SAVING VIN by AJB
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Thanks to Josiah's army connections, arranging for the helicopter proved to be the easiest part of the preparations. Even though Nathan was physically down for the count with his leg injury, he was still a great communications and information base. Buck, however, chose to stay with JD, Claire and Matthew through it all.
"Vin's being taken away in a spectacular way and JD's bound to be affected somehow," Buck reasoned. "And the bad guys know we're holed up on the reservation; not the exact location on the res, thanks to Kojay's people, but it's only a matter of time before they get closer. I'm not willing to gamble on any of their safety."
Chris had to agree. It made him realized how tired he really was, and how he, too, wanted this whole thing to simply be over.
Ezra was the player Chris considered at the moment. Two places still needed coverage for him to feel any modicum of satisfaction with this plan: The Federal building's 14th floor and the P.D. heliport.
Although Chris felt that Capt. Niley could handle the transport, there were simply too many unknown eyes in that building. With the heliport at ground level and behind the station, it was visible to curious and prying eyes. It was too much area for one agent's eyes to cover, even those of the ever-vigilant gambler's. Still, he had Travis at the Federal building, so perhaps the best use of Ezra would be at the P.D.'s station.
Chris expelled a weary breath and raked his fingers through his hair, causing Vin's head to pop up from where he, JD and his grandparents huddled over a scattered puzzle. The concern in those wide, blue windows was clear to Chris and he smiled in an effort to comfort from across the room. Vin's expression smoothed a little but Chris knew the reassurance was temporary, and knew very well that Vin realized it, too. Sometimes, their deep connection was inconvenient. This was one of those times. He winked and smiled, getting a tiny smile in return from Vin before his attention returned to the puzzle.
Straightening with a stifled groan, Chris felt the twinge of tense muscles in his back as he headed to the door in search of Ezra. He was surprised to find the dapper agent on the tiny outdoor landing, leaning against the trailer and walking a silver dollar across the knuckles of one hand and appearing pensive.
"Ezra."
"Mr. Larabee.
Chris looked out from where he stood, allowing the steadfast yet peaceful forest calm his worries. Beyond the canopy of trees that sloped slightly downward before him, the distant peaks of the mountains that surrounded them felt like a warm embrace. What he had here - his family, his friends, his team - was a solid foundation that would not fail him, and with the strength of that idea, the doubts of his plan slipped away like mist in the sun.
"I'll need you at the P.D.'s heliport," Chris said softly, his eyes still absorbing the atmosphere's calm. "There are too many variables there that worry me."
Peripherally, he saw Ezra nod once. There were several beats of silence before the gambler spoke.
"They are out there, Mr. Larabee," Ezra uttered calmly. "I am sure you have considered all the variables, but that is one fact that must be in the forefront at all times. You are too experienced of a leader to see otherwise, but I feel I must elucidate the point." Ezra then turned and caught Chris' attention. The silver dollar slowed its endless, circular journey. "There will be interference. The number of possible manifestations is tempered only by the depth of Faraday and Griffin's treachery, and I fear that well taps deep."
The corner of Chris' mouth twitched once before he snorted and refocused on the beauty around him. "So you're expecting reprisals no matter what we do." In his mind's eye, he saw a furrow on the brow of his agent's poker face.
"Yes. And it will be devastating, Chris."
Ezra's use of his given name punctuated the depth of Ezra's worry, and for a moment, doubt shadowed his thoughts. Chris looked at the powerful slopes in the distance, vertically shadowed by the sun, and was again bolstered by their strength. They had taken a stand by launching an offensive. This was not the time to retreat, because if they did, they'd be forever on the defense and he knew the toll on a life lived that way; it defined his time between the loss of Sarah and Adam, and the gaining of Vin, and he'd be damned if he'd live like that again. He couldn't allow Vin that life, either.
"There's no turning back," Chris firmly said.
Ezra nodded and pocketed the coin in one smooth motion. With a tug at his cuffs, he eased from the wall and started to the stairs. "I will be standing by with eyes open."
"This has to look legit, Ezra," Chris said. "Everyone has to believe that Griffin's getting picked up for medical reasons."
Ezra paused at the bottom of the steps and gave his boss a sideways glance, eyes glittering. "Deception is my forte, Mr. Larabee." After a quick grin, he headed to his car, parked out of sight.
Chris chuckled and shook his head. There was no better man for the job and he was thankful for the individual skills each man in his command possessed. Between them all, they would save Vin.
He glanced at his watch and took a bracing breath. Even though he'd shoved the operation willingly into motion, the zero hour was coming too soon.
M7/ATF/LB
"COOL!"
JD's excitement cut through the loud, windy arrival of the Hughes 500 helicopter. Chris twitched at the bright red color - not exactly subtle, but he couldn't complain. Josiah was reluctant to say why a retired military buddy turned flight school owner was so quick to loan the craft, and Chris didn't press. Even for the usually open profiler, some memories were still painful.
"Whoa, son!" Buck laughed as he grabbed JD's shirt, halting a headlong bolt for the machine. "We'll check it out later."
"But it's so COOL!" the boy lamented on the edge of pouting.
Vin hadn't uttered a word, and Chris felt the sweaty, tight clutch on his hand tighten. He looked down as Vin looked up, and he saw trepidation in those impossibly wide, blindingly blue eyes. Chris returned the hand squeeze with confidence, knowing he was Vin's lifeline to strength at the moment. He grinned.
"Ready to ride, pard?" he asked.
Vin glanced at the chopper and back to his dad, and then nodded. He wasn't entirely convinced this was a good idea, Chris could tell, but he could feel Vin's total trust in him through their bond. He smiled again, and turned to Buck.
"See you soon, stud!" Buck yelled. "Enjoy the ride!"
"Keep an eye out, Buck!"
Buck knelt down and corralled a bouncing, squealing JD in his arms. "Always!"
Chris started forward, tugging Vin's hand, and they both broke into a slow trot over the uneven ground of the small meadow. It had been a bit of a walk to get here, but the spot was perfect for the helicopter pick-up. They were again indebted to Kojay's knowledge of the land.
Chris ducked low before crossing the threshold of the spinning blades. Josiah wore mirrored aviator sunglasses and large headphones with a microphone arm. His broad smile, though, easily dominated his face. Chris picked Vin up and put him inside, behind the pilot's seat.
"Hi Unca Josiah!" Vin yelled excitedly.
"Come on up, Vin!" Josiah patted the seat to his left.
Vin looked to Chris for permission, and he gave it with a smile and a nod. As Josiah chatted to the boy and handed him a matching headset, Chris fiddled with the 4-point seatbelt harness until it was snug. Then he donned his own headset, tuning into the middle of Josiah's instructions on how to use the talk switch. He couldn't help smiling at Vin's efforts as he fastened his own harness.
"Everyone ready?" Josiah's voice asked through the headset.
"Yep!" Vin replied.
"It's a go," Chris agreed.
As the craft's motor revved and grew louder, Chris looked out the side window and waved to Buck, JD and Chanu. They became smaller as they lifted off, and with a smooth dip to one side, disappeared in the thick forest.
Brown dirt roads cris-crossed through the greenery below and turned into thin, tan lines as they gained altitude and speed. Chris marked their exit from reservation land when they crossed a wide, black roadway. The same road led to their house and he regretted the fact that they were flying in the opposite direction - Vin would get a kick out of seeing his home from the sky. He wondered if anyone else was studying the area from the sky.
Automatically, he scanned the sky and road for parked cars or anything else that could indicate surveillance. It would be nearly impossible to tell, though. There were campsites and ranches scattered below them, and any one of them could be a base of some kind. Chris hoped he'd caught them off guard with the helicopter. He also hoped that the quick turnaround would prevent anyone from getting organized enough to try to interfere. He glanced at his watch - so far, so good.
Once they entered city airspace, the headset chatter ceased. Josiah's profile was a picture of professional concentration as he took the most direct route to the Federal building. With the headset being so quiet, Chris wondered if Josiah even filed a flight plan. He decided that ignorance was bliss at this point. He'd deal with the fallout later.
"Ezra called. Griffin's ready," Josiah reported after a minute.
"Right on time," Chris replied, nerves waking up with a tingle.
Chris spotted the Federal building and leaned forward. He tapped Vin's shoulder and pointed, and after a moment, Vin nodded. Prior to the flight, Chris had taken Vin aside and went over the plan, step by careful step. He made it clear that Vin was to stay with him at all times, and it would be quick in, quick out. Josiah would stay in the helicopter and keep the engine running for a fast withdrawal. Vin was scared to see Griffin again, that was obvious, but Chris was proud to see they way Vin faced that fear. He was going to be quite a man someday.
The wind sock on the building roof directed Josiah to sweep around in a half-circle before touching down.
"Bull's-eye!" Josiah proclaimed as the runners touched the center of the landing circle, provoking a nervous laugh from Vin. "That perfect landing would win me a case of bee - a beverage of my choice - in my military days," the big man commented as he unbuckled his small passenger. Chris was thankful for the chatter that kept Vin at ease.
Chris hopped down, pulled open Vin's door and helped him down. "I'll let you know when we're headed back," Chris yelled over the whirring blades. Josiah nodded and produced a lazy salute.
When Vin's feet were firmly on the ground, Chris ducked and the trotted to the roof access door. He swiped the electronic lock with his card key and when the light turned green, he pulled the heavy door open.
"Careful," he warned Vin. "It's a little steep."
Their feet echoed on the metal steps as they descended through a narrow hall. Chris held Vin back with an arm as he pushed the door at the bottom of the stairs open. Quickly scanning the hallway and being satisfied, Chris directed Vin to the right. Since the building automatically locked down after five o'clock, the hallway was at half lighting and lacking the normal workday foot traffic. They passed by several closed office doors before encountering a windowless security door.
Chris' cardkey allowed passage, and they stepped into a plain hall with linoleum floors that made their footfall echo. The other end of the hall ended with silver elevator doors. The wall to their left opened up into an office area, but labeled doors lined the wall to their right. Ezra stood outside the nearest door and smiled at their appearance.
"Gentlemen," he greeted. "Shall we?"
"Why are you dressed like that, Uncle Ezra?" Vin asked, confused. His favorite Uncle was dressed in surgical scrubs.
"Simply playing the part of the trauma team," Ezra said, looking down at himself briefly. "Rather drab attire, in my opinion, but serves its purpose."
Even Chris smiled. Ezra held the door open and the pair slipped inside a darkened room.
"What is that child doing here?" an unfamiliar voice demanded.
Chris felt Vin sidle up to him, and he put a protective arm around the narrow shoulders before shooting a deadly glare at the speaker.
"The witness," D.A. Patterson said in a sharp tone. "Now shut up, Mr. Myers, or you will be escorted out."
"You can't do that," Griffin's attorney snapped.
"All we have to prove is the existence of the witness and we've done that," Director Travis said lowly. "Anything beyond is out of the goodness of my heart. Now sit."
During the interchange, Ezra picked up the wall phone and pressed a button. He whispered something in the receiver, and hung it up again. Chris glanced around at every corner, satisfied it was just the six of them. Ezra stepped around so Vin was between them, breaking Vin's locked stare at the sputtering Mr. Myers.
"He will be quiet now, Mr. Tanner. Director Travis has his cell phone." Ezra winked when Vin looked up at him, winning a tiny smile. Then he addressed Chris. "He's also been checked for electronics. I believe we are secure."
"Good job, Ezra," Chris said softly. Then he focused on Vin and dropped to a knee next to him, directing Vin to look through the glass into the next room. "Some people are going to come through that door. Don't say anything until we ask you a question, okay?"
"'kay."
"Remember, Vin, you can see them through the glass, but they can't see you. The other side is a mirror."
"Like on T.V." Vin's voice sounded small in the room. Chris was sure he was the only one that could hear the words.
"Yeah, like on T.V." Chris wished they had time to alleviate Vin's worries by showing him the other side of the glass, but he wanted to be out of here as soon as possible. "Okay, here they come."
In the line-up room, a door opened and several men filed in. They all wore plain clothes and the only way to tell who the agents in charge were was by their actions. The lead man stopped at the opposite wall and turned around, motioning for the men following him to turn around, their backs to the glass. When the seven men stopped, the last man in closed the door and told the center six men to step up to the wall and stand under the number painted on the wall over their heads.
As they positioned themselves, Chris got Vin's full attention and spoke quietly, eye to eye. "Okay, Vin, when they turn around I want you to look at each man standing under a number. It's important that you look at all of them. Understand?"
Vin nodded nervously.
"We're recording everything, son, so you have to answer out loud."
"Yes, I understand."
Chris studied the familiar eyes he loved, looking deeply to be sure Vin was good with this. "Just remember they can't see you, okay?"
"Okay."
"They're ready," Ezra said. "We are right here with you, Mr. Tanner."
Vin smiled up at Ezra, looking more at ease, as Chris stood. Each man held one of Vin's hands as he looked through the glass.
"Look at each one, Vin." Chris watch as Vin began at Number One. As instructed, he studied the man carefully. Chris glanced at Travis and got an encouraging smile. Beyond him, Mr. Myers surreptitiously studied Vin with a poker face as flat as Ezra's. The man glanced up at Chris, caught, and Chris narrowed his eyes. Mr. Myers turned his full attention scribbling on the legal pad on his lap.
Then Vin's breath caught.
"Vin?" Patterson asked, voice soft. "Did you look at everyone?"
"Yes." Vin's voice trembled, and Chris was surprised at the strength of Vin's suddenly clenched hand.
"Do you recognize anyone in the room?"
"Number Four," Vin answered immediately in a trembling voice. "He's the man I saw at Miss Grace's."
Chris was proud of the way Vin fought to stay strong.
For the first time, Chris turned his full attention to the men behind the glass. He, too, recognized Sean Griffin as the man standing under the number four from the Cobra web page and the yearbook. The man lacked any expression and Chris couldn't decipher any nervousness. "Too confident," he immediately thought.
Patterson keyed an intercom and instructed each man to step forward, turn a circle, and step back. Chris read via their bond that any further action from the line-up wasn't necessary - Vin easily picked their man, but Patterson wanted to any possible future objections to be completely covered. So did Chris, and he knew Vin felt the same so he endured and focused on Vin's well-being.
"Almost done, son," he soothed.
"'kay," Vin breathed shakily.
When it was Number Four's turn, the man took a step, grinned cockily, and turned.
And then he scanned the mirror and raised one hand. He held it aloft for a moment, then smirked and bent his fingers into the shape of a gun, the pretend muzzle pointed directly at Vin.
"Bang!" he mouthed as he pulled an imaginary trigger.
"Get him out! Now!" Patterson snapped as Vin gasped.
Chris swept Vin up in his arms and charged from the room as every man in the line=up room surrounded a laughing Griffin.
He could vaguely hear and feel Ezra ahead, wrenching the doors open and barking orders into a microphone, but he was painfully aware of the shocked stiffness of Vin's body as the boy clung to his neck. When the ascended the noisy metal stairs leading to the roof, he finally heard his son speak.
"You said he couldn't see me!"
Chris' stomach turned sickeningly. "He couldn't, Vin. It was a wild guess and he got lucky. You have to trust me, son."
He burst onto the roof and jogged toward the waiting helicopter, still clutching Vin to his chest.
"Then why are we running away?" Vin asked in a scared voice.
"We're not running away. We're going home, and I don't want to waste a minute getting there." He ducked low and felt the wash of wind over them. "There's an ornery horse or two missing us."
Vin relaxed enough for Chris to set him inside the craft, where he climbed into the seat next to his dad. Ezra took the one next to Josiah. They concentrated on buckling up for the next minute, and within two, were airborne.
"Home again, home again, jiggidy, jig," Josiah sang in their ears.
Chris forced a smile and took Vin's hand. Eventually, as Vin relaxed, the smile reached his eyes and became genuine.
"I, for one, am looking forward for that culinary treat you promised me, Mr. Tanner."
Vin frowned as he worked through his memory. "What's cul-nary?"
"Why, tasty foodstuffs. What was that charming name? It involves graham crackers?"
"S'mores?" Vin queried.
"Why, that's it. S'mores. Do we have enough chocolate to create this delectable?"
"Ezra," Josiah laughed. "You can never have enough chocolate."
As the plans grew around the preparation of their evening snack and Vin visibly relaxed, Chris finally felt the weight of the day slip from his shoulders.
He still wanted to kill that fucking Griffin, though. The thought of beating him to death with Myers' arm made him sigh happily and he settled back in the small seat, allowing his head to loll to one side so he could look out of the window. He grew calmer as the green edge that marked the end of the city grew closer.
"It was a coincidence," he thought, recalling Griffin's threatening gesture. "He was guessing the witness location and now his lawyer knows who the witness is. With them knowing that Vin's alive, this may never end."
A dark melancholy shrouded Chris as he thought of the time between now and the trial. It would, no doubt, be a long trial, and until he testified, Vin would be a target. So much for that normal life he wanted for his son. There would be an end, though. Together, and with his team, they would prevail.
As his thoughts ran to their end, Chris returned to his vigilant state. They would be at a secondary clearing very soon - not taking any chances, Chris arranged to bring Vin back via a different location on the Reservation. They were crossing the road that led home, and dropping lower to the rabbit-run of dusty trails.
Josiah swept to the north in an arc so the would arrive at the meadow on the down slope. Not quite as flat as the first meadow, this one was more of a challenge on the approach; with the prevailing breeze, Josiah had to drop below tree level and drift uphill slightly to get to the flatter center of the meadow.
It was low now, drifting sideways uphill so Vin and Ezra would get out on the upslope. Chris opened his mouth to jokingly complain about having to risk a downhill slide on his side when he noticed a puff of dust rise above the tree tops. It wasn't from the chopper - it was dust from one of the dirt trails. Just as the left skid lightly touched Chris saw several dirt bikes moving behind the tree trunks. Before he could order Josiah to abort, gunfire erupted from the trees.
Chris threw his door open and returned fire, and Josiah ducked low as his side window shattered. The craft shifted sideways.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Chris yelled, causing Vin to cringe away from him. Chris continued to fire out of the open door and Ezra backed him up, the gambler's arm stretched out behind Josiah's seat.
The sideways slip of the aircraft slowed and Chris felt the nose tip as Josiah attempted to lift off. The gunfire was deafening, and the muzzle flash inside the craft blinding. Chris, nearly blinded by acrid gun smoke, saw their vehicle rise away but the smooth action was interrupted by the scream of metal.
He was flung sideways and partially out of the open door when the tail section slammed into the gentle slope. Chris then lurched the other way and grabbed for Vin, but his fingers wrenched loose as the body of the craft rolled sickeningly. He heard a scream and saw rich, green grass through a window just before sparks flashed and darkness swallowed him whole.
TBC
9-26-09