van Hauken’s answering machine.”
Chris clenched his jaw. Vin seemed to read his thoughts. “We will find the son of a bitch.”
Before Chris could reply the door to the room opened slightly to reveal Buck. Buck motioned for the other to come outside before shooting a look at Ezra. He grimaced.
Once outside the other four gathered around Buck and JD.
“What did you find?”
“Well, I did what you said. No big withdrawals or deposits. But Johansson, Harrison and Likens all have patterns of deposits that don’t coincide with our payday.”
“What exactly do you mean kid?” Vin asked.
“Well we get paid every Friday so everyone should show a deposit on Friday. But Johansson, Harrison and Likens have deposits regularly on Friday and another day. So it could be someone is feeding money into their bank account.”
“And doing it small amounts to be inconspicuous,” Josiah added.
Nathan frowned. “What were the names again?”
“Likens, Johansson and Harrison.”
“Rule out Likens. Money for child support. She recently got custody.”
Chris nodded. “That leaves Johansson and Harrison.”
Vin’s soft voice broke the silence that followed. “Rule out Johansson. He was right beside me the entire time. Why would someone who knew about the trap put themselves in danger?”
“Hey Chris,” Buck interjected. “Remember the original plan? It was for us and Team 2 to go in and Team 3 to be backup but Harrison at the last minute changed it. So instead it was us and Team 3 leaving Team 2 out of immediate danger.”
Chris was pissed. It was all beginning to add up. “Harrison wouldn’t let me near the prisoners to question them. He took over the entire operation using Ezra’s injuries as an excuse.” He looked down into his hand at the hood ornament. “That bastard,” he breathed. “How else would he be able to afford his new car?” he asked sarcastically while showing the others the Mercedes emblem.
“Well let’s go arrest him,” JD excitedly added while waving around the bank statements.
“What are you thinking bout boy?” Buck asked irritated. “This is all just circumstantial. We can’t go running up in there with hacked information and a hood ornament. So just calm down.”
Chris was fuming but Buck was right. They couldn’t go into the office and start accusing someone just based on a bank statement and a new car. Hell, that’s how Ez got in trouble at his last job. If only he could talk to Ezra. See if he knew anything. Slowly a plan began to take place. A feral smile graced Chris Larabee’s lips.
“Got a plan, brother?” Josiah asked interrupting the leader’s thoughts.
“Yes I do, Josiah. And it includes JD, some bank statements and a hood ornament.”
That night saw the six men lounging around in chairs and cots in the already cramped ICU room. The details of Chris’s plan had already been laid out and each man was waiting, some patiently, some nervously, for tomorrow’s events. Chris tried to send JD and Buck home to rest up for their big day tomorrow but neither would leave. They had decided to try and sleep in the room despite the chorus of bleeps and blips made by the various machines. JD lay on the empty hospital bed while Buck tried to get comfortable in a cushioned chair, grumbling all the while about why did the kid get the bed.
Chris sat in his chair beside Vin, who had his feet up on the end of the bed and his eyes closed. However, Chris new the sharpshooter wasn’t asleep, just waiting. Nathan also sat in a chair, his arms crossed and his head drooping to his chest. Josiah opted for the floor using his jacket as a pillow.
Chris turned his attention back to the still form on the hospital bed. Ezra hadn’t moved at all. Several nurses had been in and out all night, changing various bags of fluids and trying to reassure Chris that everything would be alright. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be alright. Not until Ezra woke up and he didn’t show signs of doing that anytime soon.
Buck peered around the corner leading from Team 2's coffee room to the
office. JD nervously stood behind him. The two agents were waiting for
“What if he doesn’t come Buck?”
“He’ll come. Now pipe down and remember what you’re supposed to say.”
JD stood on his tip toes and tried to look around Buck’s shoulder. Both saw
Agent Stanley Harrison needed his coffee. That was all there was too it. He had a late night last night trying to explain to the Flamingo family just why Anthony had gotten caught. Well, it wasn’t his fault. He had warned them about Standish. He had told them about the upcoming bust. All they had to do was kill Standish, change the date and time and all would’ve been well. But no, they wanted to trap Team 7.
Well, at least they did one thing right. Last he heard Standish wasn’t leaving the hospital anytime soon. Harrison rubbed his temples. Damn, he needed his coffee.
He walked up to the open doorway and stopped in mid stride when he heard the familiar voices of Buck Wilmington and JD Dunne.
“Damn JD, I thought I told you to buy creamer this morning for OUR coffee room.”
“Sorry Buck. I just got so caught up in the paper work this morning. Can you actually believe Chris thinks there is a mole?”
“Shh JD that’s confidential stuff you’re gabbing about. Besides, Chris doesn’t think, he knows.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe that Ez woke up last night. Do you know what he said?”
“Well, I really shouldn’t be telling ya this. Chris told me to keep it secret. But Ez said that he knows who fingered him. But before he could finish, he passed out again.”
“No wonder Chris has me looking at bank statements.”
“Hey who’s with Ez now?” JD asked.
“Nathan is. Yeah, I think Josiah is relieving him in an hour or so.”
Harrison gulped. He could make it to the hospital in an hour. But how the hell was he supposed to get rid of Standish with making it look like an accident.
“Hell if I were Ez, I’d be suing that hospital. You know they almost killed him by giving him Penicillin. He’s allergic to that stuff.”
“Poor Ez. Well at least he woke up and talked. That’s a good sign.” JD added hopefully.
“Yeah it is. Did you find that creamer yet?”
“Right here.”
“Alright. We’re going to sneak outta here with it. We’ll replace it later. Come on kid.”
“Hey
“Hello
“He’s doing well,” JD answered as they walked past
“That’s good to hear. Oh
Buck turned and smiled sheepishly back at the other agent. He took the creamer from inside his jacket. “Here ya go Stan.”
Buck smiled congenially while on the inside he bristled. Just wait,
Nathan sat in the hospital chair and waited. Buck and JD had called a while ago and reported that Harrison did indeed hear there conversation. So now Nathan sat and waited.
He watched Ezra’s heart monitor continue its slow but steady rhythm. The undercover agent still hadn’t woken up. The doctor didn’t seem too worried but if he didn’t wake up in a few more hours, he was going to set up another monitor to look for brain activity. Not like Ezra didn’t have enough wires coming out of him.
Nathan and Ezra didn’t always get along. They had different upbringings. But over the past few years, the two seemed to forget all that. Now they were good friends. Ezra had saved Nathan’s ass a time or two and Nathan had saved Ezra’s. In fact, Nathan couldn’t count how many times Ezra had saved someone. They all were indebted to him. Of course, he wouldn’t take the praise. He’d brush it off and say it was his job. Always keeping them at arms length. But deep down he cared for them just as they cared for him. It was just hard to show it to the southern bastard.
Nathan rubbed his eyes and shot a glance over to the corner were the man in black was waiting as well. Chris seemed to just blend in with the wall. Well, it was what he was there for today. Nathan checked his watch. It had been an hour. Any minute now.
The door creaked open and
“How ya doing Nate?”
Nathan yawned. “Tired. Just waiting for Josiah. He’s supposed to come relieve me. Guess he’s running a little bit behind.”
Nathan smiled inwardly but just yawned again. “That would be great Stan. Thanks.” Nathan stood and stretched. “Um, if he wakes up you’re supposed to call Chris. You know his number?”
“Ok, Thanks again.”
“No problem Nate.”
As soon as Nathan had left the room,
He watched Standish for a moment then turned quickly to leave. Harrison almost died when he came face to face with Chris Larabee. He automatically dropped the syringe on the floor. Chris just stared at him. His blue eyes burning a hole through the man’s core.
“Why?” Chris asked softly. His voice masking the barely controlled rage.
“Why not.” was the nonchalant answer.
“You will fry for this.”
“Well, Larabee. You’re a little late. Standish is already dead. The only
evidence you have against me is.........well nothing. Your
word versus mine.”
“You’re wrong.” Chris answered.
“Am I?”
“On two accounts.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Standish isn’t dead. He’s not allergic to Penicillin. You actually just helped him out. And two.” Chris pulled a tape recorder out of his jacket pocket. “Got it all right here.”
“Hey, Buck. You ever take acting lessons? You were pretty good.”
“Pretty good? I was downright excellent. JD on the other hand...”
“Hey, I did my part.”
“That you did.”
“You were convincing too Nate.”
During the commotion they almost missed the soft weak voice that floated across the room. “If you uncouth miscreants were any louder you’d wake the dead.”
Vin just smiled. “Looks like we just did.”
THE END