Disclaimer: I don't own them, and I don't make profit from these stories.
Thoughts are in italics.
Thanks to Angela B and to Silvia for all their help. Remaining mistakes are all mine.
This is an OW crossover; I needed to fit the shows together so I took some liberties with them. (Hope all of you don't mind.)
If you want to know the basics of the characters of either show, the descriptions are at the end of this chapter. The important thing, however, is that Eric Close played both "Vin Tanner" on The Magnificent Seven (M7) and "Martin Fitzgerald" on Without a Trace (WaT).
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*Four Corners* (M7)
The afternoon started like many others; Chris and Vin outside the saloon sharing a drink, Vin's hat was low over his eyes and his chair balanced on just two of its legs.
Josiah was working on repairs at the old church. Mrs. Potter was rearranging shelves at the store.
Nathan had left town to check on some farmers. J.D. was at the jail going over some wanted posters.
Mrs. Travis had been working at her press most of the day.
Ezra was inside the saloon playing cards, and Buck was outside the hotel awaiting the arrival of the stagecoach.
It was the stage that brought an unwelcome visit for a member of the town.
*
The blond beauty emerged from the carriage with a smile, and directed the driver to take down her heavy trunk.
Her arrival made more than one male resident halt in his activity and stare at her.
Including the peacekeepers who were around.
Almost immediately, Buck was at her side offering his assistance. She accepted it and let him direct her luggage to the hotel.
Distracted by the driver, the mustached man was going to offer his arm to the green-eyed woman, but she had already left.
Looking around, Buck saw her at the door of "The Clarion".
Mary Travis was cleaning ink from her hands when she heard a knock at her door,
"A minute please," she called, but her son's shriek made Mary run outside, and she almost collided with the woman spinning Billy around in her arms.
After being put on the ground, an unsteady Billy saw his hero and Vin across the street by the saloon, and happily shouted to him, "Chris, my Mom's sister is here!" Making sure there was no mistake, he clarified for the amused men, "She's my aunt!"
*
The longhaired Texan chuckled as Billy took his aunt's hand and started dragging her.
"Come on Aunt Sammy, I'll show you around. We have lots of horses at the livery and a store with candies and things and Mr. Ezra is at the saloon, but we can't go inside there, but we have..."
"William Travis!" The shout startling the boy into silence, his mother didn't usually yell at him.
"Go to your room!" Mary Travis voice had an icy tone.
Billy froze for a second, and then ran inside without closing the door. The two women heard the little feet climbing the stairs in a hurry.
*
Mary folded her arms and lifted her chin.
"What are you doing here?" she asked her younger sister, who also adopted a similar stance.
The woman stated with equal sternness, "I was passing through and decided to visit my nephew."
"Passing through? You are very far from home little lady" patronized the widow.
"Don't call me that, I'm not a little kid anymore," replied the younger blonde.
Mary just scowled, "Then start behaving like an adult and go back to face your responsibilities."
"And why would I do that if I can just find a little backwater town and hide in it," said the younger woman defiantly, looking Mary in the eye.
Anger flared in the eyes of the two women as they stood staring at each other.
*
Chris was afraid the peacekeepers would need to intervene to break the duel of glares when both of the women blinked at the same time, stomped their foot and went their separate ways, obviously still furious.
By the saloon, Chris looked at the Texan "I think I'm staying out of town for a while."
A southern drawl informed them of Ezra's presence. "I never thought I would see the day when our illustrious leader would run scared of two women."
"Well Ezra," said Buck coming from the other side of the street. "I think the little sister is too much like Mrs. Travis and with two women like that, things could get real ugly."
"It's always hard to fight your own family," stated Josiah, getting closer to the gambler and putting his arm around the smaller man shoulders. "You should know," finished the preacher, winking somberly at the gambler.
"Yes, well, they know your weaker points and which words would hurt more," murmured the con man, swatting off the offender's arm.
"That is not a good thing," said Buck as he went inside the saloon.
*
Vin just shrugged his shoulders.
Without raising the hat from his eyes, (the people would think he had been sleeping the whole time) he had been very attentive at the situation.
"We should wire the judge and then leave town for some time," insisted Chris. He hated fights that couldn't be settled with fists or guns.
Ezra made chicken sounds before following Buck.
Josiah laughed all the way to their usual table.
*
*Eagle Bend* (WaT)
Special Agent Danny Taylor was sitting enjoying a cup of coffee when he saw his coworker, Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald enter the restaurant.
The younger man looked out of place in this little town.
Danny had been working for the government for a couple of years, but this was his new partner's first week and first case... and from Martin's uneasiness maybe it was also the first time he had left the city.
*
Danny and Martin had been in Eagle Bend for over a day working on an investigation.
The government had given away incentives to people in order to interest prospective farmers in populating the open prairies.
It had gone well until they started receiving complaints from the new farmers about some of the big ranchers' hostile actions.
The ranchers had claimed they were just trying to "protect their land" from the 'invaders' encroaching on their land.
Things had escalated further than had been realized. Though most of the farmers had been driven out of the county, a couple of them had disappeared, without a trace, in the hostile land.
That was the case the agency was working on, and why the agents, Taylor and Fitzgerald, had been sent to the small town to investigate.
*
As the younger agent entered the restaurant and saw Danny waving at him, he headed his way.
"Well Martin, is there any news?" Danny asked.
"Not at the telegraph, but I have been checking my notes and I thought of something," said the handsome man taking a chair at the table.
"About the railroad?" Danny hid his smirk taking a small sip of his drink.
"You knew?" the disbelief in Martin's voice almost made Danny choke on his coffee.
"Yes, I did. Rumor says Guy Royal had been throwing farmers out of their land. He was stopped at the town of Four Corners by some hired guns."
"Hired guns? Shouldn't we inform Jack about them?" questioned Martin, talking about their Senior Agent and boss: Jack Malone.
"Jack already knows about it. He sent Sam to investigate with the newspaper's editor of Four Corners about them. Also, to see if the deeds of the farmers are fake or not, to establish the real owners of the land," said Danny.
"She's going to talk to..." Martin checked his notes, "Mary Travis?" he asked.
Danny nodded, taking a bite of his jam covered biscuit.
"But Vivian is going to ask around too, isn't she?" reasoned Martin.
*
Vivian was a dark-skinned agent. Usually underestimated by being a woman and "ex-slave", she often worked undercover as a servant or something similar and often solved the cases with inside information. Vivian was a great asset to the team.
*
"Yes, Viv and Jack are asking questions of some of the remaining farmers. We'll compare notes when we arrive at Four Corners," informed the older agent.
"Come on Harvard, we have a little town to find," said Danny, leaving the table.
Martin smiled at the nickname, but his smile froze as he saw a couple of foul looking men staring at him, so he quickly followed Danny out of the building.
*
*tbc*
Please review (be kind, I'm still learning English)
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Author's Notes: I needed to fit the shows together so I took some liberties with them. If you want to know the basics of the characters:
The Magnificent Seven (M7)
Basically "The Magnificent Seven" is about seven individuals that protect a small town in the old Wild West.
-Chris Larabee (Michael Biehn) is the leader of the gunfighters.
-Buck Wilmington (Dale Midkiff) the ladies man.
-Vin Tanner (Eric Close) sharpshooter and ex-bounty hunter.
-Josiah Sanchez (Ron Pearlman) son of a preacher.
-Nathan Jackson (Rick Worthy) a healer and ex-slave.
-Ezra Standish (Anthony Starke) the gambler and con-artist.
-JD Dunne (Andrew Kavovit) the sheriff, also the youngest of the seven.
-Mary Travis (Laurie Holden) the news paper's editor inherited "The Clarion" from her later husband.
-Billy Travis six year old son of Stephen and Mary Travis.
-Federal Judge Orin Travis (Robert Vaughn) the seven's employer (he is just a circuit Judge in the OW).
-Nettie Wells (Anne Haney) old rancher friend of Vin.
-Casey Wells (Dana Barron) niece of Nettie and sweetheart of JD.
-Inez Recillos (Fabiana Udenio) Hispanic manager of the tavern.
-Mrs. Potter (Karen Hensel) the store owner.
-Maude Standish (Michelle Phillips) mother of Ezra and also a con-artist.
-Guy Royal (Tim Thomerson) bad guy.
Without a Trace (WAT)
Without a Trace is a drama show about the FBI department of missing persons in NY. I just twisted some facts so it would fit in an Old West time; here they are a group of agents that investigate special cases for the government.
Working inside a certain group they could get the information that outsiders would be denied. That was why the differences in the backgrounds and even in skin colors gave Jack's team an advantage while investigating.
The Old West universe Without a Trace's squad crew is:
-Agent Jack Malone (played by Anthony LaPaglia) the team leader; European agent that handles either the politics and legal stuff or low city society. Tough, compassionate and astute.
-Agent Vivian Johnson (Marianne Jean-Baptiste); Dark skinned, undercover agent. Old friend of Jack. Compassionate and intelligent.
-Agent Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery); has the education to deal with upper classes, but she is also good at playing the innocent and vulnerable immigrant girl who wouldn't be a threat until she took out her gun, her blonde good looks have fooled more than one crook. Very stubborn, younger sister of Mary Travis (M7).
-Agent Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close); Son of a N.Y. federal Judge, he's well educated, deals with upper classes, and mostly city situations. He's the newest member of the team. Look- a-like of Vin Tanner (M7), probably blood related.
-Agent Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano); Hispanic agent , street wise and sensitive, but with a sarcastic sense of humor. He's a survivor.
*A/N 2: Quick push the reviews button!
:)