Witness Protection By The Chronicler
J.D. stretched his leg out, taking three steps in one. Then he turned and glared down at Buck. "This sucks. I want to switch partners. How about 'siah? No! Nathan! Nathan never gets into trouble. stick with him and I'll never get slapped with baby-sitting duty again!"
Buck paused on the lower step and looked up at his partner. "We are not bein' punished." he insisted.
J.D. crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head to one side. "Right: we're' not being punished. You' are being punished. Me, I'm condemned by association, thank you very much!"
Buck opened his mouth for a come back, but stopped when he realized he didn't have one. So, he said the next best thing. "Yes."
J.D. stared at him. "Yes? Is that all you have to say? Yes?"
Buck paused. He tilted his head to one side as if thinking. Then he blinked at his partner. "Yes, you're right?" he offered.
J.D. continued to stare, his mind searching desperately for a response that didn't refer back to violence.
Gun shots suddenly boomed from the top of the stairs.
"What the hell..." Buck growled.
J.D. was already spinning about and running up the stairs. "The witness!" he reminded Buck as he drew his gun.
His foot had just barely landed on the the top step when a big, greasy looking man slammed into him, knocking him back and over the rail.
"J.D.!" Buck yelled, but the big man had continued down the stairs, half stumbling, half running right towards the agent. Buck aimed his gun. "ATF! Stop or I'll blow your fuckin' head off!" he warned. He almost hoped he wouldn't stopped. In the back of his mind, he could just see J.D.'s broken body lying on the black top of the parking lot below. And he really wanted to shoot this bastard!
But then another huge, ape like man shoved his way out the door just to the left of the top of the stairs, dragging a smaller man by the hair. While the big man fired a trimmed AK-47 back into the room, the smaller was kicking and screaming, begging for his life.
Buck glanced at the scene for half a second.
Half a second was all the first bad guy needed to bring his shot gun up and start to pull the trigger.
Suddenly a foot kicked over the rail, knocking the shot gun to the left as it fired.
Buck cried out, spinning to the side as the edges of the blast cut across his shoulder.
J.D. swung himself up. Leaning against the rail, he kicked again, knocking the shotgun up into the air. Lunging forward he slammed his fist out, taking the big man in the jaw. As the man stumbled back, nearly tripping on the steps, the small agent clasped his hands together and swung with all his might, slamming them against the bad guy's head. bracing his feet he swung again. He was less than half the other man's size, not even a third of his weight, and his gun laid somewhere in the parking lot below. He knew that the only chance he had was to attack, and keep attacking, and take him down before the ape had a chance to go on the offense.
Buck started to reach up to his wounded shoulder, instinct urging him to do something about the burning pain. Then he saw J.D. pounding the man who had shot at him. He almost grinned, seeing his little partner actually getting the better of the huge bastard.
"Help! Someone! Help! I didn't say anything! I wasn't gonna tell 'em shit! Honest!"
Buck suddenly remembered the second man and the witness.
Seeing that the stair way was block, the man was dragging their witness around down the walk and around the corner of the hotel.
"God damn it!" Buck growled. Taking the steps two at a time, he ran up the steps. Lowering his head, he slammed into J.D.'s opponent, shoving him back and smashing him against the wall. Shoving the barrel into the man's gapping and bleeding mouth, he snarled "I fuckin' well said Freeze your ass or I was gonna blow your fuckin' head off, didn't I?!"
Eyes going big, the man stared at him. Not daring to even breath, he simply went lip, allowing the shot gun to fall from his hands.
"J.D...." Buck started, but J.D. was already moving.
He slid past Buck and ran to the open door. "Oh shit." he hissed. He glanced at Buck. "Tony and Carol." he named the two agents they were supposed to relieve.
Buck nodded, grabbing the C.B. from his belt. "Shots fired at the Sheraton Hotel! Officers down! Repeat: Officers down! Need back up and ambulance at this location! Now!"
J.D. continued after the escaping man and their witness, pausing at the corner. His back to the wall he lifted his foot, pulled up his pant leg, and freed his back-up gun. Carefully he peeked around the corner. Seeing nothing, he slipped around. disappearing from Buck's sight.
Instantly, the older agent had a bad feeling. "Damn it all to hell." He shook his head. He just hated it when J.D. was out of sight.
Once again he fell victim to his distraction.
A huge hand wrapped around his wrist with bone smashing strength and twisted. With a jerk, the big man ripped Buck's gun away from his head.
"Ah!" Buck cried, feeling his wrist pop and crack, his fingers going numb. Despite the city sounds all round them, all Buck could hear was the sound of his gun hitting the cement walk at his feet.
With a growl that sounded half laugh, the huge man shoved, sending the agent stumbling back.
Buck felt the edge of the top step, felt the world teeter... and then he was falling.
-----
J.D. carefully ducked around a window, careful to keep himself hidden from whoever might be inside. Back, once again, against solid wall, he reached around to try the door knob.
Locked.
He continued on, ducking around another window. He reached for the door knob, but froze.
"Pleeeezzzz!" a voice was whimpering below. "I swear! I didn't squeal! I swear! I wouldn't do that to the Boss man! Hell, I ain't stupid! Honest to god, i swear on my mama's grave...."
"Shut up or I'll do you right here! Damn lettin' the boss do it himself."
Carefully, placing each step as gently as possible, J.D. stepped to the edge of the walk and looked over the rail.
There, below, was the bad guy and the witness. The witness was now on his feet, still being dragged by his captor. The big man slammed the witness up against the hood of a car. Then he moved around to the side and slammed the barrel of his machine gun through the window. Reaching in, he unlocked the door and yanked it open.
"Get in!" he snarled, snatching his victim just as he tried to make a run for it. he threw the man into the car. Then he stopped and looked around, as if considering the fate of his partner.
Now or never' J.D. thought, leaning over the rail and taking aim. "ATF! Stand where you are!" he ordered.
The man's head snapped up. His eyes narrowed. His gun came up.
J.D. fired.
The big man stumbled back as if he had been punched. "You little prick!" he roared, bringing up the AK-47 again.
Again J.D. fired.
Again the man stumbled, but the bullets hitting his chest didn't seem to slow him down much... just piss him off. Up came the gun and he fired.
J.D. dived to ground. The window behind him shattered, an answering scream of terror coming from within.
"Son of a bitch!" J.D. hissed. "Get down! Everyone! Get down!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, praying to god anyone and everyone in the line of fire could hear him... and listened to him. But he knew the only sure way to protect the innocents was to take the threat down. Not sparing any more time, J.D. rolled to the side, coming up on one knee and firing again at the gunman.
-----
Buck blinked up at the sky. For a painful breath, he wondered why there was a red haze across everything. He'd never seen a fog like this before.
Then a screaming pain slammed into his chest, throwing him up into the air and down another few steps until he laid flat of the black top of the parking lot, belly down.
With a groan, Buck laid his forehead on the hard ground, wrapping one arm around his chest.
The huge ape of a man casually made his way down the last steps and stood over the agent. Shaking his head, he observed "Shoulda stayed outta it, cop." He pressed the barrel of his shot gun to the back of Buck's head.
A gaspy voice from the agent said something.
The man paused. Curios, he wanted to know "What'd you say?" He rolled him over with the toe of his boot.
Buck looked up at him and growled "I ain't a cop, you stinkin' asshole!" He stretched out an arm, shoving J.D.'s fallen gun up under the man's bullet proof vest and against his gut. "I'm a fuckin' ATF agent!" And he fired.
-----
A fifth bullet hit the man in the chest and, for a fifth time, he only stumbled back.
"What the fuck...!" J.D. cussed, diving back for cover as another folly of rapid fire answered his.
What the hell was going on? Any normal human being.... shit normal! ANY human being shoulda been on the ground imitating hamburger by now. But this huge asshole just kept on and on... At this rate, the hotel was gonna collapse before he did. All J.D. had accomplished was keeping him from getting into the car. And that wasn't gonna last forever!
Grabbing his C.B. he yelled into it "Where the hell is my back up?!"
As if in answer, tires screeched as a black pickup truck with flashing lights tore into the parking lot.
"Chris!" J.D. grinned. He peeked over the rail.
The gunman had also seen the coming back-up. He started for the car again.
J.D. jumped to his feet, took aim, and fired.... and fired again...
The man stumbled, falling against the car. With a snarl, he turned and fired back.
J.D. dove for the ground again.
But the blast was aimed lower this time, ripping through the rail.
The young agent cried out as a bullet tore across his hip, leaving a deep groove across flesh and muscle. J.D. hit the floor and laid there in shock.
He could hear tires squeal below.
"ATF!" was shouted and J.D. groaned.
"Like I didn't already try that." he mumbled to himself.
Gun fire. Three rapid shots. Then quiet.
"What the fuck...?"
"Armor! The bastard's armored up!"
"Take cover!" Chris was shouting, but his voice was drowned out by rapid fire
"Ah, fuck this!" No longer caring about his wounds, J.D. came to his feet and took aim one more time.
The gunman had his back to him, now concentrating on ATF Agents Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, and Ezra Standish, all three taking cover behind Chris' truck. The truck was rocking from the onslaught of bullets slamming into it.
"Hey!" J.D. shouted. "What part of ATF don't you get?"
The gunman glanced back at him.
He fired.
The man gasped only for the perfectly aimed bullet to slam right through his teeth and out the back of his head. The gunman fell dead across the hood of the car.
Silence seemed to fall like a heavy fog across the entire scene. After a moment, Chris stepped out from behind his truck. "J.D.?"
J.D. glanced at him. "Chris?" His eyes narrowed and he slowly lowered his gun. He stumbled back against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor of the walk. "Don't forget the witness." He waved a hand to where the whimpering witness was crawling out of the car and toward the street.
-----
Buck chewed on a cigarette. It wasn't lit. He just sat on the tail gate of Chris' truck, chewing on his cigarette.
All around them police and agents were picking at each shell casing, every hole in the walls, every scrape on the ground, trying to note every detail of the fight. No civilian was hurt, but the simple fact that there was a shoot out was enough to drive the paper pushers mad. And, on top of it, there were two dead agents and two dead bad guys, and two more ounded agents.
Wasn't life just grand?
He glanced to his side where J.D. sat on his right hip, holding a bandage to his left hip. "So..." Buck mumbled. "Sorry."
J.D. glanced at him. "Huh?"
Buck started to shrug, but stopped with a wince as his wounded shoulder protested. "Sorry I got ya slapped with baby-sitting." He looked away. "Still wanna switch partners?"
J.D. frowned. "Switch partners?" He huffed. "You think anyone else can turn a boring baby-sitting punishment into needless violence and mayham like you do?"
Buck glanced at him sharply.
J.D. grinned.
Buck barked out a laugh, but Instantly wrapped an arm around his ribs and moaned.
Witness Protection The End