Any other Day part 2
The sun shone brightly across the dusty dirt packed street. Ezra blinked to clear his vision and watched as a man dressed in leather and denim ran past him, shouting something incoherently. He blinked again as he took in the weathered wooden buildings. Horses whinnied nearby and the smell of fresh manure assaulted him. There was a commotion down the street and as he turned towards it the figure caught his attention.
The man stood across the narrow road, on the opposite boardwalk. Clad entirely in black, the wind caught at the long duster he wore, the material flapping and dancing around his legs. He stood tall and wore his guns low on his hips, threateningly. Ezra found himself drawn to the stranger, curious. The man was focused on the action down the street but must have sensed his scrutiny. He looked up sharply, his face hard and rigid. Cold green-blue eyes met his and Ezra inhaled with shock and surprise.
"Chris."
Gasping, Ezra found himself sitting straight up in his bed. Confused for a moment he looked around the familiar setting of his bedroom and sighed heavily, flopping back down in against the pillows.
"Happy Halloween! Bwahahaha!" a morning DJ howled as his alarm clock began to blare loudly, startling him again.
"Infernal contraption." He growled smacking the clock with the palm of his hand and ending its noise. He ran both hands over his face and through his disarrayed hair, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "Stupid dream," he muttered again, throwing back the covers and making his way slowly to the shower. He was going to kill Wilmington for ever dragging him into that ridiculous fortuneteller's booth. Maybe he should have taken his chances with being a target for the pie contest, at least then the most he'd have to dream about would be giant cream pies chasing him through the streets of Denver. "Oh yeah like that's better," he said aloud.
He knew the dream was a figment of his overactive imagination…and the extra three glasses of scotch he'd imbibed once arriving home. He didn't know why his visit with Lady Aislinn had disturbed him; it was all a scam after all. She'd just been bitter that he hadn't fallen for it, he persuaded himself as he shed his silk pajamas and stepped under the pulsing stream of hot water. Now if he could just forget about seeing Chris in that ghastly cowboy get up. What was it with that man and black anyway?
Ezra made it to work in his usual 'late' time frame. His headache dissipating quickly thanks to two full glasses of water and a handful of aspirin. He sipped his latte carefully as he entered the office, ever watchful for unexpected projectiles from the direction of Buck and JD's desks on any normal day- holidays made him extra cautious. Seeing it was safe he proceeded, hearing Buck's voice.
"So then she sort of pulled him forward and said, 'be warned." Buck tried to imitate the voice of Lady Aislinn but failed miserably.
Ezra stood to one side, knowing that though the others could see him Buck couldn't. JD grinned as he popped a Hershey's miniature into his mouth.
"Then she whispered something that I couldn't hear," Buck admitted. "But she was a looker. I thought about trying for her number but Ezra just booked on out of there like he'd seen a ghost or something."
Ezra shook his head and took another sip of his coffee.
"So did Ez tell you what she said?" Vin asked, winking at Standish without Buck's notice and grabbing a Butterfingers from the large plastic jack-o-lantern balanced on top of Dunne's computer monitor.
"Nah, didn't say much at all actually."
"That's because she asked how long you and I had been in a relationship," Ezra told him, smiling when the ladies' man jerked upright in surprise at the sound of his voice.
"What?" Buck looked at him. "Damn, Ezra. You been taking sneaking lessons from Vin or something?"
"Or something."
"I was just telling them more about our little soiree with Lady Aislinn." Buck emphasized her name suggestively. "Hey…wait a minute. Did you say she thought we were a couple?"
JD laughed and narrowly avoided a swat to the head from Buck. Chris just shook his head and moved toward the office. "Get to work. We have a conference on the Rounds case in a half hour."
Josiah patted Ezra's shoulder as he walked by him. Nathan just grinned and shook his head.
Ezra moved toward his desk.
"Wait Ez, what did she really say?" Buck asked again.
"I just told you, Mr. Wilmington." Ezra kept a straight face while Buck mulled it over, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"She thought you and me were? No way." He sat down at his own desk. "Really?"
"Get to work, Buck!" Chris hollered from his office.
Ezra bent his head as he typed in his passwords to get into his computer.
"You're cruel you know." Vin's voice carried just enough for Ezra to hear him across their desks.
"I know." Ezra grinned but didn't look up from his work.
The Saloon was filled with people; one table in particular was noisier than the rest. A group of men, cowhands and ranchers, laid down their bets as a gambler dressed in a well-tailored red coat and matching brocade vest, took a long drink and wavered slightly as he stood and aimed his weapon at the target. The gambler slipped once on a discarded bottle, his shot going wild off the mark and more money was set down. Grinning, the man straightened and aimed again, this time his shots firing one right after another, each one striking the very center of the target with undisputed accuracy.
"Ezra."
Ezra looked up suddenly, finding himself back in the office, Vin looking at him questioningly.
"What?"
"Are you okay?" Vin tapped a file on his open palm, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Ezra lied.
"Cause I've been trying to get your attention for a good couple of minutes. You sure you're okay?"
Ezra frowned. "Yes, I'm fine," he repeated.
"Then why were you staring off into nowhere like that? Something bothering you?"
Patience wearing thin Ezra raised his voice. "Nothing is bothering me."
It was obvious Vin didn't believe that him but the sharpshooter chose to let the matter drop. "Chris wants us in conference," Vin reminded, waving the file.
"I'll be right there," Ezra told him, as he began searching his desk for his own file on the case. He couldn't believe he'd actually had another dream, daydream…whatever one would call it, while he was just sitting there. The last thing he remembered was pulling up his email. At least this time he wasn't seeing Chris dressed up like some gun-slinging outlaw. No, this time it'd been him, dressed exactly like he'd described himself to Aislinn the night before. "Never thought you had that good of an imagination, Ezra," he hissed as he grabbed the sought after file and headed toward the conference room. "Snap out of it," he added silently.
Chris waited until Ezra had closed the door and found a seat before beginning. "Nice of you to join us, Standish," he said irritably.
"My pleasure of course."
"Okay, Vin, fill us in on Rounds," Larabee ordered, ignoring Ezra's sarcasm.
Keith Rounds was a local Denver bad boy, already heavily connected into drugs he wanted to expand the business and delve into the weapons trade. Because Ezra had just been undercover helping Team Five wrap up an arson case, the Rounds assignment had fallen to Vin. Tanner had easily slipped into the persona that Rounds had been looking for and been able to get hired on as one of his lackeys.
"The trade is on for sometime late tonight." Vin began quietly. "Rounds will have a dozen men waiting at Mitchell's Garage on West Street. The shipment is due in some time between 10 p.m. and midnight."
"What's the layout?" Josiah asked.
Vin quickly passed out a rough sketch of the Garage while Larabee turned on the overhead displaying the same image. JD reached over the back of his seat and flipped off the light while Vin and Chris traded spaces so that Tanner could go over the sketch with them. "I'll do everything in my power to get into position here." He marked the overhead, indicating where he meant. "But I'll need someone to be covering me once the lead starts to fly."
A figure stood just inside the saloon doors, a mere shadow before hesitantly pushing open the batwings and exiting the protection of the building. She wore an elegant purple gown, trimmed with black. Her long dark hair was curled and accented with a black feather. She seemed unsure of herself for a moment before she stopped, took a deep breath and looked once at the waiting carriage and then directly at him.
"Ahhh!" Ezra jumped back from the conference table, finding all the eyes in the room on him.
"Ezra?"
"You alright?"
"What the hell is your problem?"
Josiah, Nathan and Chris all spoke together. Ezra shook his head and swallowed hard, attempting to catch his breath. "I'm fine," he mumbled.
"Yeah right, he did this earlier," Vin pointed out.
Ezra scowled. "It's nothing," he protested.
"You sick?" Chris asked.
"No, not at all." Ezra hoped he was being honest. What the hell had that been? He'd been dressed up like a woman! That certainly had NOT been a suggestion from the night before, had it? Where the hell, had that come from? He tried to look relaxed and focused as Chris stared at him. Finally Larabee nodded to Vin to continue the meeting.
Ezra rubbed his forehead absently as he studied the layout in front of him, memorizing it so that he could be ready for any scenario that might play out later. His lunch sat untouched on his desk, his appetite having deserted him long before.
"I'm heading out, Ezra."
He looked up and found concern in Vin's eyes. He frowned and sat back in his chair. "Be careful, Mr. Tanner."
"Always am." Vin looked down at his hands, then back up at him. "You can sit this one out if…"
"I'll be there," Ezra interrupted, cutting him off. "You're always there for me when I'm inside, now it's my turn."
"Don't want you hurt cause your mind's not in it."
Ezra smiled wondering if Vin had always naturally thought of others before himself. "Don't worry about me," he said firmly. "You focus on what you need to do in there and nothing else."
Vin smiled obviously recognizing Ezra's show of concern. "Later then."
"Watch your back."
Tanner chuckled. "I will."
Ezra watched as Vin walked away, confident that he was ready for the upcoming action. He hated that he wasn't able to be under with Vin on this one but by the time Team 5 had been through with him, the sharpshooter had already had to go in. Bringing Ezra in after the fact would have blown his cover immediately.
"Hey Vin," JD called jogging out of the office to catch up with the other agent.
A flash of panic, JD's voice split the night "Hey…hey!" Running. His own footsteps rang loud on the wooden boards. He could hear JD breathing, struggling against pain and panic. Through the darkness he could see the knife stuck in the boy's shoulder.
"JD!" Ezra yelled frantically, leaping to his feet.
"What?" JD entered the office on the run. "What? What's the matter?" He asked seeing the panic on Standish's face.
Ezra stared at JD, his eyes roaming over him as he carefully searched for any visible injuries.
"Ezra?" He jumped, startled by the sound of Josiah's voice. "What's going on, son?"
Ezra shook his head trying to clear his head. It had been so real. "JD…" he tried to explain. "Knife."
"What knife?" Buck asked loudly.
Ezra flinched again and Nathan and Josiah exchanged worried looks. Ezra was never this jumpy…never.
"Ezra," Chris approached but kept his voice calm, having seen the way his agent was reacting. "You need to tell us what's going on."
"What knife?" Buck asked again, his impatience clear.
JD shrugged. "I'm fine. Ez, no knives anywhere. I just had to ask Vin something about tonight."
The trembling started then and Ezra's legs started to fold, spurring Josiah and Chris into action. They caught him and pulled him back into his chair as Nathan knelt in front of him and started to check his vitals. "You sure you're not coming down with something?" the medic asked, noting the rapid heartbeat.
"No. No, I saw…it was so real."
"What was?" Chris asked, motioning Buck back another step.
JD moved closer to Wilmington and grabbed his arm as the older man began to pace. "I'm ok, Buck," he whispered reassuringly.
"Tell us what you saw, Ezra," Josiah prodded quietly. "What you've been seeing."
Ezra looked up quickly; catching the tone of Sanchez's voice and realizing the profiler was connecting the earlier incidences. Were they all connected? His mind raced through each vision.
"Damn it, Buck!" Standish burst out of his chair with the yell, knocking Nathan to the floor and charging at Wilmington. Chris and Josiah caught him easily before he made contact and held on while he struggled, his tirade against Buck continuing. "What did she do to me? What the hell did she do?"
"Ezra! Calm down, now!" Chris ordered sharply. His voice seemed to break through as Ezra stilled suddenly, regaining a wary control over his composure.
Larabee stepped back but nodded for Josiah to keep a hold on the Southerner. "In there." He motioned to his office and reached out a hand to help Jackson get up off the floor. "You alright?" he asked.
Nathan grinned sheepishly. "Sure."
Inside Larabee's office, Josiah pushed Ezra down onto the couch and with one hand on his chest ordered him to "Stay there." Then he turned, "JD, go get Ezra something to drink. Buck," he paused when the ladies' man scowled at him. "Sit down." He pointed to one of the chairs in front of Chris' desk.
Chris and Nathan entered and Jackson immediately went to sit down next to Ezra.
"My apologies…" Ezra started, but Nathan cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't," he smiled. "Just tell us what's going on."
In silence they waited for JD to come back. "Here you go, Ezra," he said, passing the mug of water to his friend. Nobody missed the fact that Ezra's hands still trembled as he took the drink from Dunne and leaned back again.
"Thank you," he murmured quietly.
They waited again, watching while Ezra took a sip of water and then another. He swallowed slowly and seemed to debate about whether he was going to talk or not but no one pushed. Finally he cleared his throat but still didn't look up from the cup he held; one finger absently traced the rim. "I'm not positive, but I think I might have been hypnotized," he admitted fearfully.
"How?" Buck burst out, deserting the chair as he started to pace again. "I was there; that lady didn't do anything but hold your hands and talk!" he insisted.
"Shut up, Buck." JD nudged him.
Ezra smiled, still focused on the rim of the mug and shook his head. "I don't know how; all I know is I've been having these…episodes." He didn't know what to call them. "First one was this morning, thought it was a dream, then I had one at my desk."
"And you were late to the conference," Chris commented.
"Then you had one in the meeting, and then one just now," Nathan added.
Standish nodded and finally looked up, still avoiding eye contact. How could he explain without everyone thinking he was going crazy? What if he was going crazy? There were a lot of things in life that he could handle, and he had…from being beaten to being shot but he didn't think he could face the thought that he might be losing his mind.
"What happens with these 'episodes'?" Nathan asked.
"It's always something in the old west. I've seen Chris." He glanced quick at Larabee and then away again, "Myself a couple of times and just now- JD."
"And you think it's 'cause you were hypnotized?" Buck sounded calmer this time.
Ezra nodded. "In the dream," he waved one hand absently, the other tightening on the mug. "Whatever you want to call it, I'm always in the old west, a gambler."
Buck's eyes widened. "That's what you described last night."
"Could it just be from the suggestion?" Nathan asked quietly.
"I don't know!" Ezra growled with frustration. "It's just so real, everything…the sight, sounds, even the smell."
"But she didn't even have a watch or nothing to…Hey!" Buck hollered when JD swatted him.
"You don't need a watch to hypnotize someone, Buck." Dunne rolled his eyes.
"Well, she didn't do nothing funny is all I'm saying." Buck gave JD a small shove and rubbed his arm as if he was really hurt.
"Tell us what she did." Josiah turned his attention back to Ezra.
"She took my hands and massaged them as she spoke. Told me to think back in years, increments of ten. I made the story up, Josiah, I just played along," Ezra insisted.
"What do you mean?" JD asked. "You played along?"
"Yes," Ezra sighed. "She counted back approximately 130 years and I just created a persona based on that time frame. Her questions were all leading and I just provided the answers she sought based on what I'd come up with."
"Still, could she have used the candle light and hand massage?" Nathan asked.
"And tone of voice." Josiah added, his brow crinkling with more concern.
"Damn." Ezra leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and trying to settle his breathing. He had to find a way to get control of what was happening. "How could I have let this happen?" he whispered.
"Maybe you're really seeing things from a past life," JD suggested, earning a frightening glare from both Ezra and Chris.
"Tell us what you see when this happens," Josiah distracted them from JD.
Ezra took a sip of water and shook his head. "Just…a town, people-like something from an old western. I saw Chris, dressed up like a gunslinger. Then I saw myself, exactly like I'd described last night and then," he blushed and looked down at the mug, wrapping both hands around it as if it was warm. "Myself again and then JD…he'd been stabbed in the shoulder." He sat back and pointed on himself where he remembered JD being hit. "It was so real," he whispered hoarsely.
Chris stood up abruptly and headed to his desk. "Nathan and Buck get on the phones and find out who this Lady…"
"Aislinn," Buck filled in.
"Find out who she really is and find her, so she can undo whatever the hell she did to Ezra. Ezra, I'm pulling you from the raid tonight."
"No." Ezra slammed the mug down on the arm of the couch. Water splashed and beaded on the dark leather as the undercover agent jumped to his feet. "I need to be there," he insisted.
"I'm not going to have you blacking out when we need you most," Chris argued. "Can you guarantee you won't have anymore of these…visions?"
Ezra's angered expression fell to one of despair before immediately changing again as he masked his feelings. "No."
"Then for now," Chris qualified. "You're out."
TBC...