Carolyn Sims sat with Chris Larabee and the rest of his team in a hotel conference room going over the plan of attack. Buck remained silent and well out of her line of sight, his dark blue ATF ball cap pulled low over his eyes, his arms crossed over his broad chest as Larabee spoke.
"Agent Sims received intel from her CI that the jet's ETA is approximately noon tomorrow," Chris told them, "I've explained to her about the probable leak within our department and, in deference to our internal plumbing problem, she's spoken to no one in regards to this information. No one outside of this room knows anything about tomorrow's operation. Agent Simms has also graciously offered to cover our 'assets' and DEA will sanction this op. We go through her for everything."
Josiah smiled at Nathan. The two of them were satisfied to be working under the auspices of the DEA, however temporary. It would be like grabbing upper echelon ATF balls and twisting. Anything to get them to take the security breach that led to Ezra's kidnapping and subsequent abuse by Jonathan Cain seriously. Vin was disappointed that they had to circumvent their own agency while J.D. just smiled at the prospect of adding a rad DEA ball cap to his collection. Ezra just sat, no expression on his face, while Buck, for obvious reasons, could have done without DEA entirely.
"And boys," Chris added, "It looks like we've all been especially good these past few months because the scumbag fairy has granted us a wish. The airfield the cartel is using belongs to Mr. Jonathan Cain."
"Sweet Jesus, Yes!" Josiah said and looked to Ezra who suddenly began to believe in divine intervention.
An almost feral smile broke out on Standish's face while J.D. turned in his chair to face the under cover agent and smiled broadly. "Yeah, sweet, Ezra, sweet ass!"
Vin, stoked for the payback to begin, was ready to exact some measure of revenge for what the man had put his friend through; what he had put them all through. He smiled and added, "We're finally gonna get another crack at that wired up jackrabbit."
Carrie just smiled at their enthusiasm. With the revolving doors of the justice system and the apathy of the general public, too many agents became disillusioned over the years and apparently ATF was suffering from a similar malaise in the form of a serious and potentially lethal leak. The DEA agent had pulled in a string of favors and Team Seven had been reassigned temporarily to her. The move allowed her to run the operation as she saw fit and she thought it prudent to bypass the lower ranks of the Denver ATF office and keep Larabee's team and the op completely off the radar. That way they would avoid being compromised by the department malcontent, whoever he or she was.
After offering dispensation, Carrie needed to know all the pertinent details about Jonathan Cain to avoid any snafus that might leave her ass swinging in the breeze and asked, "What's the deal on this guy Cain? Can we expect much trouble on that front?"
Ezra spoke up, his voice strained but forceful. "I have intimate knowledge of the man, Agent Sims, and he is a very dangerous individual. Seems to take a certain sadistic delight in harming people, especially those in our line of work."
"Well, Agent Standish, it seems he's had a long and very profitable relationship with the Torres cartel allowing their jets to land at his airstrip to refuel in exchange for a percentage of the goods on board. It also seems that Cain likes to personally oversee these transactions."
Hearing the information, Ezra felt a chill run down his back. Fear was his knee jerk reaction to the knowledge that Cain would be present and, as Chris caught his eye; the senior agent let a barely perceived nod pass between the two of them. Whatever it took, it said, and, with that, the use of lethal force was placed squarely on the table.
Carrie distributed the dossiers she held in her hand and began to speak about assignments. "Agent Wilmington, as the fuel-jockey sent out from the co-op Cain contracts with, you'll have first contact with Cain and Torres' man. It'll be your job to separate those two from any backup. A little sloppiness on your part and the explosive potential of a fully loaded fuel truck should be just the thing to keep Cain's men well away."
As she spoke Chris looked pointedly at his closest friend to make sure he was getting up to speed on everything and not just wool gathering. His life could depend on it. Hell, all their lives could depend on it.
Josiah nodded in Buck's direction. "Won't Cain recognize Buck from past interrogations?"
"If she were still with us, I doubt Buck's own mother would recognize him," Chris said and looked again at his agent's battered face.
"But won't they at least wonder about Mr. Wilmington's appearance and possibly become suspicious?" Ezra wanted to know.
"They'll just think he fell in a combine," Vin deadpanned the answer quietly.
The group laughed heartily with the exception of Carrie and Buck who found the cause and the effect not the least bit amusing.
Chris, who still searched for answers himself and never encourage laughter on principle alone, also remained stone faced. On Carrie Sims' first day with Team Seven, the day of Buck's abrupt departure, Chris had taken her to dinner to try and find the reason for the strange dance between Wilmington and her and, while it had been a very enjoyable evening, he was not any closer to finding out what was going on between the two of them then when she'd first walked into the office. The Special Agent in Charge had been evasive, deftly changing the subject whenever he brought up anything remotely personal, turning it full circle back on him. She now knew most of his life story while he still knew very little of hers or of her connection to Buck. It could have just been hate at first sight but he didn't think that was the case.
"Buck's perfected the art of being innocuous when he needs to be. He'll play it so Cain will think he's just another hired hand and they won't give him a second look," Chris assured Carrie and, before she could voice any concerns of her own, he added, "But, just in case, you might want to assign Vin to the water tower where he can just blow Cain's head off if it comes to that."
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed wholeheartedly. As an afterthought she had pulled the files on all the rest of Team Seven and the long-range shooter's stats truly impressed her
"I'll try my damnedest to try and save his sorry ass for you, Ez," Vin promised easily.
"Josiah and Nathan, suited up as mechanics, will be "working" on a Cessna near the Quonset hut and will neutralize the two pilots. The rest of us will be out of sight until they start unloading the goods. As soon as the transaction goes down we're a go. Any questions?" she asked.
There were none and Carrie turned the meeting over to Chris for logistics.
"Tomorrow, Buck you're with me, Ezra and Vin in the Ram," he said, "The rest of you can follow in the Suburban with Josiah. We need to leave here at first light to get to Byers to set up. We run nothing through the office so you'll have to supply your own firepower and ammunition. Dress is casual and a beer or feed store logo on your ball cap is mandatory." Chris looked at his watch. He had to return to his office but before he left he would try making an end run around both Agents Sims and Wilmington. "If there aren't any more questions, you're dismissed...with the exception of Buck. Agent Sims can you stay a minute, too."
Wilmington had spent enough time in the principle's office yesterday for fighting and couldn't imagine what Chris could say to chastise him further. Buck heaved a heavy sigh and his stomach knotted at the thought of finally facing her, even with Chris in the room with them. He had wanted to explain to her about his behavior but what could he possible say? With his bender and night in jail, he had already shown her his ass without even taking his pants down. Carrie looked uncomfortable and he couldn't blame her. Years of unresolved conflict and mountains of painful emotional baggage would make any conversation pretty dicey at best. Leaning back in his chair, he waited patiently to hear what words of wisdom Chris Larabee had to impart. He would go on waiting, however, because the man simply walked out the door with the others and closed it behind him leaving the two of them alone. Disappointed and a little hurt that Chris would put him in such an awkward position; Buck lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Carrie cleared her throat and watched as Buck finally raised his battered face to look her in the eyes. She had always loved the way he seemed to see only her, even in a crowded room, but now his intense stare only made her more uncomfortable. She suspected that when he looked at her now, he was recalling every terrible memory, hearing every angry word and feeling every bit of the pain that he had twenty years ago. She also wondered fleetingly if he was feeling shame. The breakup of their marriage hadn't all been Buck's doing. Forsaking her wedding vows, she had turned to another man and she hadn't blame Buck at all for leaving after that, just as she wouldn't blame him if he left her now - which was just what he intended.
"I'm sorry, Carrie, but I can't do this right now," he said softly and lowered his gaze again. He couldn't speak to her now or, quite possibly, ever. There was too much history between them, too much said and left unsaid all those years ago. Everything they had ever had together was dead - dead and buried along with their precious little girl and, without another word, he gathered up his meeting materials and left her alone once again.