"The Bear" M7 ATF AU
Ezra Standish prided himself in being able to fit in anywhere, but this was just too much. Why couldn't his teammates ever pick something he wanted to do for their mandatory time off?
He hitched the backpack he wore a little higher and grimaced as the sore spot on his heel under his hiking boots made itself known. It was the magnitude of Texas if the discomfort was any indication, he thought sourly. Emerald eyes tried sending a glare at the back of Chris Larabee who was striding confidently and comfortably almost out of sight in front of him, but the blond was immune to any of the looks the others gave him. Since the man was as lethal with a glance as he was with a gun, Standish figured he'd built up a high tolerance over the years.
The aggrieved green gaze then tried to pierce Tanner's back, but the sniper loved the outdoors and had already disappeared over the top of the hill ahead of Larabee. Buck followed his oldest friend, JD right behind. The dynamic duo were picking on each other and using energetic hand motions as usual. As Ezra watched, Dunne nearly got Wilmington's groin with the long stick he was carrying as he gestured in excitement.
"Dammit Kid! Watch what the hell you're doin'! Ya nearly gelded me!"
"Not sure that'd be such a bad thing…" mumbled the younger man, ducking expertly out of the way when the tall brunet reached for him.
Josiah, who walked behind the flamboyant pair, side-stepped as JD swung the pole his way. The deep baritone rumbled out in a mild reproof.
"Do you two think you can keep it down a bit? Every animal in two miles can hear you comin'. This is supposed to be a huntin' trip…we don't want to be eatin' Vin's bacon-wrapped hot dogs for three days."
Buck made a face, though JD didn't appear too concerned. Tanner had a voracious appetite to be as slender as he was and the sharpshooter worked on the assumption that bacon made anything better. A view not shared by all of his friends.
Nathan's broad shoulders shivered a bit at the mention of one of Vin's favorite concoctions. How the sniper didn't weigh twice as much as he did was a mystery the medic hadn't yet figured out.
Wilmington shrugged off Josiah's warning after a minute and turned back to follow Chris. "No problem. There's a creek where we're campin'. We can always have fish."
Ezra shuddered at the thought. Not that he disliked fried fish. He just didn't like handling them or watching them be cleaned particularly. Thank God one of his compatriots always took care of that last chore. And if he got the others involved with a wager as to who would catch the most, he could forget his discomfort of being in the wilderness sitting on a dirty stream bank with a wriggling, wet fish on the end of the pole. Side bets of who would fall or get pushed in the water first were even more entertaining than the main event, he'd discovered.
Chris turned to glare at the five behind him, the hazel death ray putting Ezra's attempt to shame.
"You ladies gonna gab all day or join us? We're almost there." The unique voice was never raised, but carried quite well to those following. Josiah grinned at the combination of exasperation and resignation that colored the blond's words.
At the phrase 'we're almost there', Standish put on a burst of speed and came up behind the profiler and medic. Placing a hand on each, he pushed to get them out of his way.
"If we're within sight of our destination, would you gentlemen please move your collective derrières so that we may arrive as expeditiously as possible?"
JD turned to look back at the gambler in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Move your asses!" snapped Ezra succinctly in response.
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When the seven reached the stream a few minutes later, they immediately began setting up camp. Four tents were quickly erected, Standish choosing to have one to himself. And heaven help him, he'd been on enough of these excursions with his cohorts by now that he was as efficient as any of them at getting the temporary domicile set up. Vin then moved around, languidly fixing a fire ring and gathering wood while Chris and Buck cleared away any brush that might get in the way of the flames. Ezra had parked himself on a folding camp chair and now reclined against a tree sipping from his flask as he watched the others work, one booted foot propped on top of the other. The rest had learned long ago not to ask or expect the undercover agent to help. While highly intelligent, the chestnut-haired man deemed menial labor beneath him and complained so much if forced to engage in said activities that he made sure the rest of the team was as miserable as he was.
Vin paused after dropping a load of kindling next to the ring of rocks he'd fashioned.
"Just saw some bear sign on a big tree back yonder. Need to put the food up high when we're done with it tonight, and y'all might wanna be careful if ya get up after dark 'ta take care of business."
Ezra sat up so quickly that he nearly banged his head on a low-hanging branch.
"Bear?! Are you serious Mr. Tanner?"
The sandy head nodded in answer. "Yep."
"Oh, just wonderful! Not only must I be on guard for vermin who wish to share my abode, now I must watch out for lumbering bruins during my nocturnal forays to relive myself as well. Remind me again why you persist in calling this fun?"
Chris gave an evil grin. " 'Cause it's relaxin', Ez."
A snort prefaced the smaller man's reply.
"Oh indeed, Mr. Larabee. I'm feelin' quite stress-free at the moment! Thank you so much."
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The creek did indeed provide a mess of fish for supper that night, and Ezra had to admit…at least to himself…that the fresh air and convivial companionship made it taste as delicious as any found at a gourmet restaurant. Talking the other six into a few hands of poker improved the gambler's mood even more. By the time they decided to head to bed, he was almost as tranquil as Chris had implied earlier that he should be.
Checking his sleeping bag for obnoxious insects or reptiles wishing a warm place to pass the night and finding none, he slipped off his boots and jeans and pulled on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a plain tee shirt. The others had professed to be shocked that he even had such items in his wardrobe, and he pretended he'd bought them the first time they came on one of these excursions. But the truth was, they were comfortable and he often wore such garments when at home alone. One couldn't very well wear an expensive Italian suit to bed or to exercise in, after all!
Clearing his head of the wandering thoughts, he settled in his down-filled cocoon for the night and fell asleep to the sounds of Chris and Vin chatting softly next to him, Josiah's deep voice quietly saying his evening prayers, and JD giggling at something the ladies' man had done. The familiar noises let him know all was well, and he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
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Having thankfully survived his one trip to answer nature's call without encountering any large, hairy wildlife, Standish climbed out of his tent at the ungodly hour of six the next morning. Vin had breakfast almost done by the time the gambler washed his hands and face.
Ezra paused to peer into the skillet Tanner was expertly wielding over the fire.
"Ah…bacon. What a surprise!"
The slender form merely held up three fingers including the middle one and saluted Standish. "Read between the lines, Ez."
Ezra tipped an imaginary hat to the sharpshooter with a flash of his gold tooth. At least it was less uncouth than just outright giving him the bird, so he supposed he had to give Vin points for trying a little refinement.
The others were already up and about various chores, so they settled in to eat shortly.
When that was done, Chris started issuing instructions.
"Alright, we'll all go on a scout trip to check the area out, then everybody pick the spot you want and we'll split up."
"Be best if we're some distance apart too, so we don't spook the game when we shoot." Vin added.
The rest nodded in understanding. Standish didn't really pay attention. While he had no moral objections to killing as long as the meat was used for food and the quarry was plentiful, he really didn't intend to put much effort into bagging something either. One could prove one's prowess with firearms by using paper targets and not be expected to lug a dead carcass up mountainsides as steep as Jacob's ladder afterward.
However, the others would never let him live it down if he stayed in camp while they went out hunting, so he'd just find a quiet spot to while away a few hours. Possibly take a nap to recoup his energy for climbing back down those infernal mountain goat paths that Tanner and Larabee insisted on calling trails.
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A couple of hours later found him ensconced in a small grove of aspen with a spring nearby. The available water had encouraged lush grass to grow in the opening between the trees and there was only one large boulder to mar the small flat space. More trees and bushes were scattered in the open field in front of him, lightning having struck a time or two judging by the broken, charred branches he could see. Ah, yes…this was much better than the nest of stones on the far side of the clearing that Vin had originally told him would be a good spot.
In spite of it technically being labor, he gathered some leaves and pine needles and made himself a nice spot in front of the big rock. Shrugging out of his jacket, he settled it over the mound, making a fairly comfortable place to sit. He rested his rifle carefully nearby and then pulled a book out of his pocket and settled in to read for a while.
Tiring of his story later, the well-built form got up and stretched. He ambled over and got a drink from the clear spring, then opened his backpack and pulled out a couple of BLTs and some sides to go with them. It was simple fare, but he had to give Mr. Tanner credit…the man did make a good bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.
There was no cell reception, so the seven had arranged to meet at a distant landmark that even Standish couldn't miss. He could see the twisted tree with the damaged top that looked like a lightning bolt from where he sat, so he had no concerns about finding his way there as long as he left well before dark descended.
Deciding that nap idea sounded quite enticing, he checked his watch and the sun. He could sleep an hour or so and still have plenty of time to make it to the rendezvous. Smothering a yawn, he set the alarm on his phone and then stretched out on his pad of grass, using his backpack as a pillow. It wasn't his feather bed, but it would do.
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When Ezra woke, it was dusk. He looked around him at the shadowy environs and blinked in confusion.
"Good Lord! What happened here?"
Pulling out his phone, he wondered if he'd slept right through the alarm, something he seldom…if ever…did. Discovering that he'd set the device for morning, not afternoon he closed his eyes and groaned.
Getting up, he gathered his things and stuffed them in the pack and then pulled on his jacket. He could just see the broken tip of the landmark tree in the fading light. Fixing its location in his mind and trying to memorize other identifiable things along the way, he bent to pick up his rifle.
He was just about to step out into the open when he saw a large dark shape at the edge of the woods some yards away. Black arms were stretching about six feet up into the air as the creature stood on its hind legs as if looking for him.
"Dear Lord! A bear." he whispered as he sank to his knees behind the boulder. Vin's warning the day before ran through his mind and he recalled the tracker showing them a huge tree that had long, deep scars on it where a black bear had stood and scratched to mark its territory. A small shiver of suspense skittered up his spine.
He peered around the rock again. Maybe the brute had gone on about his business. But no…the dark form was in the same place, appearing to be sniffing the air and searching.
It was too dark to see to shoot, so Ezra reluctantly hunkered back behind his cover. He was now regretting his decision to move from where Vin and Chris had put him. The rest of the team might come looking for him when he didn't show up in a few minutes at the meeting spot, but even Mr. Tanner would have trouble tracking him in the dark with only a flashlight.
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Ezra sat for some time listening carefully for any sounds that might let him know the bear was moving or that his friends had arrived, but he heard nothing except for the sound of crickets and tree frogs and the occasional owl. Small rustles near him nearly caused him to shoot a couple of times, but he was well enough trained that he held his fire when nothing came out to attack him. He certainly didn't want to injure his fellow agents….his compatriots…in the dark.
He was currently wishing that he'd taken Chris up on his offer of one of the slim cheroots that the blond occasionally indulged in. If he had, he would have had a lighter as well and could have started a fire to scare off the bear and alert his companions to his whereabouts. Of course, with Lady Luck in her currant mood, he might have burned the trees down over his head too he thought morosely.
"What an undignified way to perish, Ezra. I can see the headlines now. 'Lauded ATF undercover agent Ezra Standish devoured by maddened bruin in the Colorado wilderness. No remains found…' Not that Mr. Larabee and the others won't try."
Deciding that he should leave some sort of sign so that the rest of the group would recognize his place of demise if things went badly, he sat about scratching a short message on the rock face with the small knife he carried.
Checking on the bear again, he found that he now couldn't see it and he heard no noises that would give him the creature's location if it had moved. That left nothing to do except settle in to wait until sunrise when he could either see that his besieger was gone or have enough light to shoot it.
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Chris and the others did indeed search for Standish when he didn't meet them as expected. Vin found his way to the spot where they'd left the gambler, but Ezra obviously wasn't there. With no moonlight and rocky ground it was impossible to make out any tracks. With patience, Tanner could find broken twigs and grass stems, but that would take all night anyway, so they decided to just roll up in their jackets and sleep where they were so they could get an early start the next morning.
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Ezra was just waking when the sound of something large moving softly through the brush startled him. Grabbing his rifle, he came to his knees and peered around his rock.
A dark, dangerous looking form stepped between two trees. Standish cocked his gun, getting ready to fire if the beast came any closer.
"Ezra! It's Chris! You here?"
With a sigh of relief, the smaller figure lowered his weapon.
"Indeed, Mr. Larabee. I know I don't say this often enough, but it is extremely good to see you! Thank you for coming to end my ordeal."
Buck materialized on the other side of the blond, JD right behind him. Vin appeared on Chris' left and Josiah and Nathan came in from the back. The medic looked concerned.
"What happened Ezra? Ya hurt yourself and couldn't make it?" Deep brown eyes were surveying the undercover agent carefully.
"Thank you for your concern Mr. Jackson, but I am uninjured I assure you."
Wilmington looked puzzled. "So, you fall asleep and couldn't find your way to the meetin' spot?"
"I did indeed spend some time in the arms of Morpheus, and much longer than I intended. But that is not what detained me."
Dunne gave Standish a puzzled glance.
"Then what did keep ya?"
The chestnut-haired man looked at them. "The bear, of course. You gentlemen took care of him I assume?"
Chris was the one to ask the obvious question.
"What bear, Ezra?"
The smaller man pointed into the somewhat hazy distance. "That one. I assume since it is not moving that one of you freed me from its threat."
Six pairs of eyes turned to look at where the gambler was pointing. A black shape was visible in the disappearing shadows. Vin was the first to crack a smile, followed by the others. Buck started chortling in amusement, hand slapping his knee as he looked from the shape, to Standish, and back again.
Ezra's face turned a deep shade of red.
"I fail to see what is so amusing at being kept under siege all night by that reprehensible creature!"
The rest of the team were now chuckling as well. Vin was the one to finally explain to the irate Southerner why they were laughing.
"Ez…you were cornered by a lightnin'-struck stump!"
Emerald eyes got large as the green gaze swung back to the black outline now becoming clearly visible in the daylight.
Borrowing one of Tanner's favorite phrases, the accented voice muttered out a dejected "Ah, hell…"
By DMA
Loosely based on a story by Pat McManus.