A word from the author:
Before I write anything else, I want to apologize for abandoning this for so long. My only excuse here is that real life got in the way and that struggling two jobs and university, a shitload of smaller and bigger katastrophes and troubles and finally, the temporary loss of what I call the "feeling" for this story really struck me down for some time. I had the beginning of this chapter written shortly after I posted chapter two, but somehow I always shyed away from the big "meeting" between the characters – and call me a chicken, but this scene scared the shit out of me. I finally got past that, I wrote it, it really happens in this chapter and maybe the rest will flow through me like the beginning of this story did. But the main reason for this author's comment is that I have come to a decision. Don't worry, I will continue this. But I have decided to post shorter chapters from now on, so that you won't be in the dark for two months or longer. That would be unfair and I could relax a bit more if I did not have to write those 20 pages monsters in a row again.
On to the reviewers! You know, I have been a reader here on for a long time and always found it a bit cheesy how writers answered to their reviewers on the story page. But now I feel that this is very cool and a special way of saying thank you for reading this crap
Ginevra: You know what? I loved your review. That was exactely the reaction I had wanted and the reason why I included this receptionist there. That is her only purpose, there's no deeper meaning in her life Poor thing. Mistx: I could be wrong, but could it be that you already read some Mag7 / WAT crossovers? Because some of your questions really made me nervous. I am not saying you are right with everything. But damn. Damn. Aewnaur : I am really sorry that this took so long, but finally : here you are! I hope you like it.
TheNaggingCube: And again I apologize, for I made you wait even longer this time, approximately THREE months. Shame on me. Shaaaame.
Well then. On with the official crap.
DISCLAIMER: The Magnificent Seven and Without a Trace are not mine and I am writing this just for fun. I am going to add a few quotes here and there. And one more thing: English is not my native tongue, so please don't be mad if there are typos in this. And once again: the formatting here seems to hate my guts. I tried everything to make this look good - but damn, it again ate all my question marks. If there's a sentense that ends in "? " (With the empty space there) it most likely means a "!".
SPOILERS: For all of you who kow Without a Trace: This takes place somewhere half way through season two of the show.
"I just talked to my friend in the recruiting office. That offer for an interview is still out there"
- "You gonna let a bounty hunter into the FBI?"
"Sure, why not? Everybody's got a past."
(Jack Malone and Jessica Prince, "The line", WAT Season Two)
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"Really you should have a look at this Chris, I didn't believe my eyes at first but it is there and I just... "
Chris took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was already hip deep in paperwork and after another long talk with Travis about Simms his paitence was almost non existent. "JD, slow down. What the hell is going on? I'm kind of busy right now."
"But you really HAVE to look at this! I was checkin on that FBI team from New York and suddenly there was this one file and-"
Chris had to stop himself from rolling his eyes – he appreciated JD's enthusiasm in everything he did, but today it was almost too much. He felt the beginnings of what would soon be one hell of a headache, so whatever it was, he hoped that JD was exagerating. The last thing he needed was another "revelation" about this already screwed up case. "Okay," he sighed, "what do you have?"
JD's grin was back full force, but before he could even say one more word or show Chris the printout he was waving around, Chris' phone rang. "Great", Chris muttered, already expecting another call from Travis. He frowned when he didn't recognize the number. "Larabee."
"Err… Sir? Uhm… this is Kylie Styles from reception and.. uhm"
"Yes?" Chris interrupted her. He knew who she was, saw her almost every morning when he came in, but as far as he knew she had never called him before – whenever it came to that, her calls were somehow redirected to Buck's phone. And he really didn't want to know the details about how that came to be. "Well…. I…" she kept on stumbling over her own words some more. This was more than irritating. But the moment Chris wanted to comment on it, she seemed to get herself together. "Sir, there's something going on down here you should see."
"What?" This was strange. "What do you mean by 'there's something going on'? If it's a matter of security that's not my department-"
"No no no!" she blurted out, obviously caught somewhere between excitement and confusion. "It's just that… you REALLY should come down here and take a look at it. PERSONALLY." His eyes narrowed at the way she emphazised the word 'personally'. This was more than weird. She didn't sound like she was in a panic or being threatened, so it had to be something else. He eyed JD suspiciously, but the young computer expert just stared back at him with huge eyes. Whatever was going on, he was not part of it – or he was a really good actor. Chris clenched his fist – they had a lot of work to do and there was really not the time for any stupid jokes right now! "Okay, I'll be there in five," he growled and hung up. He gave JD another sharp look on his way out of the office. "If this is another one of your or Buck's jokes, you're dead."
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"Oh my GOD, what have you done to your HAIR?"
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The silence that followed the receptionists outburst was deafening. Most of the people – some of them agents, others security or maintenance personnel – had frozen in place and were now staring at the reception counter and the men standing in front of it. Two of the three men were simply staring at the third one, who had gone beet red and obviously wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else. Preferably far away. The receptionist was still staring at Martin with wide eyes, totally ignoring Danny and Jack. Danny was looking back and forth between her and Martin, obviously trying to find out if this situation was funny or dangorous. From the sparkle in his eyes he seemed to think of it more as funny. Jack Malone's face had turned dark – he really wasn't in the mood for any jokes at their expence. He had tried to talk to the receptionist, but she was still staring at Martin. This was getting ridiculous.
And Martin… well, he had so hoped that he would have a few more minutes – hell, seconds maybe – to get ready for something like this. But obviously the world hated him today. Of all the receptionists and secretaries in the building it had to be Kylie… whatever her last name was, he couldn't remember. What he could remember was her reputation as the gossip queen around here – whatever had been going on, she had known about it first. And obviously, things hadn't changed much, because now she was calling someone while still staring at Martin.
"Err… Sir? Uhm… this is Kylie Styles from reception and.. uhm"
Styles! Right. That was her name. What are you thinking, Martin chided himself mentally. Who do you think she is calling, huh? Well, it didn't need a genius to figure that one out. Shit. He could hear her talking on the phone, but really, it didn't matter what she was saying. This was another worst case scenario – no, it was even WORSE, because Jack and Danny were here to see it. Danny looked like he was enjoying himself immensly – and really, when wasn't he? After a really rough start Danny and Martin had become good friends, but still it seemed to be Danny's favorite thing to watch Martin make an idiot of himself. And Jack… whoa, Jack looked like he was ready to kill someone. This was not good. Martin took antother step back to keep some kind of distance between himself and the upcoming desaster – but really, who was he kidding? This was bad.
"It's just that… you REALLY should come down here and take a look at it. PERSONALLY." Martin felt his heart clench. And a moment later sarcasm kicked in. Because how much worse could it get from here?
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Chris stalked through the open office towards the elevator – and the three present members of his team held their breath. They could practically see the stormcloud hovering above Chris' head. Their leader was on the warpath – and he didn't look like he would be taking any prisoners. Josiah frowned. JD had left Chris' office only moments before, looking very confused. So, time to find out what was going on. Josiah left his desk and fell into step next to Chris.
"Is everything alright?"
"No," was the calm, almost casual reply. Mhm. This was not good. Josiah went through a mental list trying to find out if whatever was going on was somehow their fault. But no, they hadn't forgotten any deadlines for reports and as far as he knew there was none of Buck's or JD's practical jokes going on right now. So no, whatever it was, they were not to blame. He looked over his shoulder and signalled JD and Ezra with a shrug that he hadn't found out anything. But the other two looked as worried as he was, because they hadn't seen Chris like this in some time. So it was better to be careful.
So when the elevator opened and Chris stepped in, he found himself accompanied by Josiah, JD and Ezra who stared past him and tried to look busy.
"And where do you thing YOU are going?" Chris asked them through his teeth.
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Jack was ready to use his best "don't fuck with me" – voice on the receptionist. They had two people missing – one a suspect in an ATF case, the other an 18 year old girl – and this crazy woman was doing nothing but staring at one of his agents and wasting their time. Of corse he had expected something out of the ordinary, what with Martin knowing something about that one ATF agent and all. But this? Took the cake.
"Listen Miss…" he stepped forward and checked the ID card on her blouse. "…Styles. We have an important case and need to know who-"
"Huh?" Kylie Styles interrupted him and blinked owlishly. "Oh. Yeah. Right. An agent will be here shortly to… sort things out. So to speak." She swallowed visibly and started shuffeling around documents. Danny leaned over to Martin and didn't really succeed in hiding his grin.
"Martin? What the hell was that about?" He pointed at the nervous receptionist. "Something you want to tell us?"
"No," Martin hissed and took another step back. This was not good. He knew – or better: he could imagine – what would happen only moments from now and he would do anything to have Danny and Jack out of the picture when the shit hit the fan. He was starting to feel cornered – and that was never a good thing. Out of instinct he looked over his shoulder at the entrance area, once more wishing he was somewhere else. Danny seemed to notice this and turned serious, the tough FBI agent back in charge.
"Hey, everything alright?" Before Martin could answer, he heard the well known chime coming from the elevator behind him and shut his eyes tightly. So, what was there left to do? He slowly started counting down from twenty.
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"And where do you think YOU are going?" Chris eyed the three members of his team suspiciously. Of corse he knew that they wanted to find out what was going on. Josiah shrugged.
"Getting some fresh air."
"As you might remember," Ezra chimed in, "there's this important appointment that I must not miss. And since I am already late…"
"Catching up on the latest office gossip." JD.
"Really." Chris ground out, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "At the reception, on the ground floor."
"Yup," Josiah nodded.
"Where else would I be headed to leave the building?" Ezra.
"If there is any new gossip around, the girls down there know about it," JD nodded, trying to sound enthusiastic. And in spite of his bad mood, Chris couldn't help but grin. "You know, I am really glad that there's not that much undercover work due right now. You are such sorry liars, it's embarassing." The tension in the elevator immediately vanished. Josiah and JD exchanged a relieved glance, while Ezra was tuggin on his coat and mumbling to himself.
"Should I be offended by this? I think I am offended."
"Okay, now that this is settled," JD turned to Chris, "what the heck is going on? Why are we headed for the reception and who called you? Is there something going on down there? What…"
"I don't know," Chris interrupted him, "that's why I am on my way down. We'll see when we get there, JD. Breathe"
"Why the hell is everyone telling me to breathe? I am perfectly fine, there's no reason…" In that momend, the elevator chimed when they reached the ground floor and the doors opened.
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Finally. Jack Malone stared at the four men stepping out of the elevator. This had to be the agents this repectionist had been talking about. Or wait. Agent. She had only mentioned one agent. Well, maybe those other agents were his team. He didn't really care – the more, the better. After all, they didn't have much time. Danny turned around when the elevator chimed and watched the four men stepping out of it. So. ATF agents. Mhm. There was something about them that was defenitely different from Kincaid – or maybe it was just the fact that this was their office building. Their home base, so to speak. Here, they didn't seem out of place, the opposite was the fact. Those four men seemed to own the place, expecially the blonde one with the piercing green eyes who seemed to stare right through them. Out of the corner of his eye Danny noticed Martin taking another step back, as if to hide behind Danny. He was practically radiating tension and something that came close to panic. This was strange – Danny knew Martin well and he had never really seen him lose his cool like that. There was defenitely something going on here that they did not see. Time to take a closer look at those agents, then. Behind the blonde one – who defenitley was the team leader, according to the air of authority that surrounded him – walked a very tall man in his mid – forties who seemed to observe the situation calmly. Next to him was another man who was tugging at the hem of his coat and seemed more interested in his obviously expensive clothes than in what was going on around him. The last one looked like he was barely twenty, a kid with black hair and a bounce in his step. Well. Not very intimindating, to say the least. So what was going on here? According to the frown on Jacks face, he too was asking himself that question.
"Special agent Jack Malone, Missing Persons New York," Jack introduced himself and couldn't really hide a frosty tone in his voice. In spite of that he exchanged a handshake with the blonde agent.
"Chris Larabee, ATF," the other answered calmly and not really as formal as Jack had done. He seemed to observe them carefully, first Jack, then Danny. And that was the beginning of the end. Danny stepped forward to introduce himself and unwillingly stopped providing a shield for Martin to hide behind. And instead of offering his hand to Danny, Chris Larabee seemed to freeze in place, staring past Danny like that receptionist had done – but there was something different in this man's eyes. No surprise. It was more… disbelief. Then something that came close to hope… and then anger. No. It was more than that. Rage. Shit. Danny involontarily flinched when he realised that. Josiah, JD and Ezra watched in amazement as Chris froze, following their team leader's eyes. And they too stopped breathing for a moment. For an eternity as it seemed, nothing happened. Everything and everyone seemed glued in place. Then, the temperature dropped to freezing. Chris seemed to stagger when he took a step towards the third FBI agent, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"What… what is this?" he growled, but it was only slightly louder than a whisper. His eyes never left that FBI agent.
"Is this… is this some kind of sick joke?" Martin knew that he must have turned white by know, he could feel the icy cold on his face, that was now surging through his body. There was nothing left to hide behind, no shield between him and what was inevitable. Every wall he had carefully build up through the last years, every barrier between him and most of the rest of the world – and expecially his past – did not only crumble, but was ripped to pieces and thrown back at him. And it should not be like this. It should not happen like this, he had imagined it so many times, feared and craved it at the same time. This was like a bizarre mirror image of what this should be. All the time he had worked here, he had never felt anything negative about this place, no. It had been more like a home than any other place had ever been before. He had loved this place, loved his work and his friends. So he should not feel like a criminal, scared to the core of his being of what would happen now. No. It was all wrong, wrong and twisted. It should not be like this.
"Chris…" But if anything, the sound of his voice, this one word made everything worse. The anger in the other man's eyes faltered for only a second – and then turned into something deeper than just hate. From that moment on, everything was a blur. Out of the corner of his eye, Martin saw the blow coming, recognized the shift in the other man's stance and knew immediately what would happen. But at the same time, through all the confusion, somehow he knew that it would not happen, that it was wrong and against everything he remembered. So he did not flinch, did not even blink, but simply waited when the seconds stretched and time seemed to slow down. He waited, unfazed. And nothing happened. In a split second before hell broke loose, and various agents stepped between the two men, Martin caught a glimpse of the fist that had stopped only inches in front of his face. Then he only saw the back of Danny's head, heard the bark of Jack's outrageous voice and through it all recognized Josiah and Ezra as the two agents who had grabbed Chris' arms and dragged him backwards. Then he felt someone grab his own arm and somehow he knew that it was Danny. Damn, he thought through the fog that now seemd to spread inside his head. That went well.
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Everything seemed far away. Security personnel barking orders, Agents talking a mile a minute, questions asked everywhere, demanding answers no one was willing to give right now.
After the "incident", agent Chris Larabee and two of his team members had left for their office or some other place, which, Martin was not sure. He only remembered Danny grabbing him by the arm and steering him away towards the restrooms – how Danny could have known where to go, Martin had no idea. Probably charmed one of the receptionist into telling him. Probably Kylie what's-her-name. Now they were sitting on the small couch near the reception desk. Usually, this couch had been more decoration than anything else, no one had ever really used it as far as Martin remembered. But right now he was very thankful that it was there. He took a bleary look around and saw Josiah talking to Jack, than turning and leaving for the elevator. Jack walked up to them, his eyes dark and icy. He stood in front of the couch for a moment, then turned to Martin.
"Now," he began briskly, barely keeping his temper in check. "I want to know what the fuck is going on. Agent Sanchez just told me about mistaking you for someone else or something like that. But you know what? I don't believe it. There's something going on here that I really don't like and that we really don't need, do you understand? We still have a case and we are losing time. So before I go to Agent Larabee's office and try to get to the bottom of this, I want some answers. Because shit, there's nothing I hate more than running into a minefield like this unprepared."
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JD's computer silently hummed in one corner of the office. The office clock ticked on the far wall. A few raindrops were drumming against the windows. JD, Josiah and Ezra stood in the middle of the office, staring at Chris' office door that he had just closed behind him. A deefening, heavy silence seemed to weight down on them, combined with a deep feeling of confusion. Finally, it was Ezra who spoke up.
"Did… did I really see what I think I saw down there?"
"You mean that FBI agent?" JD answered, his voice hoarse. "Then yeah, defenitley."
Josiah sighed deeply. "This is… not good."
"I just wish.." JD whispered, sinking down into an office chair. "I wish I had found out sooner."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "What? Are you implying you knew about this?"
"NO!" JD burst out. "I mean – I read through the file of that FBI team and stumbled over this, but before I could tell you or anyone else this… this THING happened and then…"
"It's okay, JD," Josiah tried to calm him down. "It doesn't matter. Because even if you had shown us what you found out, it would not have prevented this. I am sure."
"So, what are we to do know?" Ezra slowly asked, gesturing towards Chriis' office door. "We call the others," Josiah answered, trying to assess the situation. "Where are they?" JD thought for a moment, everything seemed like it had happened years ago. But then the missing piece of information turned up in his head. "Interrogating Darlene McEvoy."
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"Now why would I lie to you! For him? Not a chance in hell. He would not contact me of all people." Buck threw his arms up in exasperation and Nathan sighed deeply. This interview was getting them nowhere. Darlene McEvoy, a slender woman in her early forties, raised a thin red eyebrow. "Is this all? You drag me in here to talk about a man I knew three – no wait! – FOUR years ago?" She sraightened her dark jacket and dragged her hand threw her long, red hair. She was wearing a grey costume under the jacket, which made her look like a business woman – but something was odd about her. The way she dressed did not really match with her attitude and the way she talked. "Oh come on," Buck huffed. "You didn't just KNOW him. From what we know, you were in a relationship.."
"A relationship?" Darlene McEvoy interrupted him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "This man you are talking about does not even know the meaning of that word. He doesn't even remember your name long enough to qualify for that. He's a fishy bastard who weasels off at the first sight of trouble." Nathan grinned. "So you really did know him pretty well."
Her eyes turned flinty. "I have no idea what you are trying to find out here. Yes, I dated him four years ago. Three dates, all of them on the top ten list of the worst dates I ever had. The next thing I know I was interrogated in a room like this and asked the same questions you geniusses are asking me now. A very nice experience. Thank God I have never seen him since and do not wish to ever again in my life. He's a stupid, one track mind bastard who is only interested in money and how he can get his hands on even more money. There." She crossed her arms and gave the impression of a teenager in detention. Buck sighed and rose from his chair. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" Outside the interrogation room Nathan and Buck both sighed again.
"That was weird," Nathan finally stated.
"Defenitely," Buck agreed. "Looks like forty, talks like forteen."
"And lies like a six year old."
"You bet", Buck nodded. "She dated him. And not just three times." Buck looked through the large one way window into the interrogation room, where Darlene McEvoy was still waiting, looking insulted and angry. "Sounds like she liked him – and he got her into trouble or something like that." Nathan snorted. "You mean something worse than being interrogated by federal agents?"
"Yeah. The way she talked about him, it was personal." Nathan thought about that for a moment. "That, or she's one hell of an actor." Nathan's cell phone rang and he frowned. "It's Josiah," he murmured, shrugging. "What's wrong?"
"Is Buck with you?" the teams profiler asked. Nathan's frown deepened. Josiah didn't even ask about the results of the interview. "Yes," he finally answered hesitantly. "Josiah, is everything alright?" "No. Not really. Please head back to the office right now. And bring Buck."
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A few minutes later Buck and Nathan burst into the open office which was earily quiet.
"What the hell is going on here!" Buck boomed. "Lilly from team four just told us Chris hit an FBI agent in front of an audience!"
JD, Ezra and Josiah stared back at them for a moment, exchanging worried glances.
"Almost," JD mumbled. "He didn't really hit him."
"So it's true?" Nathan shouted in disbelief.
"Where is he?" Buck asked slowly, sensing that something was very wrong. Chris was nowhere to be seen – and the door to his office was once more closed. Not good. He walked towards it, but Josiah called him back. "Wait. There's something you should see first." He pointed at JD, who was sitting at his computer, looking miserable. "Ah…I…" JD started, taking a deep breath. "I asked Ben from security for the tapes from the reception area. You… should really see this, Buck." Once more on that day, the temperature seemed to drop. Buck slowly walked over to JD's desk, staring at the computer screen. The tape was from one of the cameras above the reception desk, showing the place from an odd angle. All Buck could see were three strangers who were standing in front of the reception desk, talking to Kylie. He could not really make out their faces though. "There's no sound," JD explained, "but believe me, that won't really be necessary." Nathan, Ezra and Josuah gathered around JD's desk too. "That's when we exited the elevator," Josiah nodded and pointed at the screen where the elevator doors opened in the background. Buck watched Chris and one of the strangers shake hands and nodding at the second one. Everything seemed normal. And then…
"What the.." They watched Buck turn sheet white and slowly sitting down in one of the office chairs. He stared at the screen with an empty look in his eyes, not really realising that JD had stopped the video the moment chaos had broken loose. For almost five minutes, nothing happened. Buck's mind was racing. He had not really been able to see the face of this FBI agent, but the impression on Chris' face had given it all away. There was only one man on this planet who could have caused Chris to react like this.
JD seemed to read his friend's mind and clicked on a file folder on his desktop. The screen was now filled with information about Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald, accompanied by a nice photo. Buck slowly shook his head, trying to take in this crazy situation.
"Jesus." Nathan didn't really look any better. "This is insane," he whispered, turning to Chris' office. "What did he.. I mean… has he…" "Not a word since we returned," Ezra answered. "Not a single word." "No surprise," Buck hissed, standing up. He turned and walked towards Chris' office. Ignoring the stares of the others.
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After a tense question and answere game between Jack and Martin, they now knew that a few years ago Martin had worked for the ATF using another name - and that Agent Chris Larabee had been the leader of the team Martin had been a member of. For almost three years. "I can't believe you never told us about that," Danny whispered, shaking his head. Martin stared out of the window, like he had done through most of the conversation. "I had my reasons." "Probably," Jack nodded to their surprise, but he turned serious again. "But you could have told us the moment you knew that we would run into…these people." Martin chuckled. "These people… believe me, you haven't really met them yet."
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TBC
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Ack! Yes, I'll stop right here. But I will post more - and it will not take as long as it did before. Again all I can say is that I am sorry you had to wait this long. And I am sorry that there didn't really happen so much. When I compared this chapter to the last I was like: "Okayyy... they get there, they meet - and that's it? Boo." Sorry
And about the quote at the beginning: This was just too cool to let it slide. And you can bet that I will refer to the "The line" more than once! I mean - come on. This is perfect +rubs hands+