For what he was certain was the twentieth time today, Chris slowly counted to 10. His men could be unruly at the best of times, and for reasons he could not begin to imagine, these were far from the best of times. The restlessness had been building all day. They hadn't had an active case in a couple of weeks, and two weeks of paperwork was about 13 ½ days more than these guys could handle.
News from the judge that there would be a new case was beyond welcomed. Now it was just a matter of finding out the details. Chris wasn't sure what the reaction would be when they found out they'd be working with the FBI and the DEA on this one. He was about to find out.
"If you guys don't all sit down and shut up I'm going to fire the lot of you." It was the delivery far more than the words that got the men settled into place. Buck couldn't resist tossing the paper airplane he'd been working on in JD's direction. His aim was perfect as it landed nose down in the coffee cup. JD was torn between his desire to respond and his need to respect Chris's demand.
"If your aim was that good on the range Buck, I'd have competition for the sharpshooter title." Vin grinned as he spoke.
"I outshine you in so many areas, it wouldn't be fair to take you on at the range."
"In your dreams Buck."
"Oh Vin, I have much better things to dream about."
"Gentlemen," Ezra interrupted the banter, "Our fearless leader is rapidly losing patience, and we all know how unpleasant that can be." Chris looked to Ezra, grateful for the intervention, if not the manner of it.
"Okay, here's what's happening. FBI and DEA have been working on a case together, and now guns are in the picture in a big way. So, they've been ordered to bring us in as well."
"Shit." Buck growled. "How is it we always end up working with the FBI on this crap?"
"It's called inter-agency cooperation Buck. Get used to it." Chris sighed rubbing his hand over his face. "And before anybody asks, the judge has already checked this guy out." He turned to Ezra. "You know an agent by the name of Derek Sanders?"
"I know of him. Never worked with the man. My understanding, and this information may be dated, is that he is a fair and open-minded man. Not the most imaginative agent, but to my recollection, I have never heard anything that would make me question my desire to work with him."
"Well that's good, because you're going to be working with him. We all are." He looked around at his men, daring any of them to challenge him.
"Well, if Ezra is okay with him, I guess the rest of us can be to." JD reasoned, a small grin on his face. "What about the DEA? Do you know who were working with from that group?"
"Judge told me her name, but I can't say it's familiar to me."
Buck's face lit up. "Her name?"
"Yes Buck, her name. Please try to keep in mind you are supposed to be a professional."
Vin grinned. "Oh, he's a professional alright. Professional what, you don't want to know."
"Do you think there is the remotest possibility we might return to the matter at hand?"
"Thanks again Ezra." The group settled down. "I don't have too many details yet, but when the guys show up in a few minutes, we should find out more."
On cue, there was a knock at the door. Three people entered the room, with the first man in reaching his hand out to shake Chris's. "Good to meet you Larabee. Heard lots of good things about you and your men. I'm Sanders, this here is Wilson."
"Dennis Wilson," the young man filled in. It wasn't hard to identify them as FBI agents. From the sunglasses to the shiny shoes, they were clones of the stereotype image. The young woman who followed behind them broke the cliché. A white, lace trimmed dress hugged her curves, flattering her tanned face and flowing dark hair. She smiled widely. "Hi. I'm Allison Silvers, DEA. Can't say I've heard too many of the details about you and your men, but I know this team has got one hell of a reputation."
Chris nodded a greeting at all of them. "We don't know much about what this is all about, but were looking forward to finding out. Let me do the honours. Josiah Sanchez, he's our profiler." The big man smiled at the trio. "The man trying not to leer at you, and failing, is Buck Wilmington. Just slap him if he gets out of line. You won't be the first." Buck pretended to be offended, while raising an eyebrow in silent acknowledgement of the comment.
"Over there, we've got JD Dunne. Anything computer-related that you need, he's your man. Next to him is a Vin Tanner, then Nathan Jackson, and," Chris looked around. Ezra had been standing next to Nathan, but at some point had shifted into the shadows. He hoped that didn't mean his man had recognized one of the FBI agents as a source of trouble. Still, there was no choice but to introduce him. "And off in the far corner, is Ezra Standish." He heard a sharp intake of breath, and was surprised to realize it came from Allison.
"Good to see you again Ezra." She spoke softly, almost as if there was no one else in the room. Ezra didn't respond. "It's been a while."
"Three years, seven months, four days. Not that I'm keeping track. If you will excuse me Chris, I'm going to take that file to the judge. You can brief me later if there's anything I need to know." Ezra grabbed a file off his desk and left the room, not looking back.
All eyes shifted to Allison. To her credit, she didn't flinch. Buck was the first to find his voice. "What the hell?"
"I didn't realize he was part of your team. I knew he'd left the Bureau, and I'd heard he'd ended up in the ATF. I just never thought I'd encounter him again."
"Care to fill us in on the details?" Chris questioned.
"I really don't think it's my place to do that. It should be up to Ezra as to how much he wants to share."
Chris was not satisfied with the answer. "Okay, let's put it this way. Is this going to be a problem?"
"I don't know. I'm fine with it, but Ezra may have some issues."
"Issues? He bolted out of here like the devil himself was chasing after him." Josiah challenged. Allison just shook her head.
"Okay. We'll figure that part out later." Chris decided it was time to move on with the business at hand. "Fill us in on what we need to know, and we can work of the details."
7-7-7-7-7-7-7
An hour later, the visitors gone, the remainder of the team sat around the boardroom.
"I take it you have no idea what that was about Chris?" Nathan asked what they were all wondering.
"Not a clue. The judge certainly didn't let on the two of them had ever worked together before. Of course, from the look he gave her, I'm not so sure all, or any of that was about work."
"I doubt very much work factored into it at all," Josiah guessed. "That was personal history going on."
"Question is," Buck offered, "what do we do about it?"
"Not a damn thing." Chris replied. "We don't do anything. I'll talk to Ezra. We'll figure out after that where we go. I don't want any of you getting involved until I get some answers."
"You might be a bit late on that Chris." JD said. "I take it you haven't noticed Vin left right after the others?"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Said he was gonna look for him in the bar, and if not there, try him at home." JD continued.
"You guys stay here. Sort through the information we just got. I don't know whether we're going to be doing this, or handing the case off to somebody else, but I want to be prepared either way." Chris grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.
"We'll be here," Josiah said, "so you call us if he needs us."
"Count on it."
Chris was almost to his car before he realized the smartest thing was to try calling Vin first. The phone was answered on the second ring. "I know I shouldn't have left Chris, but Ezra needs a friend right now, not a boss."
"So, you know what that was all about?"
"Not a clue. But I know that look. Ezra doesn't look overwhelmed often, and when he does, it's usually bad."
"Where are you now?"
"He wasn't at the bar, so I'm on my way to his place. He's not answering his phone."
Chris opened his car door as he spoke. "OK, I'll meet you there."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea –" Vin began.
"I'm not going there as his boss, I'm there as his friend. It may take some work to convince him of that, but it's the truth."
Vin was relieved to see Ezra's car in the parking lot, not knowing where he would have looked next. Chris arrived a few moments later, and they entered the building without speaking. Both were surprised when their call to Ezra's place was greeted with the release of the security door. They had expected much more of a challenge getting in. They could see the door to his condo was partially open as they walked down the hall. Tapping lightly, they pushed it the rest of the way, and walked in. Ezra was settling himself back into his favourite chair, a bottle of scotch and a half empty glass on the table beside him.
"Before you start lecturing me Chris, I can assure you the glass was only poured half way. I haven't even sipped at yet."
"No law against a man drinking in his own home. Even if it is barely two in the afternoon. Just hope you don't plan on polishing off the bottle. Least not before you explain to us what's going on."
"Yes, I rather expected you'd be searching for some kind of explanation of my behaviour. I do apologize for the rapid departure. I was caught off guard. It was a most disconcerting feeling."
"You looked more than disconcerted Ezra. You looked damn shook up." Vin replied.
"Please gentlemen, take a seat. I really don't feel like looking up at you for the course of our discussion." Chris took a seat at one end of the couch. Vin walked over to the bar and grabbed two glasses before making his way to the couch. He stopped at the table next to Ezra, poured the drinks, and then took his seat.
Ezra took a long slow sip, stalling the inevitable. He looked up, half expecting to see angry eyes staring back at him. All he saw was concern. "I think I could handle this better if you could be at least moderately incensed."
"Don't worry Ezra, if it's called for, I can be plenty pissed off." Chris responded. "But I'm guessing you have a pretty good reason for what you did."
"So, three years, seven months, four days? I take it that was a significant date?"
"Strange," Ezra was speaking almost to himself. "The last time I saw her she was dressed in white as well."
Vin and Chris glanced at each other, not quite sure where to go with that.
"She was standing at the back of the church." Ezra explained. "I turned from my vantage point at the front, and couldn't believe my eyes. I had never seen anything quite that lovely. I smiled. She tried to do the same, but faltered. She looked at me, met my eyes, shook her head, turned and ran. Well, walked actually. Rather difficult to run in those shoes I would imagine."
Chris stared. Vin was opening and closing his mouth, but no sound was coming out. Finally, he got his vocal cords to act. "She left you at the altar?"
"It sounds trite, and somewhat clichéd, when you say it that way. But yes Vin, that would be an apt description."
"You were going to marry the woman?" Chris asked numbly.
"Well, that would be why I was at the altar."
"Why'd she leave?" Vin couldn't imagine what that must've been like for Ezra.
"I never had the chance to ask her. Today was the first time I laid eyes on her since the moment she left the church. I got reassurances and apologies from her maid-of-honour when she tried to return the engagement ring. I told her I did not want it back. What possible use could I ever have for it now?"
The years had done nothing to lessen the misery that could be heard in his voice. "If you want to talk Ezra, we'll listen," Chris told him. "But if you don't, that's okay too. But I have to ask you a question."
"Yes Chris, I can work with her. Her appearance simply took me by surprise today."
"Do I need to ask if you sure about that?"
"Whether you need to or not, I believe you just did. I shall endeavor to put my personal feelings aside, and act like the professional you all believe me to be."
"We really don't have to have that much to do with her," Vin offered. "They've got things pretty much set up for us as it is. We only really need to go in and tie up all the loose ends."
"Precisely what is it that they expect us to do?" Ezra asked. "Given that I was absent from the briefing, I am not exactly up to speed on this."
"The bureau had most of the information they needed to go after a gang of smugglers. DEA got involved when drugs were in the picture. And then it turned out they were bringing in illegal weapons as well. By that time, most of the agents involved were known entities, so that wasn't gonna work for them. That's where we come in. Or rather, you come in. They've got a source on the inside who is willing to bring you into the operation, in return for amnesty."
"No doubt they vouch for his character, but I think I would prefer a stronger recommendation if possible, before going undercover in such a circumstance."
"JD is already looking into it. But from the information they gave us, yes, this guy can be trusted. If he goes down it will be a third strike, and he's looking to do anything he can to avoid that." Chris took a deep breath. "You know these things are never 100% Ezra, but the information looks good so far."
"I'm sure if our young associate, and the others who are no doubt diligently reviewing the evidence, can be convinced of the credibility of the inside source, I shall have nothing to worry about. No doubt they are intensely curious regarding my actions as well."
"Concerned be a better word, Pard."
"Might I impose upon one of you do share the details on my behalf. I do not believe I would be capable at this point of dealing with the pity"
"Like I just said Ezra, concern is the word you are looking for. And yeah, I'll fill them in on what's going on if that is what you want."
Chris could tell Ezra was putting on a front. He was even more distant and formal than usual, meaning this was bothering him far more than he was letting on. "There's no reason for you to see her again Ezra. We've got the information we need from her, and it's not even her informant that's getting us into this."
"No reason for her to be involved any further." Vin concurred.
"There is no need to jeopardize the operation Chris. I can manage whatever needs to be done for this. It's been over three years, I can deal with it. The interaction will not bother me."
Vin smiled sadly. "Three years, seven months, four days. Yeah, this isn't going to bother you at all."
M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7
tbc