Chapter 11: Back Together
Vin Tanner looked over at Chris Larabee and nodded. They had to do this to protect their families and find Trent Malloy.
They snuck out the back and headed to the locker, "Looks like our sister got here before we did," Tanner said as they got their weapons.
"Good thing we remembered that we have a locker here,' Chris said as he picked up a bag and slung it over his uninjured shoulder, "Otherwise we'd have to convince the others that we needed our side arms just because."
Vin looked at the sky, "We have about two hours until it gets dark, then another hour before the second part of the storm hits. We need to find Erikson- Morgan and Malloy before then."
They had been walking for a while when they saw a few gang members off to their side nursing recent injuries, "Did ya'll by any chance see a young woman-,"
"Yeah," one said, "tell your slut that if we ever see her again, that Bete Noir will kill her."
Vin pulled the guy closer, and got in his face, "That 'slut' is my sister. Now where did she go?"
"She went into the alley."
"Was that so hard?" Tanner asked, shoving the man back, as Chris headed to the alley.
Larabee saw a trail of blood and the started following it until they saw the object of their search leaning against a building, eyes closed and gun ready, "Bella?"
The gun was in his face before he could finish the first syllable, "Easy, sister," Vin whispered, carefully stepping between Chris and Nikole.
She finally looked at them, "I told you not to follow me, Vin. I could have killed ya'll."
"But you didn't," Larabee said, "and you wouldn't have, either."
"Trent's inside, in the basement. I saw him a moment ago but he looks pretty bad."
Vin checked his weapon, "Looks can be deceiving, though. I say we bust the door down, get our brother and blow this joint."
Nikole smiled, "I have the C-4," she looked at Chris' shoulder, "You bust those stitches and I won't be able to help you much, Cowboy."
Her CO shrugged, "We've done this before, Belladonna, we'll do it again."
She cocked her gun, "Call me that one more time and-,"
"And you'll what? Get Ezra's sissy pistol? Please," he scoffed, "I've hurt myself worse shaving."
"No, I'll tell Mary that-,"
"Enough children, we need to get Malloy out of there. Besides, the kids hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight-,"
"SHUT UP, TANNER!" they said in unison as they quietly opened the door and slipped inside the old warehouse.
"Looks like the crypt keeper does the housekeeping, doesn't it?" came the quiet question when they entered the basement.
Nikole let out a nervous laugh as she knelt by Trent Malloy's side, "Ain't that the truth, Sergeant?" she looked him over as Vin stood guard and Chris came over with a backpack. Nodding her thanks, she turned back to her 'patient', "Where all are you hurt, Trent?" she asked gently.
"Got shot in the left shoulder with a dadgum sissy pistol, broke my leg when I fell through the floor and a few minor scrapes and cuts."
He watched as she started working on his shoulder, "We need to get out of here, Colonel. Quinn is going to come back with his four brothers and get rid of us."
"We've got company, guys!" Vin shouted, shooting a few random rounds from his gun, "Major, how much longer?"
Nikole tied the splint off, "Let's get the heck out of Dodge, boys," she picked up her bag and helped Larabee with Trent, "Remind you of something?"
Tanner smiled as he joined them, "Yep; Baghdad, Summer 2006. Search and rescue, Alpha team 7 and the agents provocateurs over there had to bring your sorry backside away from a welcoming commity."
The continued to the exit, occasionally Vin having to give cover fire, "I can't wait till we get out of here," Chris said, "You want to know why?"
Nikole understood this part of the job. She was married and had children, too, "Mary didn't want you to leave, ya'll fought, harsh words were spoken and you parted under less than desirable circumstances."
Malloy looked down at her, "Johnathan is on a mission isn't he?"
"Yep. North Korea, search and rescue of some missing missionaries. I told him that I didn't want him to go, but he said he had to. I didn't even have the chance to tell him what I really wanted to say. We both said things we regretted and I could see it in his eyes that he wished he hadn't said anything."
"How long has he been gone?" Larabee asked, saddened to realize that Mary was soon to deliver their first child together and he had left without so much as a kiss goodbye.
"Three weeks," she quietly answered, "When we get out of here, buy her a rose, take her out to a nice dinner, call her randomly from work find out how she is. Believe me, she'll appreciate the gesture."
Three shots in succession made the two agents bring up their weapons as Tanner jerked back and take down his target with one shot.
"Captain?" Larabee shouted.
"I'm fine, Colonel, it's just a graze-,"
"Major! take care of Tanner. A shot in the backside would be 'just a graze' with him."
"On it, sir. But I'll leave his backside to you," she said, rmoving a pressure bandage from its package.
"Why don't we save that one for Nathan?" Trent asked from the floor by some crates, where Chris had deposited him.
"Ya'll are all heart, I'm right here and can hear what you're saying. A guy could bleed to death with ya'll's remarks."
"LARABEE? YOU STILL OUT THERE?" a voice shouted from their right.
"I'M STILL HERE, QUINN. WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"ONE OF YOU JUST KILLED TWO OF MY BROTHERS. I WANT YOU TO SURRENDER."
Nikole looked at Vin and rolled her eyes, "HEY, QUINN!" he shouted, "WHY DON"T YOU YAHOOS GIVE UP AND WAVE YOUR WHITE FLAG SO WE CAN CALL THIS A DAY. WE CAN GO HOME AND YOU CAN GO TO JAIL AND EVERYONE LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER. SOUND GOOD TO YOU?"
"NO, IT DOESN'T, TANNER."
"I'm about to show them some Irish diplomacy,"*** Nikole hissed as she put her bag away.
Chris laughed, "Sounds good to me, let's make them look forward to the trip, shall we?"
The sounds of cocking weapons filled the small room, as the three remaining peacekeepers got ready.
Cordell Walker looked in the rearview mirror and saw the two SUV's following him and shook his head. This was not how he planned on getting the reunion started. He had Alex working on it and she had contacted the team members, telling them that June 13th was Trent's birthday and they wanted to give him a surprise. Trivette was next to him, making calls to the medi- choper.
Josiah sat in the first SUV with Buck, Ezra and JD. Nathan, Carlos, Kim and Butch were in the next one. He reached over and turned the radio on, wishing they could get anything at this point, seeing that no one was wanting to talk. Ezra smiled a knowing smile and hooked up his MP3 player to the port.
A familiar tune came on, causing the men to laugh. Buck smiled, "This song played when Erikson- Morgan came in and arrested one of the Quinn boys at Inez's."
JD shook his head, "'Kiss This', was on when she walked in? I didn't know you liked Aaron Tippin, Ezra."
Standish smiled, "I listen to anything worthwhile. Besides, I have a song for all of our missions to date, Mr. Dunne."
He skipped, "Do you recognize this one?"
Josiah answered, "Dolly Parton and Kathy Mattea, Tanya Tucker, Mary Chapen Carpenter, and Pam Tillis, 'Romeo'. Mary, Inez, Mrs. Wells, Casey, Mrs. Travis and Nikole at The Saloon, singing this and Vin jumping up on stage, singing Billy Ray Cyrus' parts."
"You can't forget him country dancing across the floor either." Buck added, smiling at the memory.
"What about 'I Love Rock and Roll' by Joan Jett? Anything there?"
"The first song Mary and Chris danced to after they started courting," JD answered with a slight grin.
Josiah looked over at Ezra, with a silent thank you. Ezra gave a slight two finger salute, just glad he could help, listening to the others talk about former cases and the songs that they ended their days with afterwards.
Chris and Nikole stood up and looked around them at the aftermath of the shooting, "God forgive us for taking these lives before they had the chance to know You," Nikole whispered, closing the eyes of the man before her.
Chris watched her, for a minuet, giving her space, "Where's Vin?"
Nikole heard something behind a crate and went to investigate, "Found him, Chris."
He walked over to join her and saw the blood on his best friends' shirt, "Vin," he whispered, feeling for a pulse.
"You ain't Jessica Alba, Cowboy," came the harsh voice, that could only be that of the native Texan, "back off."
Larabee laughed, nervously, "Crap, partner. I just wanted to make sure that Nettie would have her chance to beat your sorry Texan hide for standing in front of a gun."
"Help me up, we need to get out of here," Vin said, starting to move, until Erikson- Morgan put her hand on his chest, "Only if you can move me out of your way, Vin. That's when we'll discuss moving you." Tanner gave his best glare, but Nikole only laughed, "That wont help you one bit, Tanner."
Chris helped Trent over to them and set him against the crate, as Nikole finished patching Vin up, as much as possible.
She stepped back and looked around, "Chris, you pulled your stiches," she whispered, pulling out a small bag from her pack.
He looked over at the two men who'd finally drifted of into a light, pain induced, sleep, then back to her, "I'll be fine, Miss Nightingale. We just need to look after them."
He watched her for a moment, "Nikole, honey, you were shot," he said, taking a step closer to her.
Nikole looked down, and saw that not only had the stiches on her side torn, but she'd been shot on the right side of her stomach.
The last thing Chris saw was her fear filled eyes as she fell into his arms, unconscious.
He pulled her into his arms and cried. She'd taken that hit when she stepped in front of a bullet meant for him and her parents could lose their child because of his rookie mistake. His chest was burning as he finished adding more bandages to his fallen comrades and finally took time to look at his own injuries. In his occupation, your employees come first, the you could worry about yourself. But they were more than employees, they were family.
Chris, honey, wake up.
"What?"
Chris
"Sarah?"
I'm right here. Don't give up, Christopher. Mary is counting on you being there for the birth of your child.
"I'm tired, Sarah," he whispered.
I know, baby, I know. Help is coming. Can you hear the sirens?
"Yes. What about the others?"
I don't know, Chris. I was sent to help you. You can't give up, honey, hold just a minuet longer.
Daddy, you're supposed to take Billy fishing and camping. You can't give up, hold a little longer, Daddy.
Chris watched as the image of his late wife and son slowly faded, but kept hearing them telling him to hold on as he, once again, passed out due to his injuries.
Vin, baby let me see those baby blues.
"Mama?"
I'm right here, honey, I'm right here.
"What're you doing here?" Vin's slurred voice nearly broke Elisabeth Tanner's heart.
I'm here to help you, Devlin.
"I'm dying, ain't I? Since I'm talking to you, right?"
No, baby, you're not. You just need to hold on a bit longer. Help is on the way, honey.
"I cain't, Mama, 'm tired."
I know, Vin, just a bit longer. You have to hold on, though. Think about the others.
Vin watched as his mother stood with a young woman and a little boy, "Sarah and Adam Larabee," he thought as darkness took over once again.
Trent, wake up son.
"Dad?"
Right here. You need to stay strong for your friends and your mother.
"It hurts, so much Dad." Trent said between clentched teeth
I'm sure it does, son, but your mother needs you. So does your little brothers and sister.
"I'm sorry, I never lived up to you're expectations, Dad."
You did, Trent. I was and am very proud of you. Even more so to know that you have become a very fine young man. Tell your mother I love her.
The image of his father faded and left him feeling alone, "Dad, please don't go," he whispered, as he felt his resolve waning.
I'll always be here with you, son.
Mommy, wake up.
Mommy.
"I'm awake, baby," Nikole whispered, forcing herself to focus on the two little girls before her.
Mommy, you need to stay awake.
"I'm sorry, Marybeth, I can't."
Yes, you can, Mommy. Think of the baby. He needs his Mommy too.
Elisa- Marie's right, they need you.
"But you do too,"
The two girls looked back at the three adults and another little girl, We have people watching us, for you until it's your time. You need to hold on for the others.
The door to the old warehouse busted open and several people came rushing in, "The Quinns have been neutralized, sir." Josiah told Walker, as they did a quick sweep of the building.
"God help them for coming against the four that are in our ranks," Buck said, as he looked around.
Nathan came in and shook his head, "They're past that, unless they had a change of heart before they died, Buck."
James Johnson walked in with Butch McMann, Carlos Sandolval and JD Dunne, "Oh, God, Kole," he said, kneeling by his daughter- in- law, "NATHAN!"
Nathan quickly made his way over to them and and closed his eyes for a moment in silent prayer, "Where are the medics?"
Trivette closed his phone, "ETA 5 minuets. They're going to land in the parking lot."
Chris woke up to Buck Wilmington looking at him, "Hey, Chris, Nathan is going to get you fixed up for Mary. You just hold on a moment."
"St…stabbed," he whispered, looking at his friend.
Buck hadn't seen that look in years, on Larabee's face, "No, partner, you were shot."
Chris shook his head slightly, "N…Nikole w... was."
Nathan stopped checking on his fallen leader and looked at him, "Agant Erikson- Morgan was stabbed and shot?"
At Larabee's nod, Nathan continued, "How long ago?"
"F…four h…hours," Chris whispered, "s….s….shot."
"JOSIAH! I NEED YOUR HELP OVER HERE!" Nathan automatically started working on the young agent before him, knowing that bloodloss could cause death much quicker than anticipated.
"JD, I need a couple packages of gauze, tape, a knife and my stethascope," he pulled her shirt up and saw the self-installed stiches that she had and then the GSW on her lower right side. "Agent Erikson- Morgan," he said gently, "Nikole, I need you to wake up."
Ezra stepped closer, seeing that the Rangers had James busy to keep him out of the way, "Allow me, Mr. Jackson."
He knelt down by her, "Nikole, wake up. Mr. Jackson needs to ask you some questions."
A low groan escaped from Erikson- Morgan, but nothing more, "Keirstien, come on, honey. We want to see your pretty blue eyes."
Four medics came running in with equipment, and quickly got to work.
Jackson gave a brief discription of their injuries, "Malloy has a GSW to the left shoulder, a broken right leg and a few broken ribs." A female medic identified herself as she got to work, "I'll take care of him, thank you, sir. Help the others, please."
Nathan turned to a younger male medic, "Tanner has a through and through in his upper- right chest and a head injury."
"Thank you, for your assistance."
Nathan turned to and older woman, "Erikson- Morgan has a gash on her right side and a GSW on her lower right side."
The medic looked up at him, "Thank you or your help."
Nathan turned to the last medic, "Larabee has a GSW to the left side of his chest and a few cracked ribs."
The others had stepped back to allow the doctors room to work and waited.
Josiah was off to the side quietly praying while Buck and JD did a quick walk through.
Carlos, Butch and Kim stood at a distance while Trivette made a phone call.
"Trent's a strong, kid, Carlos. He's been through worse, and he was fine then and will be this time."
Sandoval nodded, "I know, but I'll never get used to this. He's my best friend and seeing this makes it worse, knowing that I could have tried to stopped it."
"We all knew that eventually they would find him," Kim said, quietly, "We just never knew how soon it would be, Carlos. Nothing could have stopped this, no matter how hard they tried."
Butch looked at her, "What do you mean, Kimberly?"
"I was doing surveillance checks on them and found that they had been watching Trent for a while. They even went so far as to look at his phone records. I think we have a leak in the HQ."
Walker made another phone call, "General Travis, the medics have landed and we will be there in about half an hour. Your welcome, sir, see you in a while."
Seven people stood at a distance and watched what was taking place. Each with eyes on their loved ones. They were going to be there watching over them until they were no longer needed.
James turned to Ezra, "How well do you know my daughter, Mr. Standish?"
Ezra had quickly put up his mask of indifference when the medical personnel had arrived, but it hadn't gone un-noticed by James.
"We served concurrently and got to know each other adequately satisfactory. Her, Tanner, Larabee and Malloy were exceptionally faithful and were blood brothers, as it were."
James studied the younger man before him, He hides behind five dollar words Armani® and Dior®, but he has a very compassionate side that not everyone sees. He's a good kid, "You don't have to hide behind fancy words with me, Standish. Nikole wrote home about the other men frequently and were in her every letter. However, she wrote about you with pride. When she was afraid what the others may think, you gave her a shoulder and listened."
"Kole is an amazing woman, James," Ezra began.
Good, defenses are down and I have a chance to find out what happened here.
"I met her when she was nearly 18. I was 23 the others didn't know she was there for a while. She told me that she was training and had left her best friend behind when she joined, but I saw the ring. She was engaged and I knew I had to protect her. I eventually learned that she knew Vin's little sister. He was 18 and we were stationed together. She wanted to meet him and I took them to meet, but he knew her already. I wanted to give them privacy, seeing that they were about to breakdown, but they wanted me to stay. Chris and Trent came in a few moments later and Trent introduced her to them as his 'baby sister.' That stuck and she became that to us all. However, the four of them were very close and the rest of us respected that."
"What can you tell me about what happened here?"
Ezra sighed, "I'm afraid that the only ones that can answer that can't tell us at this point."
"LET'S GO, PEOPLE!" one of the medics yelled, "We brought the plane, so there is plenty of room for every one."
The plane took off within moments of them getting everything and everyone settled.
Nathan was called into one of the ORs and Josiah had excused himself to the chapel on the second floor of the mansion.
The waiting room was full when three doctors entered the room, "Whose here for Trent?" Cassandra asked. Nine people stood, and walked over to her, "I'm his mother, Katie."
Cassie looked at the group before her, "Okay, please come with me."
Another doctor took the Travis/ Larabee family, Buck and JD going with them, identifying himself as Jordan Erickson, to another room.
Kathleena Walked in, "Who is here for Devlin?"
"It's Vin, Dr. Erickson- Johnson," Ezra said, tiredly, "and that would be the Wells, and myself. However, the Morgan and Johnson family is also."
The various family members had returned and the doctors told the others what was going on with their loved ones.
"Trent came through the surgery very well, and is expected to have a full recovery." Cassie said, "We will have him in a room very soon, then he can have visitors soon after." Dr. Erickson nodded at her son who updated them on Chris, "Chris is going to be fine. We put him on a ventilator, since the bullet pierced a lung." Jordan smiled, "He will be able to have visitors in a little while, but he will need his rest. They all will," Mary wiped a few tears away, as Orrin put his arm around her, as Kathleena talked about Vin.
"Vin is lucky. He was shot twice successfully, once in the chest, and once in the lower back toward the side. However, he is recovering very well, so far and he will be placed in a room with Mr. Malloy, unless there is a problem with that?"
"Dr. Erickson- Johnson," Josiah began, "He will want to know how Chris is, the moment he's awake, so please be prepared to have a fight on your hands."
Kathleena, slightly smiled, "Kole is the same way, Mr. Sanchez. I'm prepared to stand my ground."
Luke walked out of the OR grimly, followed by Nathan who wore a frown, "Annette, Conrad, James, please follow me," he said, motioning to an office.
Nathan watched them leave, but didn't turn when Josiah called his name.
"How is our sister, Nathan?"
"She asked us to save the others. Didn't care about herself, just her brothers and wanted to know how they were, even fought the meds and sedation to know."
Nettie walked over to him, "How is she, son?"
Before he could answer, Luke returned alone, "I was given permission to tell you how she is. Nikole had to have an emergency heart surgery after we patched her up. She had fluid around her heart that needed to be removed immediately. She will be fine, the knife wound on her side was deep, but only hit muscle, so it just needed stitches. The gun shot wound had us worried, but at the angle it hit, it missed anything vital." He paused, wondering how to tell them what else was going on, "She was also three months pregnant."
Mary looked at him, judging his reaction, "What about the baby?"
"The baby will be fine. It seems that God was with this merry lot, this time."
He looked at the remaining members of Alpha 7, "I thought I told ya'll that I didn't want to see ya'll under these circumstances again?"
JD shrugged, "When do we ever listen to anyone, doctor?"
"LUKAS!" a man yelled coming into the room, "Speaking of the devil," Luke whispered, standing, followed by Alpha 7
"How are my people?" the President asked, as he entered.
"Larabee is stable but critical and is being monitored. Malloy is stable and we don't foresee any complications. Tanner is also stable yet critical and is being monitored."
"Why is it when those four get together, they can't stay out of trouble?"
Buck and JD grinned, until Joseph looked at them, "And you two, aren't any better."
He looked at those around him, "My prayers are with your family members, as always."
He turned to his, son, "What of Erikson- Morgan?"
"She's critical, as we speak, sir."
"Okay," President Erickson nodded once, "I can't get in touch with John, he's on a mission. Conrad, Annette, what of Derik and Juliana? Are they still on vacation in Ireland?"
"Yeah. They are going to be gone for another week and a half. They vowed no phones or internet. They didn't even leave the name of the place they are staying."
Josiah spoke up, "Then I suggest we pray like we've never prayed before for our compatriots that are not in our ranks."
"Can someone please explain that?" JD asked, rolling his eyes, "He sounds like Ezra."
Ezra answered, "Pray for our friends that cannot stand with us right now."
Mary sat by Chris for a few moments, watching him, "The baby's due n a few weeks, now, Chris. Speaking of which, we need to talk about the nursery."
She smiled as she thought back to when he started doing the painting in the room.
"Chris! Vin! " Mary yelled, coming into the house with buckets of paint, "I got more paint. I noticed we were getting pretty low."
She heard laughing coming from the stairs and shook her head.
Chris looked at the wall as his best friend painted the other, "Mary doesn't want any of this on the floor, buddy."
"I know that. What do you think I am; a kid? Although with those raging hormones, and everything, she may change her mind."
Chris saw his shadow on the wall, and turned with his own brush, catching the former military sniper across the chest, as he got it across his face, "It's on now, partner."
"Bring it on, Cowboy."
"Hey, only Mary can call me that."
"Whatever, Cowboy."
The sound of paint sloshing made Mary come into the room, "Those clothes are NOT going in my brand new washer and dryer."
Paint not only was on the walls but the two men as well, "and you get to clean up this mess."
"Awww, Mary-,"
"Don't 'Awww, Mary' me Devlin Tanner. You helped create the mess, you get to help pick it up."
"You both were covered in baby pink paint," May laughed, "Your favorite black t-shirt and Vin's well worn Wrangler's® were spotted and striped. I'm surprised they even came clean."
Nettie Wells quietly watched the gentle rise and fall of her surrogate son's chest, "Never half way with you, is it, son?" she asked, with a slight smile. "You need to get better so you and Ezra can prank the others with your outlandish jokes."
Chris stood in the barn working with a long piece of, wood when Nettie walked in, "Chris what are you doing out here, son?"
He held the wood in both hands as he turned, showing her the cane he'd made, "Vin get's out of the hospital today and I figured he could use a cane to get around after his knee heals and he's off the crutches."
Nettie smiled at the beautiful handcrafted cane. Vin had fallen off her barn roof, while fixing a leak, and had saftly landed in a pile of hay, but had dislocated his knee, resulting in surgery in order to fix it.
"I think he will love it, Chis. The best gifts are never the ones bought in stores, but are the ones that we can give ourselves."
"Thank you Mrs. Wells."
Mary's birthday rolled around a month later, subsequently, so had Vin and Ezra's first escapade. Vin and Ezra stood on the Larabee's porch, both in Armani® suits, Dior® sunglasses, and Gucci® shoes, with Vin with his hair slicked back in a ponytail, using his cane. Chris opened the door, already knowing of their plans, and led them to the den, which automatically went silent when they entered. "I dare say, old chap," Vin said, in a British accent, though his Texan accent showed through as well, "are you sure we're in the right place."
Ezra, having no other choice, continued in his Southern accent, "I do believe so, Mr. Tanner. However, you'd be thinking it would be more livelier."
"Yes, yes. Swinging from the chandeliers,"
"Jumping on the furniture, even." Ezra added
Nathan shook his head, Josiah smiled, Buck and JD stared, and Chris grinned, with Mary, hiding her smile behind her hand. General and Mrs. Travis, watched in amusement, while Nettie and Casey continued with fixing the drinks.
"What happened to Vin Tanner?" Buck asked, "You know, the sweet, quiet, innocent Texan that all the girls fall over?"
"That's where you're wrong, dear sir," Vin smiled, "I've never been either of those things."
Nettie smiled, "Yes, you have, Vin. Tell the truth."
Vin gave a her a cute grin and a sarcastic smile to Buck, "You're just jealous, Buck."
"Of what?"
"Me, of course," Tanner replied with a look as though it should be obvious by now.
"You have nothing I would be jealous of, Tanner."
"Yeah, you do."
"Like what? Your shaggy hair? A Texas accent? Ripped up Wrangler's®? A beat- up old Chevy® pick up? Battle scars?"
"Yes," Vin answered without a second thought.
"Why?"
"Because girls think it's hot, and all you have is 'animal magnetism.'" He turned to help Chris in the kitchen, "Also, cīcen orare eschara. Poena bēon temporarius, eschara bēon perpetualis." ***
"What does that mean?" Buck asked confused.
"Loosely," Josiah said, smiling, "it means 'Pain be temporary, scars be forever. Chicks adore scars.' It's a combination of Old English, Old French and Latin. 'Be' in that sense can be translated to 'is' and 'are', it means the same thing."
"Where did he learn all those languages?"
"It would seem, that our dear Mr. Tanner has more talent than we knew." Ezra answered, looking at his finger nails.
"You better not have done this for the girls, Vin Tanner," Nettie said, "Or I'll tan your hide. You're not too old for that, you know."
It was well past midnight, when Walker made his way to Trent Malloy's room. He watched him for a few moments, not saying a word, but thinking about his friend and protégé.
Walker was in the gym working out when Trent Malloy walked in and watched him. He knew the kid was there, even though he was quiet and hadn't made a sound, "What's on your mind, Trent?"
"How long have you known I was there?" He asked, not entirely surprised, as he was curious.
"Since you walked in the door, 10 minuets ago." Walker turned, "Join me in the ring."
They spared for quite sometime, when Walker got the upper hand, pinning Trent, "Okay, okay. You win, but I almost had you."
They sat in the ring for a while, when he finally spoke again, "I got accepted into the army."
"That's good. Congratulations," Walker answered, knowing that when he was ready, Trent would tell him what was bothering him.
"Dad isn't thrilled," he finally confessed.
"Give him time, Trent, he'll come around."
Months later, Walker went to see the Malloy family and was having dinner with them when Tommy brought up his big brother. Thunder excused himself to his study and Katie nodded to the door, motioning their guest that he should check on her husband. Walker stood quietly by the door, watching his friend as he looked out the window. "Every since Trent left, Walker, the only thing that has given me any peace is this," he said, holding up a Bible. A picture fell out of the pastor's Bible and Walker picked it up. Trent James Malloy in his uniform stared back at him ,"I really am proud of my son, Walker. I just hope I can tell him so, someday."
"Thunder was proud of you, Trent, as are we all, son." Walker said quietly, looking over at the young man.
Luke Erickson looked at the monitors, as he checked on his niece. He smiled sadly as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, "This isn't you, Keirst," he whispered, "you're supposed to be giving me that cocky, lop-sided grin, or calling me while I'm trying to save my wallet from Cassie. Not laying here, quietly, allowing a machine to make decisions for you."
Luke Erickson chased his wife through their house and up the stairs as his phone rang, "Erickson, Nikole, I'm trying to save my wallet from your aunt. This had better be important."
Cassandra came from the bedroom with her purse, holding up a sign, "I WIN. GIVE ME THE CARD!"
Luke pulled out his wallet to get his credit card, only to have his wife take it all, "You owe me, Morgan. BIG time, because, thanks to your untimeliness, Cassandra just took the WHOLE wallet and she's going to the MALL."
Buck and JD had finished their rounds when they heard a person on the phone.
"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, Matthew Quinn escaped, probably on his way to see you. The others are dead. Malloy, Tanner and Erikson- Morgan are critical from what I've heard, I'm unsure about Larabee. Yes ma'am, I'll finish it off for you. What of his wife and son? Yes ma'am. I don't mind it at all. He should have listened to you instead of Tanner, then we wouldn't be in this mess."
JD cocked his head and looked at Buck, who took the phone from the Ranger, "We've got your number, honey," he said as he shoved the surprised officer to Dunne.
They came in from outside, with the officer in front of them, "It seems, ladies and gentlemen," Buck said, "we have a traitor in our midst."
Josiah stepped forward with Butch, "We'll take him, Walker," Butch said.
"You boys may want to pray for him, though," Josiah said, "because we don't take too kindly to people hurting others."
"Especially family," Butch sad with a grin.
President Joseph Erickson removed a file from his briefcase, "Mark King, Texas Ranger," he said, looking at the wallet Butch handed him. "However, that's not who you really are, is it? Your real name is Arron Spruce. Team 7, ya'll remember Ella Gains?" at the affirmation of his team, he continued, "This is her cousin. Conrad, you remember Marc Spruce? This is his son."
"How did he get through all the tape?" Ranger Walker asked.
"Because," JD Dunne answered, "he was a hacker and was able to change whatever he wanted to fit his need."
"So, that means you can let me go, since I know so much?" their prisoner asked, hopefully.
"Has hell frozen over, yet?" Josiah asked, as Jordan showed him and Butch to an empty room.
"But, she'll kill me," he complained.
"Not if we beat her to it, kid," the former boxer said, as the door shut behind them.
Everyone sat in the common room, as the doctors told them what was going on, "First of all," Luke said, "I honestly believe that without Divine Intervention, we wouldn't be talking right now. Everyone is improving nicely, and we expect a full recovery. The three men will be moved into a room together, now that they are out of the critical point and have been taken off of any unnecessary equipment."
*** IRISH DIPLOMACY; THE ART OF TELLING SOMEONE TO GO TO HADES, AND MAKING THEM LOOK FORWARD TO THE TRIP***
***'Pain be temporary, scars be forever. Chicks adore scars.' Is the translation, however if you wanted technical terms, it would be 'Pain is temporary, scars are forever. Chicks adore scars.' However with this being Vin Tanner, I wanted something that would be him and not out of his character.***