A/N: Sorry for the long delay. This was all about rewriting the last third, so I hit a wall, but I've got it sorted now and a plan to the end finally. Thanks to those that have reviewed and sent messages, it's wonderful to get feedback, it is so much appreciated and you've totally motivated me to get this finished :) Not to mention its so cool to hear from some of you I haven't heard from in way too long :))) 'nuff from me.
Part 21. Fire In The Night
Back out at the complex Sugar looked around Suzy's room, uncomfortable in the decidedly feminine furnishings.
"You gonna stand there all night, or you wanna take that big load off your feet?"
He finally looked at her, seeing her lounging coyly on the soft pink cover of her bed. She was studying him with hooded eyes, a knowing smile playing on her painted lips. Sugar took a deep breath and crossed to the dresser, leaning his hip against it and giving her a hard look.
"Is this what you've become? A woman willin' ta sleep with anyone if it'll get what you want?"
Suzy looked like she'd been slapped but was not sure why the comment had cut her so deeply. It wasn't the worst thing anyone had ever said to her. She'd been called a whore daily ever since she'd become Billy's woman. She got to her feet angrily and pointed to the door.
"Get the fuck out of here."
To her surprise, Sugar laughed. "Oh you don't just look like her…" he said somewhat reflectively.
That stopped her cold. "Like who?" She dismissed him by turning her back, but he did not leave. He was unsettling her. His eyes looked at her as if he actually gave a damn about her and she did not know how to react. No one had been concerned about her in a long, long time.
"You're a smart girl, Suzy. You know things are about to change around here. You called me up here because you know something and you think I can help you. Tell me what's goin' on."
She turned back to face him. It was true, she'd called him to her room because she knew that Billy was out of his depth and because she sensed that Sugar could help her. But now that it came to it she was frightened – frightened to betray the man that had ruled her life for as long as she could remember.
Sugar looked her in the eye and his face was so sincere that she actually believed him when he spoke to her. His voice was softer than she had ever heard it, tender almost, and for once she found herself moving forward toward shelter, instead of running.
"I can help you. Tell me what Billy's up to. You know he's got himself over his head – do you think he's going to be there for you when he goes down? And he will go down. Eddie's on his way and if Billy's out of line, he's going to get himself taken out."
She surprised him by giving a wry laugh. "If he makes it here you mean."
Sugar's breath held. "So he is trying to take him out," he said almost to himself. He was lost in thought for a moment while Suzy's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
Sugar turned back to her. "I suspected… he had the borders watched." He had to get in touch with Eddie. "What else?"
Suzy sat down again, but her body language was no longer inviting. She shrugged. "I just know that he's been talking a lot about what he'd do if he was in charge. Really in charge. And I know he's been uptight about Eddie comin' and interfering with his plans here. He was really pissed when he didn't show up at the border. I've never seen him look so… scared almost."
Sugar scowled as he stepped toward the door. "He should be." He turned back. "Keep your eyes open, things are only starting to get bad around here." His voice softened again. "I'll watch out for you, but keep your head out of trouble as best you can."
"I don't need anyone looking out for me," her lips revealed, but her eyes said something else.
..
With Larabee and the rest of his team behind him Vin pressed forward, leaving Bruce behind as he concentrated on keeping hidden behind a long line of crates that marked the boundary into the open bay area. He knew he had to stay hidden, that he'd have a hard time explaining his presence amongst the ATF agents should he be seen. It was dark, but he knew his clothing was an instant give-away. He was doing his best to put Bruce from his mind, knowing that to dwell on his guilt and loss now could cost more than he was prepared to give. Most of him knew it wasn't his fault, but a part of him refused to ignore the fact that
it was he who had brought the ATF team and the club to the same meeting ground. Without his intervention Bruce could well have been anywhere tonight, not lying in the mud dead like he was now, pissed off that his `friend' hadn't gotten his back.
His heavy boots stumbled over the ground but he kept his pace steady, hearing the slosh of puddled earth beneath his feet as he used a hand to wipe at the blood on the side of his face.
Chris was waiting for an update from the now retreating explosives team when he saw Tanner stumble and resisted putting a hand out to help him, knowing the determined man would not appreciate it.
"You going to be ok?" He asked instead.
"M'fine," was the curt reply.
Still looking at Tanner's back, Chris called for backup. "Murphy, we need your boys to cover us. We're going after the detonator. Coming up on the South perimeter now."
The answering voice was reassuring. "My men are in position. Nigel get your boys the hell out of there now!"
Shrugging off Forrester's attempt to look at his shoulder wound again, Murphy watched from the tower window like a hawk, keeping one eye on the two bikers pinned beneath them taking their time to surrender and the other on the truck. He could not see the back of the vehicle, but he knew he should be seeing men evacuating the area at Larabee's urgent command.
The team evacuating the truck had no chance to respond to Murphy when they were suddenly confronted with the site of armed guards opening fire right at them.
Shole and his men had come up on them and caught them trying to suddenly flee the site and had immediately fired on them from the safety of a border of wooden crates at the perimeter of the truck bay.
Shole himself was swearing, pissed off that things had not gone simply. First the remote detonator had refused to work and then, just when his men had nearly put it back together, something had alerted the cops to the danger. The plan had been to let the bastards gather around the truck, drawing them in before he blew them all to hell, taking as many out as possible. He hadn't been too concerned over the time it was taking to fix the device because the agents had moved in slowly, but something had happened and they were now trying to move out.
He betrayed his normally calm demeanour by cursing loudly, "Damn it, hurry the hell up! We need to blow this thing now!"
His second in charge, Thomas Dixon, had startled at the tone and dropped the back panel that he'd nearly had in place back down onto the ground, causing Shole to swear yet again. The device had to be put back exactly right or it wouldn't function. That didn't mean, however, that he was about to let the agents all run to safety when he'd waited so patiently to lure them all in. Leaving Dixon to sort out the remote he stood from his cover and aimed his weapon again at the retreating agents. Whatever the reason for them pulling out, he wasn't about to let them get away.
..
The sounds of the latest battle rising in the air had Chris's concern escalating as no attempt from either him or Murphy could raise the explosives leader who was now under fire. Then suddenly the words no-one wanted to hear came through their transmitters.
"The Captains' down! We have three men down! We're under fire, taking cover in the truck," came the dismal report.
"Fuck." The curse tore from Chris's lips as he heard the news.
"We're coming up on the boundary a few yards to your right, Larabee," Riker informed him. They'd managed to take down a band of guards that were pinning them near the fence line and were now finally able to move forward.
"Second Unit has secured the Western perimeter and are pushing forward," came Thomas's voice. A new sense of urgency had pervaded the area following the latest report. "We have two boys on the roof above the target taking fire from below. Those sons of bitches should be right ahead of you Larabee."
"Alright everyone move forward, we need to give those boys some cover to get the hell out of there, but watch yourselves, this thing is rigged to go," Chris reminded them all.
He knew that caution was needed, given what they knew about the bomb, but he also knew that there was a team of fellow agents being cut down beyond the boundary line and that every man there would do what he could to get them out of there.
Finally they reached the end of a long line of crates, the gunfire directly on the other side. Chris crouched beside Vin, who looked ready to leap out into the open and take aim.
"OK, let's do this right," he instructed. "Nathan, Josiah, take JD and head around to the right. Buck, you're with me."
Vin looked at him expectantly and was not happy with his next words. "You stay out of sight."
The surprised lift of his chin and the defiant expression on his face said it all.
"I'm not kidding. I don't have to tell you what it means to get seen with us out there taking them down." Seeing the argument and not having time for it, Chris frowned. "You want to stay on this case you do it my way and I won't have my orders questioned. Understood?"
Vin clenched his jaw but said nothing. Like hell he was staying behind.
Chris let his hard look linger on Tanner's expression as he called for Thomas. "Are your men still holding position?"
"Two up on the roof, six with me."
"We have the target dead ahead, they're to your right after the last yellow container. Hold position in case they retreat back your way."
"We can move forward, come up behind them."
"Negative. We'll be dead ahead of you, hold back, we don't want any friendly fire tonight."
"Copy that," Thomas confirmed.
"Riker, get ready to get those boys out of there," he then told the other mobile unit.
"I've sent two men in to back you, I'm with the rest at the boundary, waiting for your signal to move in."
"Murphy, get ready to give us some cover." Chris looked up at the rest of his team. "Alright, let's do this." He
intentionally looked at JD. "Watch your aim, there's always the chance of a stray hitting our men waiting behind them."
JD nodded, the last thing he wanted to do was shoot his own side.
"Moving in," Chris said, pressing forward. With that, they moved as one, moving cautiously but determinedly out of their cover, heading for the gun-play dead ahead of them.
Vin watched them move out and waited all of ten seconds to follow them, not about to sit there and leave them open like that. That he was disobeying a direct order didn't enter into it, but no sooner had he stood up and moved to the side of the crate, raising his gun as he moved, he felt a bullet explode into the wood no more than a foot from his shoulder. Spinning and dropping hard to his stomach, he stretched his arms out before him along the ground, gun raised and searching up for a target in the shadows.
"Throw out your weapon and put your hands to the back of your head!" Agent Knowles had the biker dead in his sights. The first shot had been a warning, his second would not miss. He'd watched the bastard take aim at Larabee's team right in front of him and wasn't taking any chances.
Vin growled softly in frustration. DEA - and they had him pinned. He'd been so busy worrying about the men ahead of him he hadn't heard them come up behind him. There was no excuse for being snuck up on like that.
"I said drop your weapon, now!"
With no choice Vin threw the gun out ahead of him.
"And put your hands behind your head." Knowles signalled to his partner to follow him forward.
Vin obeyed the order, raising his arms up with difficulty and tensing his stomach to keep his face out of the mud. Knowles approached while his partner stepped cautiously beside him.
"I don't want to stay here," his partner, Bradley, said to Knowles as they moved further forward.
Vin watched the movement of their boots in front of his face. `Knowles' moved forward and bent a knee to the ground and Vin heard the sound of handcuffs being opened as his arm was pulled down behind his back.
"You an' me both. We'll chain him to that loop in the container there and move on ahead," Knowles said as he snapped the metal cuff around the unresisting wrist and pulled the remaining arm of the biker down from the back of his head.
In the next instant, however, the unprepared DEA agent was trying to work out what had hit him as the body beneath him twisted sharply and the assumingly defeated man on the ground sprang at him, one strong fist leading as he came up and knocked him off his feet to the ground with a hard hook to the jaw.
Not only was Vin then on his feet and unrestrained, he had Knowles' gun in his hands and had already turned to take care of the other agent, Bradley, who had reacted too slowly to come to his partner's aid. His boot reached Bradley's cheek as he kicked out and sent the agent backwards into the crates, watching him slip to the ground, eyes closed and unaware as he too, was relieved of his weapon. He turned then and saw Knowles staring up at him in the darkness, but the two guns he now brandished kept the agent where he lay. He thought about telling him to chain himself to the container, just as they had intended to do to him, but renewed gunfire up ahead saw him leave both the agents as they were. He had no time to waste removing the cuff on his wrist and he did not want them left defenceless should any of the guards come back this way. Instead, he continued to train a gun on Knowles, tucking the other into the band of his jeans before retrieving his own weapon from the ground and turning to follow his team.
Knowles glared after the biker that had flattened them both so effortlessly and shook his head as he disappeared, moving to check on Bradley who looked to be coming around. Whoever he was, he had taken them down like they were complete amateurs.
..
As bullets tore through the night all around him Ivan finally made his way down to Cheese, using a ladder on the rear side of the ledge. The guards had opened fire on the cops that had surrounded the truck and now there was a war going on – and his downed friend was right in the middle of it. The only good that had come of the guards attack was that it had created a diversion for him to reach Cheese and get his wounded friend the hell out of the line of fire. The men in the tower were aiming out into the darkness for the moment and he was wasting no time in the reprieve. Staying low, he finally reached his friend's side and crouched down beside him.
"You took yer time," he was promptly informed.
He grinned at the hurting man. "Aye, ye broke some records gettin' doon, that's fir sure. Ah took the slower path."
He checked him over with a glance, seeing immediately that his leg was at a peculiar angle. "Where ye hurt?"
"Everyfuckinwhere." Cheese tried to sit up and as he did so, felt his leg scream in pain and groaned. "Fuck, my leg…"
"Come oan, we cannae stay here."
Ivan helped Cheese up and started to take his weight and pull him to his feet as he looked around, trying to see the best course back to the building. It was then that he saw Rizzo. How the hell had he gotten outside?
"We'll ah'll be fucked," he said, watching Rizzo standing before the bright lights of the truck looking like a stunned deer. "Rizzo ye daft bastard, get over here!"
Hearing the shout Rizzo turned and after a moment seemed to recognise them, even at the considerable distance he was away from them. One hand came up in a jerky wave of greeting and a sudden grin split his bemused face.
Cheese lifted his head a little and saw what Ivan was looking at. Their friend was still captured in the truck's
headlights. "He's been just standin' there since I landed."
"Rizzo!" Ivan yelled again, and to hell with caution. "Git doon ye fool!"
Rizzo heard the shouted instruction but instead of obeying he turned to the voice with a spreading grin. He was happy to have made some connection again with a human being after standing so long in isolated thought as he had been. He went so far as to wave again in a show of happiness at seeing his friend.
Ivan shot to his feet, sensing the outcome of Rizzo's actions. It couldn't go down like this. No way. But he hadn't taken two steps before the first bullet hit his friend square in the chest and sent him staggering back a step.
"No!"
Rizzo recovered and his eyes found Ivan again, but this time his smile wavered as he again took a tentative step forward, not at all sure this time. Ivan sprang forward, alarm and fear driving him to reach his still-wasted friend and get him to ground. Even as the second bullet tore into the perplexed body he kept running toward him, cursing himself for not being fast enough, cursing the fools who's shots were flying wild of their marks, cursing the son of a bitch bartender that had given Rizzo the fucked up drugs in the first place.
As the third bullet tore into Rizzo's stomach, pain had still not registered. But he was quickly learning that he could not move forward without being driven back. He stared in wonder at the sight of Ivan sprinting towards him. He didn't think he'd ever seen his friend move like that before. It was almost funny.
"They wanted me out here!" He yelled toward the madly approaching figure, his arm sweeping the air around him.
Ivan reached Rizzo and did not stop to chat. He bowled the man over, tackling him hard to the ground and pulling him by the shirt toward the door to the building. His blood-coated hands gripped the material hard, one working its way under an unresisting arm until he managed to haul him to the doorway, open the metal door and shove him inside.
Rizzo looked up at Ivan's terrified face and suddenly found it hard to breathe. "They put me out there," he informed him, his face already pale in the artificial lighting.
"Who?"
"The guards... just shoved me out the door. Why did they shove me out the door?"
Ivan shook his head, looking down and seeing the blood spilling around his friend's body to the grey, cold concrete beneath them. "Dinnae move," he told him hoarsely, his breathless voice filled with emotion. He held a hand to Rizzo's forehead, giving him a hard look that begged him to stay alive before he left to get Cheese.
He ducked his way back through the gunfire and reached his friend, wasting no time in hauling the battered body onto his shoulder and carrying him back to join Rizzo. As he reached the door the gunfire suddenly stopped, but he didn't pause to find out what that meant. He wondered where Bruce and Vin were. Did they need his help too? Now that he finally considered it, Vin was in no shape to be dodging bullets, but how could they have known it was going to turn into a world war out here? He couldn't believe what was happening.
Inside he lowered Cheese to the ground. Cheese took one look at Rizzo and made a strangled noise in his throat as Ivan let him go. They both looked at Rizzo's permanently glazed eyes staring at nothing and remained silent, trying to accept what they were seeing. After the longest time Ivan's face turned fierce and without a word he turned to the door, heading back out into the mayhem. He wasn't going to lose Bruce and Vin too.
..
Up ahead of Larabee's still concealed team the gunfire suddenly stopped in a temporary cease fire. The explosives team were still holed up in the back of the truck taking meagre shelter against the countless rounds of bullets that the guards had fired in their direction. The metal container was peppered with holes and dents where ricocheting bullets had hammered into the thick surface.
Next to Shole, Dixon gave a sudden triumphant grunt into the silence that had ensued. He'd finally managed to put the device back in one piece and was rewarded by the sight of the long anticipated green light blinking readily on the casing, indicating it was finally operational.
"Well thank fuck for that," Shole said, looking down at the control. "Let's burn these bastards then we can take out the other two clowns that dropped out of the tower." He'd already managed to take care of one of the bikers, the idiot had stood frozen in the truck's lights. He reached out and took the remote and as he did so stepped from his cover and moved forward, extending his arm out toward the truck.
"ATF! STOP RIGHT THERE!" came a loud shout from close by. Too close by.
..
Chris and his team could not see the remote in the guard's extended hand, but they could make out his uniform in the low light.
Shole's men looked toward the sound of the shouted command and saw their leader raise his gun in response, waiting not a second longer to join him in turning their gunfire toward the agents that had come upon them from behind.
The fight was short and deadly. The ATF agents were ready for the guards to move out of their positions of cover and the second that they did they opened fire. Shole's team were cut down whilst the leader himself got off only one shot before he felt a bullet slam into his hand, dropping to the ground in the sudden and all-consuming agony he felt exploding over and over again as his nerves fired.
Seeing their leader fall under the onslaught caused a mixed reaction amongst the remaining guards. Some stayed to battle it out, but others retreated toward the building and to safety, only to find themselves surrounded by Thomas's men who had come up from the other side and if they made it further than that, they were pinned by Murphy's men up in the tower. The co-ordinated attack brought them down swiftly and effectively.
Only two guards remained outside to face the ATF team then, not including the incapacitated Shole as the noise of the firing sank into the muddied ground once more.
"We've got men coming up all around you, you've got nowhere to go! Throw down your weapons and move out slowly. Let us see your hands!" Buck called out after a nod from Chris who had not moved his gun from the spot he knew the guards were hidden behind.
As Shole remained on the ground, moaning through his pain, one of the remaining guards made a lethal decision and rose from his cover, gun firing. Chris, ready for the move, was the first to react and sent him back where he'd come from. The remaining guard, still crouched in the cover, looked down at his former friend's already dead body and quickly called out.
"I'm coming out!" He threw out his gun and stood with his hands in the air.
There's always one, Chris thought, not pleased at having to shoot the young kid that had raised his gun at them. He didn't have to tell Buck to get the surrendering guard's weapon, his old friend just moved automatically to take care of it. They'd worked together far too many times to have to discuss such obvious tasks. He then turned his attention to Shole, who was still huddled forward on the ground in pain.
"Put your hands up where I can see them," Chris ordered him before he spoke into his headset. "The guards are down, clear out of the truck!"
To their surprise, Shole complied, lifting himself up and sitting back on his heels. He clutched his hands together between his legs and they could see the blood covering them from the gunshot wound, and they could also see that he did not have a gun held in them.
"JD, Nathan, check the others out, get their weapons," Chris said, not moving his eyes from the guard before them. "Raise your hands where I can see them!" he ordered Shole, knowing it was a difficult request but knowing he had to make sure that every man would no longer be a threat. It was hard to make anything definite out in the small amount of light that they had and he wasn't about to take any chances.
Finally Shole moved, even if it was only his lips that curled up to reveal a grin that the agents could not see. Through his blood-slick fingers he felt over the plastic rectangle concealed in his hand until he felt the square button that he knew sat right beneath the green, blinking light.
"I'm not telling you again, put your hands up where I can see them," Chris said, taking a step forward and sensing something more than pain causing the man's hesitation. He was close enough then to finally see the man's grin and even as he responded to it by moving his gun to aim right at his head, he noticed his hands move. He was concealing something in them.
Shole's fingers pressed down a fraction more, finding the power to bend forward and press the plastic pad forward, which began to push the metal contact lever forward toward the waiting touch plate all concealed within the remote's small casing. Once the touch plate connected the sensor would activate inside the truck and it would physically switch over and detonate the web of explosives that were rigged throughout the roof. Only a fraction more and he would have his job completed. He had never failed on a job yet.
But there were two things the arrogant Shole had not accounted for. How could he know that the annoying biker that had assailed him with questions was as determined to stop him as he was to set the sky ablaze? And how could he know that the man standing right before him, ordering him to raise his hands, had a trigger finger so fast he was famous for it? So it was that in the next instant his grin was replaced by pain and shock and his perfect career had a permanent black mark as he fell back for the first and last time. The final order from his own brain to his fingers, demanding that they fulfil their duty and press down on the plastic piece, was disobeyed. One hot bullet slammed into his head at the exact moment that another shot its way into his heart before he fell back to the earth in shocking finality, the remote sliding from his lifeless fingers to rest peacefully in the mud.
The rest of the ATF team whirled in shock at the gunshots, not having seen what Shole was up to. They looked from Shole, to Chris and then finally to Vin, who had come up behind them all, discharged gun now down by his side.
Chris stepped forward and eyed the plastic remote that was lying in the mud, it's green light still blinking incessantly in the darkness. He felt no remorse at shooting the man, he had been about to send them all to hell. Device in hand he turned back around and lowered his own weapon, giving Vin a hard look through the dim light.
"Thought I told you to stay behind?" But he wasn't angry. Two bullets were better than one in stopping a madman cold.
"Wasn't sure I heard ya right, with m'head bleedin' an' all."
Not having expected a response Chris was shocked to see the grin light the teeth bared from Vin Tanners face as he tucked his gun back into the waist at the back of his jeans.
Right at that moment Thomas and his men appeared before them, dragging two of the escaped guards they had rounded up with them. They'd stopped them from getting back to the building. Seeing the agents approach Vin turned back to take cover rather than be forced to identify himself to them, but it was at that exact moment that the two agents he had just tangled with caught up with him as well. He thought fast and as always, turned the situation to his advantage. He could not have planned it better himself as they descended on him, taking no chances as they swiftly knocked him off his feet with a fist to his jaw, that he allowed. Score one for authenticity of cover, he thought glumly as he hit the ground hard.
"This time I'm ready for you," the irate agent Knowles said, moving forward to deliver a solid kick.
OK the kick wasn't planned on. He coughed with the loss of his breath and the pain through his side.
"That's enough!" Chris yelled sharply, stepping forward to stop the attack as he realised what was happening.
Knowles and Bradley glared at the Captain as he approached, both justifiably angry.
"He didn't hesitate to take us down back there," Bradley informed him, gesturing behind him.
Chris didn't waste his glare on the man as he moved toward Vin, hearing the harshly drawn breathing coming from the battered man's chest. Thomas gave him a nod as he continued on with his captured guards who were looking back at Vin with interest.
Vin got to his knees and after a noticeable pause got his feet under himself, hands wrapped around his torso and clearly in pain. He grinned though as the two agents stepped back from him, clearly wary of the reach of his boots. He held one arm tight to his stomach as he forced his breathing under control, wet mud mingling with the blood that coated one side of his face. The punch hadn't been particularly hard, but the kick had taken his breath away and jolted his ribs into a new, painful awareness. To top it off his head was pounding again and it was picking up its drumming rhythm with a vengeance. A headache was just what he didn't need, it inhibited him from focusing on what he had to do. He was near the end of his endurance and he knew it. He locked his stance and glared at Knowles and Bradley. Even knowing that he would have done the same thing in their position didn't stop him from being pissed that they had taken such cheap shots at him.
Knowles took his eyes from the biker and shifted them to the ATF Captain, seeing that there was no sense of urgency in the man. He exchanged a look with his partner before looking back at Vin, finally putting it together. With the guards gone he could speak freely.
"You're the UA," he said simply.
Vin raised a brow, then a grin twisted his lips. He had no need to carry on the act now that the guards had been taken away. A call came over the radio ordering the two agents to return to their team and help with the wounded near the truck. As they walked away Knowles turned back.
"At least I didn't get taken down by a biker." He gave him a small nod as he turned away.
Chris signalled for Nathan to see to Vin before he turned away to check in with Murphy and the rest of the teams, making sure that the area around the truck was evacuated and secured and that the wounded were being seen to as Buck, Josiah and JD made sure that there would be no surprises from the guards scattered on the ground around them. Sirens were heard now as local backup was raced in and medical help came in to tend to the wounded. The noise of a helicopter was heard circling in from above and Murphy's voice was heard over the communication demanding to know who the hell it was. There had been no aerial support organised and the last thing they wanted was the media getting in on the action.
"You look worse every time I see you," Nathan informed Vin, guiding him to sit on a wooden crate. He noted the harsh intake of breath through his battered ribs as the lean man sat down, keeping his favoured leg as straight as possible.
Vin didn't deny it, but he had more things to worry about as he fought the urge to bat the well-meaning man's hands away from the wound at his temple. He had to get back to the building and find Ivan and Cheese, not to mention Rizzo. How was he going to tell them about Bruce?
Chris felt his phone vibrating in his jacket pocket as he looked down at the top of Vin's head. Reading the display he saw that it was Ezra but answered too late to get the call. He dialled the missed number but there was no answer. Frowning he moved forward to look down at Vin.
"Why didn't you meet me as planned?" was the first of many questions he wanted answered. He didn't know how long they would have to trade information this time.
Vin lifted his head, his hair damp from the constant drizzle and falling into his eyes. "We came up through a
tunnel in the ground," he pointed in the direction he'd come in from. "There's an opening in the ground over that-away, just beyond the perimeter, it leads down to a network of tunnels that run through the ground and under the building. They stretch all the way across the street and come up through an undercover car park. That's how they move their shipments out from here undetected. It's not only stored here, it's made here, right beneath our feet."
Seeing Chris's surprised face, he continued. "You're not gonna believe the shit they've got goin' on down there. I didn't see all of it, but there's a mobile lab down there and a full warehouse of goods ready to move out at any time."
Chris exchanged a look with Nathan even as Buck joined them, having heard what Vin had said. What Chris had been ready to write up as one big fuck-up was fast becoming the opportunity of their careers, if what Vin was saying was true. It was the bust they needed to take the heat off the department after Benning's setup, and more.
"That changes things," Chris said, already considering what action he needed to take.
Vin shied away as Nathan tried to get at the bullet wound still bandaged at his side. Chris noticed the way Vin held his arm tight around his side, even as he moved away from Nathan's helping hands.
"What else?" He asked, worried about time.
"This whole place is run by the club but it's a local operation. I don't think the president knows 'bout this back home, or else we all would'a known somethin' 'bout it. When we came in there was a guy, Bale was his name. He's in charge out here and he tee'ed us up with Shole." Vin nodded to the dead guard. "He was the head of security and in charge'a blowin' the truck."
"Where's Bale now?" Buck asked.
Vin shrugged. "He high-tailed it soon as we headed out." He looked at Chris. "The way they got this place set up, they can get everythin' outta the city in a heartbeat, so ya gotta get this movin'."
Chris studied Tanner's keen eyes. He'd gone through a lot to get that information to them and he deserved some reassurance that it would be handled. He nodded, "I'll see to it."
Vin looked back down with a sigh, satisfied that Larabee would get it done. "I had no idea things would go this far tonight. Once I saw the scale'a the operation, it was too late ta stop things." He looked up at Chris, who again nodded toward him, this time putting a solid hand on his shoulder and giving a squeeze.
"You did good," he was reassured. "And if what you say is true, then everything that happened here still won't make sense to the department," he said wryly, "but it'll be more than enough to justify the op and satisfy them. Not to mention it'd be nice to have some sort of pay-off for our time for a change."
"Why would they lead us here and risk us discovering their underground operation?" Josiah said thoughtfully as he walked up and joined them. He waited for Vin to look up in response to his voice. "Kid, you look like hell," he smiled.
Vin gave him a slight smile back, but it did not reach his eyes. "They consider what's underneath us impenetrable. I don't even know if I could find the way through ta the main area again an' I've just come from there. There's hidden panels all over the place. This ain't no backyard operation."
"So what now?" Buck asked.
"Now, we have to report in and get this bust done right," Chris said firmly. "I want full department backing on this before we move and we're going to need a lot more backup." He looked at Vin, knowing he was definitely not going to like his next order. "And I'm going to bring you in. You could use the break in the hospital."
Vin looked up in anger, pushing against Nathan's restraining hand to get unsteadily to his feet. "This ain't the time," he argued. "We lost a man tonight, if you pull me in now it's gonna look nothin' but suspicious."
Chris wasn't budging. "You're coming in now or I'm bringing you in for good, it's your decision. You can't keep going like this."
Vin was furious and took a step toward his Captain, his voice low as he instinctively looked around to make sure they were really alone. "You can't tell me my effort hasn't paid off. I've just given ya the haul'a the year - the key ta the club's whole operation here in Denver - and yer still questionin' my place?"
Chris's eyes narrowed, but he could see that it was fatigue that was fuelling Vin's anger. "The only thing I'm
questioning is your health. You're not Superman, Tanner, sooner or later you're not going to get back up and it's not going to be on my shift that it happens. You're coming in."
The drizzle had become more of a light rain but both men were oblivious as they stared each other down for a long space of time. Finally Vin shook his head and whispered stubbornly.
"I can't do that."
Chris's brows shot up again and this time he reacted physically, shoving Vin backward to be caught in time by Nathan, who helped Vin sit back on the crate as he landed. Vin struggled to get back up and almost roared with frustration when he couldn't immediately find the strength to pull it off, only to be eased down by Nathan as Chris stepped in.
"Look at you, you can't even stand up." Chris didn't like what he was doing, but it was the only way the stubborn fool was going to realise his limitations. He glanced at Buck. "Cuff him. He'll ride with us to the hospital."
So caught up were they in their own private battle that the noise of movement behind them went unnoticed and before they could react a large, angry-looking biker came out from the darkness and stood before them, holding an automatic weapon before him.
"Back away from him!" Ivan yelled as he came upon the group of agents coming down on Vin. He'd picked his way through the compound until he'd heard raised voices and followed the sounds until he caught sight of the group of agents standing still amongst the chaos. It took a moment to realise that it was Vin who was fighting them and then the first words he had made out clearly had been to `Cuff him and bring him in.'
Chris exchanged a look with Nathan and nodded slightly to obey the biker's command. He looked at Vin then and was surprised to see a slight smile on the man's face. The son of a bitch was going to get his way after all. He narrowed his eyes and with one last warning look stepped back and turned toward the irate biker who was holding a gun on them.
Ivan took his first good look at Vin's battered face and nearly started firing. The bastards just couldn't help
themselves.
"Back the fuck away!" He ordered again, waving his gun for emphasis as he watched Vin get shakily to his feet. He wanted to gather whatever friends he still had alive and get the hell out of there. "You ok?" he asked Vin, who made his way to stand by his side.
Vin didn't look at Larabee again, knowing instinctively that his Captain was going to let him leave but that he was furious as hell about it. He couldn't stop Ivan taking him right then even if he wanted to, but I'm sure it wasn't making it any easier on his new Captain.
"Yeah," he answered. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"Where's Bruce?" Ivan scanned the area, trying to account for the last of them.
Not wanting to spark Ivan's anger until they were away from his team, Vin shook his head as if bewildered. "We got separated. He was headin' t'ward the buildin'. I thought he mighta run inta ya `fore now."
Ivan frowned, but was taking it one step at a time. "Let's find him." He waved his gun again at the agents. "You boys stay as ye are," he warned and gave Vin a sideways look. The smaller man looked ready to fall down. He nodded with his head that Vin move off first, he would watch his back.
Chris watched with his team as Vin backed away with the biker and cursed softly but passionately. He was pissed off that he hadn't had the time to finish briefing his agent but more than that, he was pissed off that he'd managed to get his way. Again. He really didn't think he had enough left in him to carry on.
Just as the two bikers had left Riker and two of his men came upon the scene.
"Larabee, my team has secured the area. The truck has been isolated and all teams have moved back. They're taking Murphy out now, he's taken one in the shoulder but they think he'll be ok."
Chris turned to Riker. "Go back and see to Murphy. There's two bikers heading that way, you're to let them pass. I need your men clear," he whispered.
Riker hesitated a moment then followed the request, leading his men out to leave the ATF team to their business.
..
"Where did ye leave Bruce?" Ivan asked, but in another moment Vin heard him swear. "Sweet Jesus!"
Vin stumbled as Ivan stopped hard in his tracks. Damn it, he hadn't been thinking. He should have led Ivan away from Bruce but instead he'd let him run straight into him. Ivan sank down beside his friend's dead body and his face was so genuinely anguished that Vin had to look away. Finally, Ivan's grief-filled words became clear.
"Not you too… aw laddie... not you too…"
"What is it?" Vin asked, stepping out from behind Ivan and grabbing hold of a post in the ground for support. His vision had greyed but he managed to wrestle it back. What did Ivan mean 'not you too'? Who else had bought it tonight?
Ivan looked up and when he did Vin saw that there were unchecked tears on the big man's face. He had a hard time getting the words out. "Rizzo… they got Rizzo."
Vin blinked. "But he was inside. He was…" he couldn't speak, had no idea what to say at that moment while he tried to take it all in. This wasn't like when Keg was killed. He had been hanging with these guys a long time back home, and he'd just spent their last days with them, joking around, watching them play their stupid pranks… He felt numb. He felt...
Ivan watched Vin sink to the ground and quickly moved to stop his fall. All he could think was he was about to lose yet another of his friends. The poor bastard had been feeling like hell before they'd even got out here and now he was faced with being beaten by the cops, again, on top of the loss of two of his brothers. He quickly turned him over and felt his cool, rain-slick neck for a pulse and was relieved to find one. Sighing, his
breath catching on something he wouldn't admit was a sob, he looked back at Bruce. He couldn't carry them both back, he'd have to leave his dead friend where he lay. He hoisted the lean man up and onto his shoulder and once again made his way toward the building, not knowing that there was an easier route through the hatch Vin and Bruce had used to get across the grounds.
His only plan was to get back to Cheese and then the three of them were going to get the hell out of here together - and alive. If he had it his way, they'd be heading all the way back to Texas and never leave the place again. He'd lost two brothers tonight, he wasn't going to lose another one. Denver had brought them nothing but loss.
..
Chris stood by Murphy's stretcher as they prepared to load him into the waiting ambulance.
"I wish I could be here for this," Murphy said to him now with a smile. He wasn't in pain now that they had given him a shot in the arm. "This is gonna be somethin'. It's the break we've been looking for."
Chris squeezed the man's good arm and watched as they loaded him inside. The call had just come in giving the go-ahead to proceed with the storming of the compound and SWAT teams were on their way for added support. According to Vin's information they weren't expecting a raid downstairs but just in case he had men sealing off all routes from the surrounding areas and looking for the entry across the road that Vin had told them about, that they would never have thought to look for otherwise. They had located the hatch leading into the tunnels just where they'd been told it would be but were waiting for full back up before they moved in.
Now he just prayed Vin's information was good. With all that had happened that night, so far they had nothing solid to take home. His phone rang again and he hoped it was Ezra calling back.
"Larabee its Martin. They're moving the truck."
"Keep your distance, but let's see where they take it."
Chris hung up and watched the flurry of activity all around him, not wasting any more thought on the operation that was taking place across town to secure what they had thought was the real shipment. That was before they had known what lay beneath the surface, literally. Flashing lights from vehicles now illuminated the teams all gathering together, ready to take action.
With this amount of backup, Tanner, you better be right, he silently prayed.
Buck and JD approached then, arguing about something he couldn't hear and he wasn't concerned until he noticed that JD still had the detonator in his hand.
"JD," he said with quiet authority. "Didn't I tell you to get that to the explosives team?"
JD looked up at Chris then down at the device in his hand. "Buck distracted me Captain, I was just heading there now." He moved off.
Buck grinned at that, he had really started taking a liking to the annoying kid, green as he was. He stuck a leg out to trip up the unsuspecting agent as he left them.
Chris watched the men before him with morbid fascination. A painfully slow and horrifying scene was unfolding right before his eyes. As Buck stuck out his boot, JD's dragging feet caught it easily, his legs becoming confused and entangled as they stopped walking ahead. There was no time to react. Once JD's feet had stopped, his upper body took over and his splaying arms led the charge to the waiting ground.
Buck realised he'd gone too far when JD failed to correct his step and went down right into the big puddle he'd been aiming for, but he chuckled anyway even as he lunged to try and stop his fall. It was when the younger man finally came to a halt, his arms spread out on either side of him in the water, that he noticed the green blinking light that was innocently signalling it's function amongst the brown earth.
As Chris, Buck and JD's eyes all found the light they could only watch with wonder as it suddenly blinked red – just the once… and then the world shook.