The Key part 5

David opened his eyes as the pain seemed to crash through his skull. Confused, he tried to remember what had happened. He'd been following Chris into the house…Chris, the huge man with the gun, it all came back with frightening clarity. His vision focused and fear overwhelmed him. The room…he was back in the room.

His breathing quickened. It wasn't a dream; he was really here again. "No." His voice cracked in denial as he struggled to sit up. It wouldn't happen…not again. There were no straps this time. In amazement, he realized he was still clothed and free to move about. Groggily, he slid off the table.

The door swung open and David instinctively froze. The man was the same, dressed in white, a surgical mask covering half of his face. From the black cane to the gloved hands, David knew this man and hated him.

The doctor paused; startled to find David on his feet. "Well damn, Dean was supposed to have you all ready for me to go to work. Just goes to prove if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." He grinned tauntingly.

With a surge of emotion, David moved forward to attack. But the doctor reacted quickly, bringing up the cane as a weapon. Surprisingly, David responded with speed and strength he never imagined he possessed. He caught the cane in his right hand as it came down at him, twisting away and effectively disarming the smaller man. Without hesitation, David continued the arch and turned the cane back on its owner. He flinched as the weapon cracked loudly against the doctor's skull sending the man into unconsciousness.

Staring at the motionless man, David was stunned by his own actions. Slipping from his fingers, the cane clattered loudly to the floor, startling him and spurring him into motion. He needed to find Chris and get out of this place.

Vin motioned for Buck and JD to follow him, signaling which way he was going. They'd already taken out two of Augustine's guards and were now avoiding the security cameras. Vin navigated the property on instinct, the layout burned into his memory for over two years. As David's hypnosis session replayed through his mind, he was determined that this time he was not going to let anyone down.

With ease, he scaled a low cement wall and already had the French doors opened by the time Wilmington and Dunne caught up to him. Weapons drawn, the three paused only a second before entering the building. "This is it," Tanner stated. "We'll split up. Stay low."

"Watch your back." Buck nodded. They were ready.

Chris grunted, absorbing another harsh blow from Dean. The big man was staggering though, never having expected Larabee's strength or stamina. As he charged again, Chris ducked down and back, using Eddie's momentum against him. The larger man stumbled and Chris kicked out from behind with a final forceful shove. Dean rammed head first into the wall and dropped like a bag of feed.

Chris went down on his hands and knees, breathing heavily and hurting everywhere. He knew he was a mess. His cheek was split beneath his left eye as was his bottom lip. His ribs burned painfully and throbbed in time with the pounding in his head, but he pushed himself up in spite of it all. He had to find Ezra before it was too late. Drunkenly, he lurched and limped his way out of the room, scanned the long hall and prayed the direction he picked was the right one.

David, overwhelmed by the enormity of his surroundings, felt as if he was wandering through a maze of endless hallways. He knew he could stumble upon whomever the doctor worked for at any turn and his only real fear was that he wouldn't even recognize them or the danger until it was too late. He didn't know why he'd been brought back to the doctor again…had the man been attempting to turn him back into Ezra-- or into someone else?

Ahead and to the left of him, the hall seemed to open into a room and he could hear faint music coming from that direction. He followed the sound, hoping he'd find Chris. As he came to the corner he braced himself to check the room. He could hear movement and knew someone was definitely there. Whoever it was must have heard him as well because just as he peeked around the corner, they spoke.

"Santi, I told you I didn't need any wine. I just want the update." The softly accented voice faded as David stepped further into view.

The woman was older, but beautiful and as her green eyes widened and met his, it was as if he could hear the key slip into the locked door. The tumblers rolled and clicked loudly as the door was unlocked for the first time in two years and shoved open with such force that David physically stumbled.

"Ezra."

He heard her, but he couldn't look at her. His eyes squeezed tightly closed and he raised his hands to his head as the images assailed him, bombarding him with memories that'd been buried deep beneath the lies. He cried out from the assault and landed on his knees, no longer able to stand. His life as David was exposed as a fraud as the truth…all of it…returned in graphic color.

He felt her hands on him, seeking to comfort and he pushed her away. "No!" he shouted, unable now to hear over the growing roar in his head. He remembered everything, his childhood, his teens, college, the FBI. He remembered the pain of betrayal and then the hope that Denver might be different. Faces and names came to him, laughter, fear, joy and pain…it all came at once, overwhelming his senses. He was part of a family, he remembered them all now, and understood why they'd pressed so hard and ached for two years not knowing what had happened to him. Finally, he could see the answers that no one else had been able to find.

He remembered the Augustine case and his assignment. He'd only been undercover about a week when he'd inadvertently walked in on a meeting between Augustine and…"Mother." His voice was again a whisper as quiet descended and the past played out before him. He'd opened the door and walked in; she'd turned and, looking surprised, asked, "Ezra, what on earth are you doing here?" His cover was blown in an instant. He remembered asking her the same question and discovering that she and Augustine were "courting." By then Augustine was ready to kill him and Ezra'd been certain he would. The next thing he knew…he'd woken up in 'The room,' strapped to the table.

"What did you do?" he asked hoarsely, trying to focus on the present and block out the vivid memories of the doctor and his knife. Ezra opened his eyes and looked up at his mother. For once in his life she looked panicked and out of control. She reached out to a nearby chair for support.

"She saved you, David," Santi Augustine sauntered into the room, surprising them both and keeping them in place with his gun.

"I'm Ezra," Ezra bit out savagely. David was gone forever.

"Ah, so the memory has returned, I see. Pity, because of course I'm going to have to kill you both now but…then again…I planned on that already." Santi chuckled and winked at Maude.

"Santi," She tried to plead, but he silenced her with a threatening wave of the gun.

"Not this time, Darling. I was persuaded by your charm and beauty once…but not again."

"What does he mean?" Ezra asked, not actually looking at Maude again.

"Oh, I planned on killing you two years ago but Maude here, she charmed and cajoled and we came up with this plan instead. We gave you a new life and set you up in comfort on the beach. You should have stayed there." His voice grew sinister and he cocked the gun. "This time I'm settling on a more permanent solution."

"Me too."

Augustine jumped at the new voice and spun to shoot, but his shot was off, a bullet already hitting its mark. He was dead before his mass landed on the floor.

Maude let out a squeal of shock but was ignored as Vin moved forward and helped Ezra to his feet.

"You okay?" he asked, watching Ezra's response carefully.

Ezra looked down and then up again, meeting Vin's intense gaze unwavering. "I think I will be, Mr. Tanner, in due time."

"Good…" Vin glanced at Maude then did a double take at Ezra just as Buck and JD entered supporting Chris between them.

"Look who we found." Buck stopped short seeing Augustine's body on the floor and Maude leaning against a chair for support. He looked at Vin and Ezra for an explanation but they were just standing there staring at each other.

Silence descended on the room, the faint whine of sirens in the distance the only noise above their breathing.

"Wh-what did you call me?" Vin whispered, but didn't wait for an answer. "You called me…" He grabbed Ezra and pulled him into a rough hug. "You fucking called me Mr. Tanner!"

The relief in Vin's voice broke Ezra's reserve and he hugged his friend in return. "As always, impeccable timing," he whispered as Vin released him.

"You remember?" JD asked excitedly, accidentally jarring Chris and earning a low growl.

Ezra's smile faded. "Yes, I recall everything," he admitted, turning to Maude finally.

"Ezra," she started but the venom in his look stopped her. The sirens were right outside now; back up had arrived.

"I-I did the only thing I could to save you, Darling," Maude tried again. "He would have killed you."

"So instead you let him beat and brainwash me until I no longer existed anyway?"

"You had a wonderful life!" she protested. "I made sure you had everything you needed. You had a successful inn and were doing fine."

"You knew all along where he was?" Buck tried to advance on her but Chris somehow managed to hold him back.

Maude looked from man to man and then to her son. "You don't understand," she exclaimed.

"Do you?" Ezra asked. "You took everything from me. I lived in constant fear with chronic nightmares and pain. I had nothing."

"But you were safe!"

Ezra stared at her; he could hear the police entering the building. Josiah and Nathan shouted to the newcomers, obviously leading the way "You took away my family," he managed.

"I'm your family!" Maude yelled defiantly, but Ezra had turned away.

"Not anymore," he whispered painfully. "Not anymore.

Outside it had started to snow and in the early evening light, Ezra found it beautiful.

"What do we do now?" JD asked bringing him back to the present.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked as he steered Chris to the hood of a police cruiser so he could examine him. "You're next, Ezra," he stated evenly, causing a few chuckles in the group.

"I mean…" JD looked almost afraid to ask. "Is Ezra going back to running Easter's Inn or …stay here with us."

All eyes turned to Ezra and he could immediately sense their apprehension.

"It might be kind of soon to make that big of a decision, Kid," Buck said softly, trying to ease the tension.

Ezra smiled faintly and looked back at the falling snow for a minute. Surprisingly, he felt nothing more for David. He knew there'd be adjustments; after all he had been gone for two years. He'd need a place to stay…and a job…He turned back to Chris, questioning him with a look and was rewarded with a bloody smile and small nod.

"Quit moving," Nathan reprimanded, oblivious to the silent exchange.

"Well, gentlemen," Ezra spoke at last, his accent thickening. "I wasn't aware there was any decision to make, after all, running an Inn requires too much manual labor and as a gentleman…" His comment was cut off by groans and laughter as Buck grabbed him and hugged him.

"Welcome back, Ez."

"Thank you," Ezra pulled away and gracefully adjusted his clothing, pointedly ignoring the fact that he was in jeans and a sweatshirt. "Now, I just have one more question."

"What's that?" Vin asked.

"What have you Neanderthals done with my car?"

thank you for reading!