Sitting in the drivers seat, car shaded by trees, Joplin looked through binoculars at a car turning off what looked like a road to nowhere. The road the car was turning onto would take it directly in front of him. They were still far enough out of town that there were no people that would be able to interfere. The car got closer where he could see the occupants without the benefit of the binoculars. He had suspected that Erik, or whatever his name was, was working for the government when the shipments were intercepted. He had been in this business too long not to have been watching from a far when the transfer was supposed to take place. He'd deal with the other guy once he'd dealt with this. When he had texted Henderson to let him know, he could have predicted what his response would be. The man had betrayed everyone he knew so he wasn't overly surprised Henderson had taken an 'every man for himself' approach. Joplin had however, enjoyed the stunned silence when he told him that Larabee was at the transfer site in Albuquerque instead of Phoenix.

Joplin gripped the steering wheel as the car got closer. Recognizing not one but both occupants of the car, he clinched his jaw. He had given some thought to just shooting Erik from where he was positioned. He could have easily made the shot. Now he was glad he hadn't. Letting the car pass, he waited a moment before pulling out behind them.

Ezra glanced in the rear view mirror as the car pulled onto the road behind them. He had been out to Larabee's ranch enough times and had never seen another car on this road. He glanced back at the road before looking back at the mirror. "Your seatbelt's on, right?"

Sophie frowned and realized he was more focused on the rear view mirror than he was the road. "Yes." She looked over her shoulder. "That's Joplin."

"I know." Ezra debated his options. He might be able to out run him, but then what? Take Joplin into downtown Albuquerque? That would probably end up worse than Denver had. Before he could do anything, he realized that Joplin had made the decision for him. Even though he knew it would be better if he didn't, he felt his body tense right before Joplin's car hit theirs.

When the cars came to a stop, Sophie looked around to get her bearings. They were definitely not on the road anymore. She looked out her window and realized one of the reasons the car had come to a stop was because the passenger side had hit a tree. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she looked back at Ezra and breathed a sigh of relief that he was moving. "I can't get out my side."

"I know." Ezra looked up the incline they had traveled down when Joplin had forced them off the road. He could see Joplin's car further up and he could see that he was already getting out of his car. He liked their chances outside of the car way more than he liked the idea of being a sitting duck. "Sophie. We need to move. Now." Forcing the door open, he got out of the car. Tracking where Joplin was, he glanced quickly back at Sophie to make sure she was moving. He already knew they didn't have enough time to get very far before Joplin made it down the embankment. If he wanted to, Ezra figured Joplin could probably shoot them from where he was. But, he also knew Joplin well enough to know the reason he wasn't already dead was because Joplin wanted to have a conversation. His type always did. He also knew that Joplin would prefer to make their deaths as painful and as personal as possible.

Feeling Sophie grab his hand, he pulled her behind him and away from the car. He wanted to at least try to put something between them and Joplin. Then, maybe he'd have a chance to shoot Joplin himself, but only if he could make sure Sophie was out of the way.

"Sophie…imagine my surprise seeing you in the car with him. I actually thought you were dead. I actually felt a little bad about it." Joplin skidded down the embankment and came to a stop, balancing himself on the slope. "And Erik…or whatever your name is…I have to hand it to you. I have very rarely been fooled by someone. What you did…taking on Reyes like that? Just put a bullseye on your back. And, he'll do to you just what he did to Larabee and Travis." Joplin shrugged, "Although my guess is you won't be as lucky as Larabee was."

Ezra debated his response as he edged Sophie further behind the wrecked car. "I'm pretty sure Larabee doesn't consider himself lucky and Reyes is probably a little preoccupied right now. I imagine you and Henderson are a little higher on his list than I am."

Joplin raised the gun and pointed it at the traitor in front of him. "Which is why I'm going to go ahead and deal with you myself."

Vin glanced over at Chris as he slowed down for the light at the end of the exit ramp. They were still about fifteen minutes away from the ranch. "So what's the plan now? We crippled Reyes, but Joplin and Henderson are still out there."

Chris drummed his fingers on the edge of the window. "Depends." He glanced over at Vin. "The ATF is happy with the success. But, as is typical the interagency fighting over who can claim the success has already started. DEA wants credit because of Ezra's participation. FBI wants in because of Nathan. Hell, Albuquerque PD wants to take credit for some of it." He looked back out the window. The whole thing was ridiculous. "ATF'll make any of the transfers permanent." He had originally thought that maybe after this operation he might retire and take one of the job offers from the government contractors. He didn't think he was ready to simply retire. If they were still alive he might have considered it. But they weren't. And, he knew if he just sat out at the ranch by himself it wouldn't end well. Chris thought the team they had assembled had worked well together. So, the idea of making it permanent had some appeal.

"Albuquerque has some positives. Hell, my truck is already here. Not sure I need much more." Vin started to glance over at Chris but caught sight of a vehicle off the road as they crested over a small hill. Slowing down, he took in the scene, trying to gauge exactly who they needed to call.

"Shit…that's Joplin."

Vin pulled over to the side of the road as he recognized the man headed down the embankment at the same time Chris did. "And Ezra." Coming to a stop, he got out of the truck and opened the back driver side door. Chris had already gotten out. Both of them knew even at top speed, they couldn't get there in time. Reaching under the seat, he pulled out a bag and unzipped it. Retrieving the rifle, he quickly checked it before taking aim.

Ezra's eyes darted around as Joplin raised the gun and aimed at him. They could dodge a couple of shots, but he knew what the chances were of surviving and he definitely didn't like the odds. He could feel Sophie pressing against his back. At least she was trying to make herself as small of a target as possible. He weighed his options as his eyes continued to dart around, desperate to find another option. Then, he saw it. The glint as the beams of the sun reflected off of something. He hoped his eyes weren't playing tricks on him and he hoped even more that it wasn't just wishful thinking. He looked back at Joplin and realized he was about to pull the trigger.

He felt Sophie flench behind him as the shot rang out. Even knowing it was coming he felt the reflexive tensing of his muscles as he watched Joplin drop to the ground in a heap.

Two Weeks Later

Ezra knocked on the doorframe of Larabee's office door and leaned against it as he waited for him to look up. "I have to say the HR department here is a little affable than the ones with the DEA but I did just spend the last hour being told repeatedly that there are 'regulations' regarding undercover assignments and any revenue received from a game of chance is not to be used for equipment and or transportation."

Chris shrugged. "I documented everything." He waited for Ezra to come in but realized he wasn't going to move from the door. "Sophie situated?" He frowned slightly when he just received a nod from Ezra. "I understand why you didn't want to put her with the Marshall's. I have my own doubts that we've gotten everyone on Reyes' payroll. Henderson's still out there and it's a good bet he knows who you are and that she's still alive. Keeping her hidden is in her best interest, and if you trust your friend in New Orleans to do that, it's a good option."

Ezra crossed his arms and looked at Larabee. Making the decision to leave the DEA had been fairly easy. He just hoped it was the right move. "I trust Remy." He glanced over his shoulder. "Everyone else get settled?"

Chris leaned back in his chair. "You're the last one to get here. Josiah got here yesterday."

"Now what?" It had been a while since he'd operated on a team. With the DEA, he had been farmed out where and when needed. It was going to be an adjustment, but he thought it was probably the best move. Hell, it was the only move if he wanted to keep working undercover assignments. Even with the success with the Reyes operation, he had burned too many bridges with the DEA.

"We work cases as they come in, keep our eyes open for Henderson. This isn't over."

Ezra pushed open the door to the condo and dropped his keys on the table by the door. The Albuquerque skyline could be seen from the large windows in the living room as could the mountains to the west. It was a great view. A little different from the one he had in New Orleans.

The conversation with Larabee had left him feeling slightly off center. He had always worked on the proverbial island. He thought he liked his island. He had realized during the operation that he liked having people he count on more. Lost in thought and Larabee's warning to him when he had first met the man echoing through his head, he walked into the kitchen and leaned against the wall, content to take in the view in front of him.

Sophie glanced over her shoulder, newly colored short brown locks falling across her cheek. Turning around, she pushed the wayward hair out of her face before picking up a glass of wine and taking a sip. "How was work?"

"Work was fine. Lots of paperwork."

Sophie studied him for a moment. She already knew the answer to what she was about to ask. "Did you tell him?"

POST CREDIT SCENE

Chris shoved the door to the ER open. Five men making their way to the nurses desk tended to clear a path without much effort. Everyone in the room instinctively knew to stay out of their way. He spotted a nurse and headed towards her. "Standish?"

The nurse had been expecting them. Rising, she nodded to them to follow. "He's alive. Gunshot wound to the upper chest. They took him down to X-Ray. They think he may have a skull fracture." She stopped at the entrance to a room that was a decent ways away from the general population of the waiting room of the ER. The two EMT's that had brought him in were still in the room taking to APD. "Sergeant?"

The officer looked up. "Larabee?" Not waiting for a nod, he walked over. "What was he doing that far out of town?"

Chris chose his words carefully. They still weren't sure if they had cleared out everyone with APD that had been involved with Reyes' and Joplin. It had been a couple months since they had crippled the organization but it seemed like they uncovered a new layer every week. "Chasing a lead. Where exactly was he found?" He already knew it wasn't where he was supposed to be. The rest of them had spent all of last night searching there, eventually fanning out but still coming up empty.

"A group from the university was excavating around where that hiker found that chest of unstamped gold a couple months ago. If it weren't for them, he would have died. The area he was found in is pretty remote." The officer looked at the other men that had followed Larabee in and swallowed. He knew exactly who was standing in front of him. The rumblings through the department as IAD cleaned house had been that most of the tips about who was on the take had come from the ATF as part of their investigation.

"I need to know where…exactly. He wasn't alone and if he was the only one brought in, that means we still have one missing." Chris glanced over at the rest of the men. Nathan was already talking to the nurse. He'd be able to find out exactly how bad Ezra was hurt. Josiah was studying the rest of the people in the room. Two of the officers were talking to the EMT's. Walking past the sergeant, he headed towards them. "Did he say anything?"

"Not much. He was hit pretty hard and judging by the amount of blood loss, he had been out there more than a couple hours." The female EMT offered a reassuring smile. "There was a name he mentioned…I'm assuming it's his wife or girlfriend…Sophie. Has she been notified?"

Chris clinched his jaw. "I'll take care of it." Turning away from the EMT and towards Buck, he crossed his arms. "Take Josiah and JD and head out to where he was found. We covered the area they headed to last night so there's got to be something between there and where they found him."

Buck nodded. "Did she say Sophie? Isn't she hidden away in some backwater town in Louisiana? If he's worried about her, then I'm assuming we're taking that as confirmation that this is Henderson we're dealing with." He knew Chris had suspected that last night when no one could get a hold of Ezra or Vin.

Chris looked over at Nathan who had joined them. "Find out anything?"

"Gunshot wound to his shoulder. He did a so so job trying to stop the bleeding, still lost more than he needed to. Was either hit on the head or hit his head on something. That's the biggest concern. They're keeping him sedated right now." Nathan studied the look on Chris's face. "What's wrong?"

Chris ignored the question. "Stay close to him. I mean either in the room or right outside. Henderson knows exactly who he is and if he thinks he's still alive he'll come after him."

Buck stopped Chris as he headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"To check on something. Text me your location and I'll meet you there when I'm done." Chris backtracked his path out of the ER and to his jeep. If he was right, he was going to kill Ezra when he woke up.

A/N: I have not fleshed this story out completely, just a couple scenes. As always, curious to hear feedback and comments!