Marked Man

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and there is no profit. Magnificent Seven belong to Mirsch, CBS, MGM and Trilogy. Many thanks to MOG for the creation of the ATF/AU.
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Language, violence
Notes: Thank you to MOG for impressing the hell out of me. You betaed! And this fic only improved because of her. Now, note this is a work of fiction so sometimes as MOG has pointed out I do play loose with reality. Many thanks to Kim as the OCC. Comment is appreciated.(This has been re-edited from its original form)

They say he sat on a king's ransom although he lived plainly. He was a hermit, alone in the crackling dry hills. There had been rumors. Ali believed those rumors were to protect against nosy neighbors and a man's privacy.

The hermit had called for a driver. Ali needed the money and had a small car to provide the service. He had children to feed. The driver easily found the stucco house and pulled the four-door Renault in front of the home. Ali didn't have to get out. The mystery man exited with one bag. Despite the warmth, he wore a turtleneck. His head was covered, eyes shielded with sunglasses, face strategically hidden.

Ali was not one to ask questions. The man gave him directions, paid him the agreed price and then some for which Ali blessed him.

A normal bust did not culminate in two injured agents even for Team 7.

"Did you see where the shots came from?" Chris asked pushing a hand through his hair, making his tense forehead more pronounced.

Vin pushed off from the wall he was leaning against. The sharpshooter crossed his arms tightly, then closed his eyes, going over the scene in his mind. Ezra and JD were on the outskirts of the courtyard. It was a small bust with big ramifications. Guns would be stopped from entering at least one high school in Colorado.

JD was thrilled he was going undercover, having only played a computer geek before in another operation in which he kept silent and his head bent over a keyboard. This time Dunne didn't care he was playing a 'kid.' The young agent was the source of the ATF's information- the go between. His mission was to make friends with the teenagers known to have weapons, find out who their source was and try to broker a deal between the source and another player, Ezra.

The source, Samuel Givens, was interested in gaining another avenue to sell his merchandise plus gain some backing so he could expand further. Ezra was making a lot of promises. The meeting was at the parking lot of an abandoned super market where teens were known to frequent.

Ezra's Jag was parked in the corner; Samuel's Acura was nose to nose with the Jag. The headlights of the vehicle were the only illumination as the parking lot lights had long since been broken. JD, Ezra and Samuel were ahead. Josiah and Nathan were hiding on the edge of the parking lot in the overgrown shrubbery that was keeping them well hidden in addition to the lack of light. Buck and Chris were inside the abandoned supermarket with Buck buzzing and commenting.

Wilmington mumbled over the open mike, "Kid's head is going to be swollen for days after this."

Vin thought JD was having fun the past few days, enjoying the time with the teenagers even though it was the 'wrong crowd.' Dunne never had an opportunity to be a real, irresponsible teenager albeit one that had criminal tendencies. Tanner figured the young agent's head wouldn't be swollen. It would be a letdown to go back to work with the adults.

The sharpshooter sensed the climax to the bust. In the clear blue haze of the night scope it seemed as if every movement was hyper clear. The signal was given. Chris and Buck charged out as did Nathan and Josiah. Everything seemed peaceful. Vin was at the ready, but didn't fire off one shot and Chris was recalling him to the ground for support. He was set to come down the metal ladder attached to the building. Weapons were placed on the ground. Then Buck and JD got shot.

Vin opened his eyes, assaulted with the harsh fluorescent lighting and the turquoise colored vinyl chairs. He let out a breath. "I don't know. I was climbing down." Tanner slightly bowed his head, then brought it up again to face the team leader. "Looked like it was all clear."

Chris looked away and Vin swallowed the lump in his throat. The sharpshooter knew he wasn't to blame -Chris had confirmed the all clear, yet his answers were lacking and insufficient. Larabee stared at the hall his friends had been taken down. Tanner rubbed his eyes. They both stood transfixed until Ezra came up behind them.

"Mister Givens was not forthcoming with any information." Standish drawled. Ezra and Nathan had gone back to the office to see if they could find out where things went wrong though Ezra remained in the background, having been arrested to keep up with the pretense.

Next to him, Jackson closed his cellphone. "And intel confirmed, again, he did not have any known backup." The medic gave a quick glance down the hall, checking for the doctor. "Just like we said from the beginning-he's a one man band."

Standish rubbed his chin for a moment. "Then Nathan told Givens that an assault on a minor could add to his jail time. . ."

Nathan shook his head. "He was scared Chris, but he was adamant he had nothing to do with the shooting." Jackson placed his hands in his pockets. "He told us he would swear on a Bible or take a polygraph to prove it."

Frustrated, Chris slammed his hand, palm flat, against the wall. "Damn."

Vin nudged Nathan to continue, letting Chris ride out his aggression.

Jackson nodded. "Then he started to rollover on his contacts."

"We left him in the capable hands of the assistant district attorney." Standish added, looking away from the irate leader, he directed his question to Vin. "Any news on Buck and JD?"

"Not yet," the sharpshooter sighed, moving slightly away from the leader to give him some space to pull himself together. The only thing that would help him and the others was to know that their friends would be okay.

Tanner watched Josiah as he calmly sat, going through old copies of Field and Stream. The large man cleared his throat breaking up the tet-a-tet. "Here comes the doctor." Sanchez stood up and went to stand next to his teammates, giving Vin a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.

The dark-haired doctor removed his surgical cap and smiled as he clutched it. "They're going to fine."

Josiah grinned as he watched his teammates. The doctor made the team wait until after the roommates were moved out of recovery and asked they'd be patient. The team's version of patient consisted of men pacing, fidgeting and tapping until they saw their friends being rolled down the hall.

"Honey, wait, those are my friends," Wilmington said awkwardly waving his hand towards the general direction of the team. A sheet covered part of his torso, but part was left exposed showing the neat white bandage pinning his arm against his chest. The mustached agent had taken a hit in the shoulder, the bullet lodged inside.

JD followed behind, having taken a bullet in his side leading to a nicked liver. He cleared his throat as he passed and offered a wan smile. "Is someone going to write me a note for school tomorrow?"

Josiah chuckled, "Wasn't I playing the dad?" Sanchez had gone the first day of the undercover operation to register JD for school. As they had walked into the office the young agent was already getting into his role, whining and being mouthy to his so-called father.

The men followed their infirmed friends in the room and tried to stay back as the two were moved from their gurneys to their beds. The nurse took some time to write some notes on their charts. "Are you two okay?"

Dunne nodded, and Wilmington flirted. "With you by my side I'm going to feel better in no time."

The nurse shook her head. "Boys, not too long." She eyed each man. "They need their rest."

"Don't worry, we'll be leaving shortly." Nathan replied. "I don't think they need us to entertain them." Jackson added, noting Buck was reaching out already to the television remote control.

Chris stepped forward and pulled the object from Buck's hand, putting it out of reach of the injured man. Larabee was a little surprised when the overhead TV came to life.

"It slipped?" JD said, opening his eyes wide trying to look innocent as he held the remote.

Josiah walked over and reached up to shut the TV off. "No TV until you do your homework."

Dunne groaned at Sanchez's comment.

Buck shifted against his pillow and grimaced. "Where the hell did the shooter come from?"

Josiah had noticed that Vin had been a step behind, practically hidden by the large man's frame.

"Couldn't tell." Tanner said, looking unblinkingly to Wilmington, avoiding the other men. Sanchez didn't know what was eating the long-haired agent, after all, he had protected Buck. Tanner had started to climb down, heard the shot, the noticed the mustached agent jerk as he waited for Vin at the end of the ladder. Vin had thrown himself on top of Buck until the shooting stopped.

"Possibly a northwestern direction." Ezra said as he sat down in the only available chair in the room.

"There's a team on the scene trying to figure it out." Chris added as he glanced between the two men making sure for himself they would be fine. "I should have a report soon."

Wilmington adjusted his position yet again frustrated it was difficult to move with one arm pinned to his side. JD tried to stifle the yawn causing his eyes to water. Nathan cleared his throat and pointed to his watch.

Chris, understanding they were overstaying their welcome, placed a hand on the end of JD's bed. "Get your rest. We'll be here in the morning."

After three days, the two team members were coming home to finish recuperating. They were going to go back to the CDC under the careful scrutiny of the other five men. Josiah and Chris were going to pick them up after lunch.

In the aftermath of the bust the office had been working hard to find out what happened. The conclusion were theories ranging from a leak in the office to perhaps revenge by a Given's competitor. No one wanted to believe it was some sort of fluke. Combined with the two hospitalized men, Nathan found himself stressed. This morning he was starting his day at Starbucks.

Jackson was not surprised to see Tanner in line already. He waved to the sharpshooter who gestured he come forward. Nathan shrugged his shoulders and whispered apologizes to the people directly behind the longhaired agent.

Vin seemed oblivious to the rolling eyes and the dirty looks the people in line were giving him. "Hey, Nate what do you want?"

"Some tea," the medic replied as he tried to stifle a yawn.

Tanner shook his head. "You sure you don't want a double espresso?"

Nathan laughed. "And have it eat my stomach lining?" Jackson looked ahead to the menu, wondering what the tea of the day was. "No, Rain had me up," he said absentmindedly before realizing how that could be construed.

"Don't want to know," Vin said in a low tone under his breath.

Rain had been at his place working on a proposal. Her apartment was being fumigated. Seeing how on edge he was, she had graciously volunteered to give him a massage. "Wouldn't kill you to have someone in your life," Jackson commented.

Tanner pulled out his wallet, and took out two five-dollar bills. "Like being alone."

They were next in line. "What about companionship? What about sex?" Nathan finished saying as they reached the barista.

The young woman flushed in embarrassment at having heard the conversation. Her voice became an unnatural soprano. "An espresso and?"

"Yeah," Tanner quickly responded, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation and the fact it hadn't been private. Vin then shook his head. "Oh, and one .."

"Darjeeling tea," Nathan had quickly made his decision, "grande."

The woman called out the order. The two agents waited in silence. Vin shifted his gaze around the tiny confines of the coffee shop, still uncomfortable from the odd, overheard conversation. Jackson read a pamphlet on teas, more like turning the paper around in his hand than actually reading it. He returned it back to his spot when their order was completed. Once they left Jackson felt the need to apologize. "Sorry." The medic knew Vin would not be going back to that particular Starbucks for a while.

Vin took a tentative sip of his steaming brew. "You always think about stuff like that?"

Nathan grimaced as he sipped the unsweetened tea. He always worried about the men and their wellbeing. They led complicated lives. "I guess."

They had reached Vin's Jeep. Nathan was parked a little further down. Tanner placed the paper cup on the dashboard. "I'm doing fine, Nathan, rest easy."

"If you say so." Nathan chuckled and began to walk away.

"I say so." Nathan heard Vin reply. Jackson fidgeted the cardboard sleeve on his cup. He was surprised when the whole cup dropped out of his hands. He gasped and felt warm liquid on him. He was stunned when he looked down and saw it was blood, not tea.

He wasn't expecting Vin to knock him down either. "Nate! Get down!" He heard Vin yell at him, patting his face with one hand while Tanner's other hand held a weapon.

Jackson tried to respond, but his tongue felt thick. He felt his breath quicken and then the searing pain in his side. "Oh God," he groaned.

TBC