Title: On Deadly Ground
Chapter 2 – Prelude to Disaster

A/N: First off thanks for all the amazing feedback everyone! But I forgot to add this in chapter 1 but there will also be certain key phrases and flashbacks in this story to The Better Man (where Wordy confessed his secret) so you should know them when you see them but they won't be set apart like my one shots that are specifically eppy based and in itallics and double quotes (hmm sorry if that is confusing lol).

Unlike Wednesday, Thursday starts with a very strained note as Ed overhears Holleran talking with another superior from Guns and Gangs and Wordy's name is mentioned, forcing Ed's stomach to instantly tighten and his mind race. Had something happened to his best friend? Was he the cause? Was this going to be a professional repercussion that would now impact their personal relationship for the worst? A wound that would never be healed? He had seen the news last night but didn't know if it was Wordy's team invovled or not. Could that be it? Was Wordy injured?

"Sir…what's goin' on?" Ed asks as Holleran finishes the call and walks toward the desk that Ed was standing in front of.

"Just a heads up for today Constable…another safe house of Darren Lockhart was hit last night and a member of Guns and Gangs was sent to the hospital in the process. Now before you ask," Holleran quickly adds as he notices Ed's expression instantly change from inquiring to panic-stricken, "it was a member of Wordy's team not Wordy himself. I assume you saw the news last night."

"I did. Is the officer okay?"

"Serious condition. It was a shootout precipitated by some bad Intel."

"Another insider?"

"Looks to be that way and they do have a team working on it right now. I'll give Greg the heads-up but just make sure you guys are on extra alert today."

"Right thanks," Ed replies with a frown as he quickly pulls his phone; Holleran out of earshot and heading for Greg, allowing Ed to pull his phone and quickly call Wordy. "Hey can you talk?"

"Yeah for a few minutes. Guess you heard the news?"

"Yeah. Who got hit?"

"Dave Sommers. Damn Ed, he and Marcy just had a baby," Wordy's voice replies with a heavy sigh.

"Think it was Spencer? Damn bastard," Ed curses under his breath.

"Possible. He's very adept at making friends in low places and if he has Lockhart's money at his disposal and there's a guard in there with any kind of weakness, it's possible. But this comes too close after Spencer's hearing so there might not have been enough time to set it up."

"You um think maybe…" Ed's voice pauses as his brain races to ponder his next few words.

"Someone on my team?"

"Yeah."

"Anything's possible."

"Wordy you should…"

"Ed, this isn't some undercover op that I can just pull myself from," Wordy quickly reminds his best friend of the painful truth. "I will be careful."

"I know…I know…" Ed huffs as he looks at the time and knows they both hafta get going. "Just heads up okay."

"Hey the whole city is fair game and your name…"

"What?" Ed quickly interrupts. "My name? Wordy, what was said?"

"Can't talk now…"

"Wordy…"

"I guess it's a bit more fall out from…"

"Me sticking my nose in. Buddy I'm sorry."

"Yeah don't worry about it, we'll talk later."

Ed's face displays a small wince as Wordy's call ends before Ed can offer a final see you later; leaving his mind reeling and fists tightening – a heated countenance going into a tense working day.

"Eddie?" Greg's calm voice, forces his team leader to turn around and look at him with a heavy frown. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. What's up for tod…"

"Did you talk to Holleran?"

"About the news last night? Yeah and just talked to Wordy. He's okay…everything's fine. I get that Holleran just wanted to give us the heads-up."

"He also wanted to make sure that no matter what happens with Wordy's team you'll stay out of it."

"So this is gonna come back to bite me in the ass," Ed groans as he shakes his head and exhales heavily.

"I am not gonna say I told you so."

"But I told you so. Fine," Ed huffs as he looks back at Greg. "So now what?"

"Now…we go brief the team and keep the peace."

"That's it?"

"You were expecting me to ground you?" Greg quips. "I can still give you truck duty if you'd like."

Ed doesn't answer, merely casts a small sideways smirk in Greg's direction before they head into the team one meeting room. But as he slinks down into his chair, Ed's mind now races with thoughts of what Wordy would have to be dealing with right now. At the same time another dangerous thought crosses his mind, was there another insider? This time on Wordy's own team? His mind quickly flashes him a nightmarish vision of Wordy and his partner walking into a sting only to have Wordy's partner turn on him and his best friend dies with help arriving too late. Damn it! Ed's mind curses as he forces himself to turn his thoughts back to what Greg was telling them.

But its not long before a 'hot call' announcement comes overhead, sending team one hurrying to get their gear and get out into the field. Knowing that another innocent life was at stake, forces Ed's mind to get in the game and function the way a focused SRU Team Leader should; personal feelings shelved for later.

The call didn't end with a Scorpio shot and that meant heading back to the barn a bit sooner than normal; his agitation once again starting to build. So instead of dressing and heading home, Ed dumps his SRU gear in his locker, pulls on a pair of sweatpants and tee and heads for the gym, grabbing a pair of punching gloves and going at the bag with a full head of steam.

About twenty minutes later, Ed steps back, his heart racing and lungs slightly heaving for air; but his mind getting the feeling he was being watched. He turns to see Spike watching him with a small frown before he offers a somewhat hesitant save and smile.

"Spike…you want this…next?" Ed asks with a small gasp.

"Actually I just came to see if you were okay."

"Yeah…I'm okay thanks," Ed lightly huffs as he offers Spike a nod and then fumbles with his gloves.

"Here I got that…" Spike heads toward Ed, helping him with his gloves. "Is Wordy okay?"

"Yeah, why what's up? What'd you hear?" Ed asks instantly on edge.

"Hey no…nothing, I was just asking…I saw the news last night also," Spike quickly qualifies his question.

"News…right. Yeah he's fine. It was someone else on his team," Ed assures Spike with a curt but kind reply. "Yeah…he's fine."

"Good," Spike helps pull off the glove and then steps back, a few minutes of awkward silence starting to grow. "Okay well…"

"I worry about him…just hard with him not here you know?"

"I do," Spike nods. "I know what its like to not have your best friend with you every day," he concludes on a quieter note. Spike, out of all of them understood the most and could say that with heartfelt honesty. When Lou died, it left a hole in Spike that was visible to all; a wound never properly healing.

"Sorry," Ed offers with a soft tone. "I miss Lou too."

"It's like…some days I come in almost expecting to find him here and then…when I think I see him, Raf turns around," Spike smirks making Ed's face finally soften as his small attempt at humor.

"Think he was okay with the whole locker thing?"

"Yeah. He's got a thick skin I think," Spike shrugs. "How is Wordy with…you know everything?"

Everything meant his parkinson's and that was just the one thing Ed didn't want to talk or think about; his best friend, so strong and vital slowly being eaten away with a debilitating disease. "He's um…he's managing…he's got it under control...he's fine."

"Good. Wish he was still here. I mean Raf's a great guy too and all but um…"

"Yeah not the same. I know," Ed offers Spike a soft sympathetic smile; his heart rate finally starting to settle at Spike's calm presence and un-anxious demeanour. "Didn't mean to snap earlier."

"Well I guess I shoulda made myself known earlier. Didn't mean to seem creepy or anything."

"Thought never crossed my mind Spike. Actually…I needed to stop."

"Okay I gotta run. Gotta pick up some new wine making supplies," he slightly smirks. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah…goodnight," Ed states as he watches Spike take his leave. He finally tugs off the second boxing glove and then heads back into the now quiet locker room. He looks over at Wordy's still empty locker and feels his stomach tighten as for a split second he was back in the room, the whole team on hand as Wordy offers his verbal resignation. Just not fair…Ed's mind laments as he quickly changes and then heads for the parking lot.

Just as he reaches his car, Ed hears what sounds like a gunshot, instantly pulls his gun, ducks down by his car and waits; silence ensuing. He hears the noise again, this time it being more distinct – like an old car backfiring and sure enough, he watches as a somewhat rusted sedan drives by on his left outside the parking lot, backfires again and continues on his way.

"Damn it," Ed curses as he forces his mind to fully awaken from its previous morbid stupor and focus on getting home with his sanity in tact. He gets into his silver Ford Flex and slowly pulls out of the parking lot. But about ten minutes into his evening commute home, Ed suddenly feels his car starting to list to the right side and quickly has to grip the steering wheel a bit harder to keep it from drifting into on coming traffic.

"What the…hell," Ed grumbles as the back left tire starts to make a very distinct 'clunking' sound. He finally finds a spot to pull over and upon getting out his earlier suspicions had been confirmed – he indeed had been shot at, the sound of the car backfiring was done with precision timing to mask the sound of the silenced bullet now nestled comfortably in the thick rubber folds of his tire.

"Ah damn it!" Ed growls as he kicks the tire, his warm breath making distorted shapes in the crisp, cool night air. With his mind stewing about the shot, Ed hurries to the trunk grabs the jack and spare, and heads back to the nearly deflated tire; shoving his warm gloves into his pockets and getting started.

About five minutes later, he hears a single honk and looks up to see a small car pull up beside him.

"Need a hand buddy?"

Ed looks at the man with a small frown, his mind racing with too many other things to pay particular heed to a few distinct features from his would be good Samaritan. "No…I got it thanks," Ed assures the stranger.

"Okay good…just don't be too long out in this cold weather…you'll catch your death," the man snickers before he pulls away, leaving Ed to just watch him for a few minutes, muttering angrily under his breath before he turns back to the tire and quickly completes the task.

Ed finally reaches home, the tire with the bullet still in tact in the trunk, something he'd try to pry out in the morning when his hands had thawed; his mind determined not to tell Wordy. He'd tell Sophie he had run over a nail but that would be it; no worry to alarm his best friend even more than he already seemed.

Wordy's already taken enough heat for my actions, Ed inwardly sighs as he enters his home.

"Ed? That you?"

"Yeah…sorry I'm late!" He calls out as he hangs up his winter coat. "Ran over a damn nail."

Ed heads into the kitchen, his family just about to sit down; giving his wife a quick peck before placing a soft kiss on the top of Izzy's head and then taking his seat opposite Clark.

"You ran over a nail? Did you change the spare?"

"I did. Something you need to learn how to do," Ed answers his son as they finally start into dinner. Dinner this evening is somewhat more strained than the night before, Ed's stomach tight and his mind still wondering if the shot was meant as a deliberate warning message or he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But why else? And with him that close – he being near the front left side and the shot in the back left tire, he could easily have been picked off. And the stranger that stopped? Was that also just an odd coincidence or another setup?

"Hey…" Sophie mentions Ed's name a few hours after dinner as he sits in the living room with a few maps at his feet. "You seemed distracted at dinner."

"Tough day. Thinkin' about the weekend and such and um…maybe we'll make it for another weekend."

"Really? But you've been looking forward to that for some time," Sophie reminds him.

"I know but um…just a lot goin' on right now."

"Well there is more to life than work," she retorts with a small smile as she turns and leaves the room. Ed watches her go and then diverts his gaze to the maps at his feet, his mind now two warring factions – one to call Wordy and cancel, basing it on his semi-founded paranoia and the other telling him to just go, it would only be for a few hours and to a well known and well used location and take your mind off work.

But Darren Lockhart wasn't one to just easily cast aside as another everyday criminal; he could easily buy an insider on Wordy's team, if someone had a monetary weakness and was so inclined.

"Damn I hate this…" Ed stews as he grabs his phone, wanting to cancel and tell his best friend they had to reschedule due to something else that had come up in the family. But at the same time he knows he can't allow Lockhart to dictate his life or force him to live a sheltered life because of a "supposed" feeling inside his gut. But you always have been told to trust your gut, Ed's mind quietly reminds him.

So with a heavy sigh, Ed puts his phone back down on the coffee table and then picks up one of the maps. And despite the fact that Wordy had mentioned that his name had come up, if it was urgent he knows his best friend would call; it could obviously wait until tomorrow and it would.

"Hey dad…what's that?"

The next hour is spent showing Clark where he and Wordy would be heading on Saturday and that maybe next time, if he so wanted, Clark could join them on an ice fishing escapade. Finally it was time to head to bed and hopefully bring the trying day to a muchly needed ending. However, sleep was somewhat fitful as Ed's mind replays the incident in the parking lot over and over until he finally falls into darkness, waiting much too soon.

XXXXXXXX

Ed walks into SRU headquarters earlier than normal the next day, Friday morning, heading for the forensic lab with the spare tire rolling at his side.

"Phil?"

"Constable…Lane," the young lab tech looks at the older SRU officer with a frown. "Wrong turn…tire repair is down the hall," Phil smirks; his expression however changing to a more serious one when Ed's face doesn't twitch at his lighthearted remark.

"I need a bullet extracted from this and I need to know where it came from," Ed states in all seriousness.

"Bullet?" Phil asks as he helps Ed put the tire onto a nearby cart.

"Can I get the results today?"

"I can try but we have a rush right now from the courts on the Jones case."

"Right…damn okay I know that's top priority but…well as soon as you can okay."

"Whose tire is this Ed?"

"Mine. Just get it to me when you can."

Ed hurries from the room and heads to his side of the building, not wanting to arouse any kind of undue suspicion and enters the quiet locker room, pulling the door open and then looking at his weary reflection in the mirror. He hears a small shuffling sound, looks away, realizes its only Sam and then turns back, uttering a small gasp as he sees Darren Lockhart's reflection sneering back at him in the mirror.

"Ed?" Sam's voice breaks into his thoughts, making Ed turn to his friend and fellow team member with a somewhat frantic expression. "Hey…you okay?"

"Yeah…fine," Ed huffs as he pulls his jacket off and turns back to the mirror; only his perplexed reflection staring back at him in wonder. Damn I hate this! His mind curses angrily. He had promised Sophie no extra early morning workouts, but with Izzy in a more normal sleeping pattern, now and his mind full of anxiety once again he had snuck out, intending to hit the gym and clear his system of lingering agitation. The workout for the most part works, allowing him to head back into the locker room to get dressed, his mind a lot clearer than when he first entered the building.

The day thankfully is a lot quieter, with them just doing routine patrols; Ed choosing to pair himself with Raf, to keep Greg from asking him about his tension this past week as he knows he would. He asks Raf about his father and how he's settling in after a few months, neutral talk and steering clear of Wordy's current professional and personal woes. But each time they see another police car, marked or unmarked, Ed's first inkling is to call Winnie and get the goods on what's going on, praying it's not Wordy's division in trouble. But he knows he has to refrain, unless called in for backup – which throughout the course of the day didn't happen.

"So big fishing trip this weekend," Greg mentions they all start to get undressed and head for home at the end of the long week.

"Fishing in this weather?" Spike smirks.

"Ice fishing. Sounds good," Sam smiles as he playfully punches Spike in the arm. "Maybe you and I should go next time."

"Um…Samuel," Spike starts with a mocking serious tone, making both Ed and Greg exchange amused expressions. "I don't even camp. So if you expect me to hover around a hole the size of a quarter in hopes of catching something for dinner the size of a minnow in the freezing cold…" he lets his voice trail off as the locker room erupts with friendly laughter.

"Well have fun you two," Sam calls out as he grabs his bag and heads for the exit door, Spike in tow.

"I just hope you and Wordy enjoy yourselves and are able to take your mind off work for a few days…you both need it," Greg looks at Ed directly with a concerned expression; not realizing that in a few hours his friend and team lead along with his former team member would both be fighting for their very existence – pitted against a man with no regard for human life.

"Yeah…it should be good you know…just gonna rest and…yeah," Ed huffs as he looks at Greg with a heavy frown.

"Eddie…"

"Boss I'm on edge now because of all this. I just…yeah. Its gonna be fine."

"Okay," Greg replies with a warm smile. "See you Monday."

"Night," Ed nods after his boss and friend, watching him leave and then turning back to his locker to finish packing up a few things; the silence starting to close in around him. But just before he can allow it to consume him completely, a friendly voice is heard, making Ed turn and watch his best friend enter with an amused expression.

"Feels like being back home," Wordy enters the locker room with a grin. He pulls the doors open and stares at the empty space and the over at Ed. "Still empty? Really?"

"Didn't feel right to fill it," Ed mentions as he turns back to putting something away in his locker.

"Where'd you stick Raf?"

"By Spike," Ed answers with a small smile. "Nah he's fine with it."

"Like you'd let him be any different right?"

"Got that straight," Ed grins. "Hey I'm allowed to pull rank a few times right?"

"Certainly in the locker room."

"Funny," Ed deadpans as he closes his locker. "Hey I gotta ask about yesterday."

"Your name. Yeah sorry about that. It wasn't urgent or I woulda called."

"Figured as much," Ed nods in agreement. "But still..."

"Just my boss said for everyone out there, including my hot headed friend Ed Lane to keep his eyes open and make sure he looks before he leaps."

"He said that?" Ed asks with a small groan. "Hot headed?"

"Would I make that up?" Wordy lightly teases.

"Yeah you might," Ed smirks. "And the mood today?"

"Kinda tense. We all don't want to sit around looking at each other like we're all suspected of being an insider and at the same time we are. I know its not me but...I do hate this. It wasn't what I signed up for."

"Sorry," Ed looks at Wordy and frowns, not even sure what else to add.

"So...you have any odd troubles this week?"

Do I tell him about the bullet in the tire? What if it was a stray and you worry him for nothing? He has enough to worry about as it is?

"Nah, pretty much the same old stuff. Okay so all set?"

"Just gotta pick up that bait tonight."

"You seriously wanna go see that guy tonight?"

"You afraid of the dark?" Wordy teases as they head for the exit and then to Wordy's minivan. "So how'd the week end with the team?"

Ed talks mostly about what he learned about Raf's father's latest bail hearing and the hot call on Thursday, keeping it neutral going into the weekend. He was tempted to ask Wordy if he had experienced anything suspicious but tensions were high enough all around the city; the subject would remain dormant for now.

"How's Dave?" Ed asks, referring to the officer shot a few days earlier.

"He's gonna pull through. Was touch and go for a few times there but um…he's strong, he'll pull through," Wordy replies in truth. "The team tension of course isn't helping."

Ed hears the torment in his best friend's voice and feels his stomach instantly ache with a jabbing sensation. "Wordy…"

"I wasn't saying that to make either of us feel guilty okay…just sayin'."

"Okay…okay so where's this place…" Ed squints around into the darkened neighbourhood, his senses on alert in the unfamiliar surroundings. "Here?"

"Just up ahead. Trust me, it'll be fine," Wordy assures Ed with a small frown of his own. As much as he figures Ed was thinking the same thing, that Darren Lockhart was still a very viable threat to them both, he doesn't want to voice his concern, nor tell him that he had a near miss in the field just yesterday. Why worry him more than he already was, his mind falsely reasons.

"This is the place?" Ed asks with a somewhat nervous tone as Wordy stops the minivan outside the small dimly lit storefront; his eyes darting around their unfamiliar surroundings.

"Yeah…you've been here before."

"I have not," Ed lightly argues back as they both get out of the minivan and head for the front door, Wordy leading the way.

"Yeah you have and it was daylight. You are getting old," Wordy teases his best friend with a smirk.

"How long ago?"

"Few years."

"You expect me to remember a few years back?" Ed retorts with a small smirk. "In my defense I have had a few more important things to think about since then."

"Right well…Rudy? Hey you back here?" Wordy calls out as they near the cashier's desk of the small fishing and outdoor goods store. "Rudy?" Wordy calls out once more before he turns and looks at Ed with a frown before both of them hear a heavy grunt coming from the back supply area and head there in haste.

"Hold it right there!" Ed demands as he and Wordy rush into the backroom with their spare guns drawn, emerging upon the older man in the hands of a younger man, with a lead pipe in his hands. But just before either of them can react, the younger man turns and bolts for the back exit door, heading into the alley, where a trap was waiting for the two SRU officers.

"Ed…go," Wordy directs as he bends down to check on the condition of the man they had been coming to see to buy bait from.

Ed pushes through the back door, only to slam right into the body of another man, quickly stepping back with his gun drawn and realizing he was sorely out numbered – 4 to 1. Two of the men instantly pounce, not giving Ed a chance to ask them their business or even fire off a warning shot. His angry growls bring Wordy into the back alley and soon the two of them are embroiled in a struggle for freedom; the two of them on the losing end.

Ed tries to pull his arm free, his fingers having lost the gun a few moments earlier. The two of them continue to wrestle against the four men but the ordeal would be in vain for them. A few blows later, Ed's body starts to falter, his arms pulled behind his back and a gun pushed in his face to stop his useless struggling.

"What the hell…do you want?" Ed grunts as he tries in vain to pull free of the man holding him captive; Wordy in the same dire predicament.

"You," the man snickers as another man emerges from the shadows, Ed's eyes watching and his stomach developing a sickening feeling.

"What's this about?" Wordy demands in anger as he looks at the man coming up to him, the other pushing a gun into his neck to hinder his escape attempts.

"Its about getting what you deserve."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You'll find out…a bit later."

"Quit the damn games already and tell us what's going on?" Ed demands.

"Very well. First I'm going to drug your partner and then you. And when you wake up you'll wish you hadn't."

"What?"

"Ed!"

Ed can only watch helplessly as the fifth man produces a cloth and then holds it up to Wordy's mouth and nose, a drugged item used to render his best friend unconscious.

"Wordy!" Ed shouts as he tries to pull himself free of his captor, watching as his best friend struggles against the drugs and then fall limp to the ground. "No!" Ed groans as the man with the gun stows his gun and then takes an arm, both Lockhart goons holding him firmly in place as the fifth man comes near with the drugs.

"You'll never ge..."

"I already have. No one coming to your rescue. Enjoy your journey in hell Constable Lane...you've only yourselves to blame for all this," the man snickers as he presses the damp cloth over Ed's mouth and nose; Ed's captive frame trying frantically in vain to pull free. However a few moments later the drugs render him as limp as his partner, his body deposited at the feet of the men once holding him firmly; a figure looming over them with a mocking laugh as his figure casts an eerie shadow in the dimly lit alleyway.

"Restrain them and let's go," the angry order is given as Ed and Wordy's wrists are bound, both are gagged and then dragged into the back of a waiting black van; the store owner given one shot to the temple to take him out of the picture for good, the store closed up and the two kidnapped SRU officers now being delivered – literally to hell.

A/N: duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh well you knew the kidnapping was coming but had to get a bit more of the tense backstory in there for our boys. So hope you liked how the tension mounted for them and now the real perilous angst starts so please do review before you go and thanks so much!

PS: Hope you all enjoyed DM's 2nd to last chapter that was posted a few days ago...not sure what will update next but something will be up in a few days lol stay tuned... ;)