"You do recognize that this is a complete waste of our valuable time."

For the third time on the drive, Vin answered the complaint. "No Ezra, I don't. It is a lead, and it's kind of our job to follow up on those."

"We are so generously paid to apprehend criminals, not to scurry about in the wilderness following questionable information from a decidedly unreliable source"

"This is the countryside, not the wilderness. And Larry has given me good information in the past."

JD almost drove the car off the road. "Larry? You got this from Lyin' Larry? The guy wouldn't know the truth if he tripped on it."

"So he exaggerates from time to time." Vin was fully aware of the immediate need to defend his source or lose the already limited support of his teammates. "But he's given me some good stuff too. That van full of AK-47s was his tip."

"Yes, but it was supposed to be a truckload of grenades based on his information. Hardly reliable." Ezra looked less than pleased with this latest revelation. Slim leads were one thing, but wild goose chases to search an abandoned property in the middle of nowhere were an entirely different manner. Add in the fact it was damp, cold and foggy and this was becoming an extremely unpleasant morning.

"We might as well go along with this Ezra. Vin ain't gonna give up on it. Besides, Chris is looking for any leads he can get on Bronstein, so we might as well just get on with it."

With one of the team won over, Vin tried to spur Ezra on. "We check this out, and we can meet up with Nathan and Chris at the barn to see if they had any luck. Then we can all head off to help finish decorating the youth centre for the party tonight."

Ezra growled softly. "If that was intended as inspiration Vin, it fell far from the mark. Hanging synthetic cobwebs and creating a witches brew does not register on my list of enticing ways to spend an afternoon."

"Halloween party is for the kids Ezra. Stop being such a spoil-sport."

Bringing the car to a stop at the end of the long, overgrown drive, JD jumped from the vehicle. The wind slammed the car door further back than he had expected and he swore softly at the act. Before slamming it closed he reached in and grabbed is scarf off the seat, wrapping it around his neck in a less than successful effort to warm himself.

"Wasn't this bad back in town. Storm came out of nowhere." Leaves were whipped around at their feet by strong gusts, and there was just enough moisture in the air to make things uncomfortable and slippery. JD barely managed to keep his balance as feet skidded from under him when he hurried across the wet lawn. Taking note of the conditions, the others tread more cautiously, but were equally anxious to be out of the inclement conditions.

"Let's get this done. Buck will have all the slime and gore used up by the time we get there at this rate."

"Well, that would be a tragedy." Ezra grimaced at the thought of the hours ahead. Halloween was far from the top of the holiday list for him, and the thought of the assorted mischiefs Buck and JD would be getting into for the remainder of the day did little to lift his mood. "Precisely where in this replica of the Adams Family home are the weapons supposed to be squirreled away?"

There was no hiding the surprise on Vin's face. "Nice pop culture reference there Ez. Wouldn't have expected you to come up with that comparison. Larry said there is a vault sort of space in the basement that Bronstein has used before. Almost like a cave. Apparently, the property belonged to his uncle, or great uncle or something like that. The whole family, uncle, aunt and cousin, killed when some rival thugs came after him over 20 years ago. Was over a week till anyone found the bodies and the place has been abandoned since. The fourth victim was another young cousin about 8 years old, but she was never found."

"Guess no one wants to buy a place where a mass murder happened. I get that." JD shuddered slightly as he looked up and the crumbling shell of a home. "Do you think it's haunted?"

With any of the others, the question would have been laughed off, but based on a past shared experience, there wasn't even a smile.

Vin kept his voice level. "No such thing as spirits JD. We've had this discussion before."

"Yeah, and then we had our little encounter with them in that appropriately described ghost town. You can't tell me you've forgotten about Four Corners."

"That was just a wind storm and some over stimulated imaginations."

"Vin, you saw the ghost horse and rider yourself! How can you –"

Ezra raised a hand. "Leave it be JD. If it is easier for our friend to rationalize the experience than it is to accept an otherworldly explanation, who are we to challenge him. Now, can we proceed with what we are here for, and get the hell out of here?" He marched ahead brusquely, hoping he was hiding the sense of foreboding he'd had since the arrived on the property. Talk of ghosts and spirits were not helping matters.

As required, Ezra knocked on the door, despite the fact it was not only unlocked, but unlatched. He didn't voice his fervent wish that no one would answer. Identifying themselves as federal agents, the three entered the home. The creaks and moans underfoot only served to add to the atmosphere of gloom. Ezra felt a chill that he knew had nothing to do with the fall weather. "Where do we go from here?"

"Beats me." Vin shrugged as he spoke, wishing he could give the answer they all wanted and be done with this. "It's not like I've been here before."

"Wonderful."

"You think we aren't alone Ezra?" JD remembered all to well the tale told when the trio had been stranded in the ghost town a year earlier. He hadn't questioned the notion that Ezra had a gift, or curse depending on your perspective, for sensing the supernatural. It wasn't something that came into frequent service, and certainly none of them and elected to discuss it again, but JD firmly believed it to be true. The fact that Ezra had paled slightly and wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself was all the indication needed to confirm something was off here.

Not in the mood to encourage any of that conversation Vin spoke sharply. "Thought I said knock it off JD. Nobody here but us, so let's just find the basement and with any luck the guns, shall we? Be fastest to split up." Under different circumstances the look on the young agent's face would have been hilarious, but now it was merely annoying. "You can't seriously be telling me you are scared to be alone."

"For reasons far more tangible than our friend's concerns, I would agree with his preference to stay close to each other. This home is less than safe. In truth, it would likely be condemned if anyone had bothered to inspect it in the past decade or so."

As much as he would like to, Vin couldn't argue the point. Age, neglect and mother nature had taken their toll on the structure. There was scarcely a window left intact, which had permitted the elements to invade. There were signs of weakened flooring, sagging beams and collapsing framework. "Does seem strange the place is even still standing."

"Making unlikely that Bronstein or his minions would select this as a storage spot."

"Or," Vin countered, "making it exactly the perfect spot to stash the weapons."

JD just want this over. "Stairs to the basement would likely be from the kitchen, which was probably at the back, so let's go." He led the way, with Vin close behind. Ezra sighed to himself, looking up the staircase that the ground floor seemed centred around. It was too far gone to support their weight, let alone the weight of men carrying boxes of weapons, so there was no point in going up. Why then did he feel almost compelled to do so? He walked slowly toward them, resting his hand on the sloping curve at the bottom of the handrail. The brass bar fell to the ground at the touch with a crash that had the other two back in the room in an instant.

"What happened?" "You OK?" The voices overrode each other.

"Yes, I am fine. I was merely looking up and must have brushed the sides. Not that we needed proof, but I would say this confirms my previous observation that this edifice is not safe."

"I'm not leaving without looking."

"Why waste our time Vin? It is obvious no human has set foot in here in ages. As a tracker, you must have seen the proof. No footprints in the dirt, no disturbance of the dust, no broken cobwebs."

Unwilling to give up on his information Vin thought about it for a minute. "Places this old probably had tunnels to the basement. Back ways in for deliveries of wood or coal and the like. Maybe that's how they are getting in and out."

"A back route is even more likely to have succumbed to the degradation of time, assuming it hasn't long since been boarded over or filled in."

JD had given up on the argument and made his way back toward where he assumed the kitchen would be. He found a set of stairs, but a quick glance down showed they weren't going to the basement, but to a secondary kitchen area.

"It is a cool pantry." He jumped at the unexpected nearness of Ezra's voice. "Many homes used to have them as storage area for produce, especially when the cellar of a home was unsuited to the task."

"With the rock foundations up here, they likely didn't have a deep basement." Vin agreed. "Or dry."

After shining his flashlight around the room JD spotted what he'd been looking for. "Guess you're right. I found another door. Have to agree with Ezra. I don't think this has been touched in years."

Joining him, Vin had to concede the point. The only movement that had taken place in this room was the dancing of dried leaves and the scurried steps of mice, squirrels and other assorted four-legged inhabitants. The door hinges protested vigorously as they were forced out of years of inactivity, and halfway open was the most they could allow. Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, Vin aimed it down the stone steps.

"Well, at least the path hasn't rotted away."

"You intend to go down and search, despite what the evidence is telling you." Ezra had voiced it as a question, but the tone was far more accusatory than he had intended. Normal reluctance as such and apparent wasted effort aside, he was at a loss to explain why his temper was frayed to its last strand. "That takes obstinacy to a new level."

"I'm going to be able to write a report that says we searched where we were told to. You don't want to come down, stay here." Vin bit back the rest of his comment, knowing at some level Ezra was right. But he was damned if they were going to come all this way without finishing the job. He stormed down the stairs, and with a quick glance back, JD followed him.

"Of all the asinine, bull headed, reckless moves…" Ezra pulled out his own light, knowing he had no choice but to follow. He paused on the first step, whipping around to look back into the hallway. Leaves. It must have been leaves that he saw whisking up the stairs. Anything else would have collapsed them.

His attention was pulled back to the basement at the soft splashing should he heard.

"Son of a bitch. JD, Ezra, stay on the stairs." Vin had turned the corner step to the lower landing and slid on the moss and slime covered stone step, landing on his butt in about a foot of cold, stale water. "Something is letting the river water in here. Not a lot of it, but enough. You win Ezra, this place was a dead end."

"You may not believe it, but I would have preferred for you to be correct Vin. Failure here means we will have to continue our search. Do you need our help?" Getting a negative response, he turned and carefully made his way back up and out of the way.

JD lingered for a moment, reaching down to offer help despite the claim it was unneeded. Vin reached stood slowly, being very deliberate where he set his foot down since he had no clue what was under the water. He stepped on something, likely a rock, which was just enough to put him off balance and he grabbed for JD's outstretched hand as he stumbled sideways into a support beam. The rotted wood gave way under the impact and he fell back into the water, pulling his would-be rescuer off the steps. Before he could begin to voice an apology, the sound of cracking wood and falling debris echoed through the space and the two men were knocked back and covered by the wreckage.

M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7