The list of things frustrating Chris Larabee as he sat at the restaurant toying with his breakfast was too long to even consider. Aside from the smaller ones – his ache from the still healing wound, the fact that JD had staying behind to monitor people and movements, the red tape that seemed to envelop pretty much every aspect of this case – he had a few big things on the list.
At the top was the fact they even had needed to come to San Francisco. Mike Standish was singing like a bird – a desperate, terrified bird. Not only were they getting information on this case, but on a slew of open investigations. Granted, none really fell under the mandate of the ATF, but the attempt on an agent's life did give them a certain amount of leeway. But, until everything could be investigated and corroborated, the no one was filing any charges, so the trial for Trevor Standish was forging ahead. They'd been given an extra week, based on Chris's hospitalization, but that still hadn't let them off the hook, which is why all but JD were currently finishing off ham and eggs in a diner a block from the courthouse.
Fighting for the number one position on Chris's "I'm mad at the world and here is why" list was the state his undercover agent was in. He could handle Ezra when he was angry. Or when he was petulant, or mischievous, or bored or any one of a hundred other moods the man demonstrated when he was of a mind to. But an introverted Ezra Standish was a whole different issue. No one was getting through to him. Given the fact he was soon to be facing down an attorney whose intention was to shatter his confidence and make it look for all the world like he was an intricate part of the family legacy, Chris and the others all had a very bad feeling about how the day would go.
"There is no cause for such long faces gentlemen." Ezra had easily read the room. "I can assure you I will present the embodiment of calm and reserve on the stand. I refuse to allow myself to be the reason this bastard could walk free."
He paused, uncertain about how to proceed, knowing how these men would react to what he planned to say next.
"You should know that I have had a skyped video conference with the assistant director of the Bureau. Yesterday, after you gentlemen had testified."
"Shit Ezra, what have you done?" Chris mentally moved Ezra's mood to the top of his frustration list.
"I have offered to resign, or relocate, as he sees fit once this matter has been resolved."
"You did what?" Buck's shout had every head in the restaurant turn toward their table. "You out of what's left of your mind?"
"For the sake of the team, the Bureau, I believe it to be the best choice."
"Fuck the Bureau, or the team for that matter. What about us Ezra? What about what's in our best interest – as friends?" Buck asked in a quieter voice.
"Things have changed."
"Really? Not as far as we are concerned." Nathan challenged.
"How can you help but feel differently toward me? Everything this has exposed. Everything you now know."
"For God's sake Ezra, we don't care."
Vin was nodding. "You understand that, don't you? None of us can change our families."
"Most people wouldn't want to."
"You'd be surprised." Josiah advised him. "My parents were nothing to be boasted about. Father brought a whole new definition to disciplinarian, and mother was always too weak, or too self-involved to question it. Leaving them behind was the smartest thing I ever did. Not proud of that, but it's the truth."
"Everybody has a few skeletons in their family closet Ezra." Buck added, deciding not to elaborate.
"Skeletons, yes. I have a veritable boneyard."
"Not your doing Pard. Nothing you need to lay claim on."
Ezra shook his head. "On the contrary. I am very much a Standish. It's in the blood. It is not surprising to me that you are trying to distance yourselves- "
"What the hell are you talking about." Buck challenged him. "We aren't the ones stepping back - you are."
"Easy Buck." Josiah cautioned.
"No. Chris was right before. You don't need us pussyfooting around all of this. Not the family stuff, and sure as hell not what it means. You're the one pulling away Ezra. You haven't come out to the ranch, haven't been to poker games. You've even abandoned Chaucer. What, you think that horse of yours is pissed off at you too? Are you that twisted up in all of this that you can't even see us right anymore?"
"Hate to say it, but he's right s-, Ezra." Josiah caught himself. "We understand you've had a lot to process, but you have to stop shutting us out."
Ezra winced at the hesitation in Josiah's statement, but didn't comment, hoping his reaction went unnoticed. It didn't.
"Son of a bitch. That's what this is about?" Chris demanded.
The others turned to him in confusion, while Ezra looked away. "It is a simple but telling reflection of how things have changed." He said softly.
"Josiah, would you please explain to this stubborn self-doubting fool why you have stopped calling him son?"
When the big man turned to him, looking stunned, Ezra wanted to disappear through the floor. "No, there is no need to dwell-"
"Good God Ezra - you think I don't… It has nothing…" he paused, gathering his thoughts. "I didn't want to say anything, not a syllable, that would bring that man to mind for you. Nothing that cast him into your thoughts. The way I feel about you - the way all of us feel about you - that hasn't changed." He reached over engulfed Ezra's hand in his own. "All the time you chewed me out for calling you son - I figured I'd found out why and didn't want to put you through any of that. You want that reference back, I gotta tell you, it would please me no end to be able to say it to you again."
Ezra looked for any note of falsehood in the man, and not surprisingly failed to find one. He looked at the others, all equally anxious to hear the response. For the first time in recent memory, he actually, genuinely smiled.
"It would please me no end to hear it again, Josiah."
Chris allowed himself a moment of relief, before wondering if a new item had to go on his list. "Just out of morbid curiosity Ezra, how much damage control am I going to have to do back at the office? What was the response to your offer to quit?"
"I was informed that only a fool would break up this team, and the assistant director did not take kindly to that description. I had intended to go over his head on the matter, but perhaps now that action will no longer be required."
"Got that right – son."
Ezra shook himself slightly, reining in his emotions as he stood. "Now, gentlemen, I believe we have a trial to attend."
7-7-7-7-7-7-7
The prosecution had called their witnesses, which meant Chris, Vin and Josiah would be able to sit in the courtroom, hopefully providing silent moral support for Ezra. Since Buck and Nathan were not involved as witnesses, they were staying away from the courthouse to keep the crowding to a minimum.
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I do."
"Be seated and state your name for the record."
"Ezra Standish." He sat, watching impassively as the defense attorney approached.
"Good Morning Mr. Standish -"
"Agent Standish." Ezra corrected.
"Oh, my deepest apology. Agent Standish. Could you please tell the court what your relationship is to the defendant?"
"To the best of my knowledge, he is my half-brother."
"To the best of your knowledge?"
"I haven't seen any DNA test to prove it, and the source of the information is somewhat less than reliable."
"And that source would be…?"
"Jacob Standish."
"And he is…?"
"Was. Jacob Standish was, biologically, my father."
"Was. Are you indicating then that Jacob Standish is deceased?"
Ezra allowed a hint of a grin to come to his face. "Are you really this poorly prepared for my examination Mr. Dunston? Very well, I shall indulge you. Yes, Jacob Standish is deceased. Yes, it was during the commission of a crime. And yes, I am the one who killed him. Does that reconcile the gaps in your information?"
Chris glanced over, relieved to see a number for the jurors smiling at the manner Dunston was put in his place. It didn't take Josiah's profiling skills to know most of them were less than impressed by the smarmy and condescending attitude he'd been demonstrating for the past two days. So far, Ezra was displaying just the right amount of confidence and charm to win them quickly to his side. How long that would last remained to be seen.
"Yes, thank you. That is an excellent start. Now, you were quite anxious that I call you Agent Standish. Could you please educate the jury as to basis for that title?"
"I am Federal Agent with the Bureau Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."
"A noble pursuit. Has that always been your chosen career?"
Here we go, Chris thought.
"No." Ezra fleetingly considered offering the fact that age 4 he had planned on being a superhero when he grew up but didn't really think this was the time or place.
"No? What else have you done?"
"A myriad of experiences throughout my adult years."
"Share some of them with us - please."
"I have waited tables, delivered pizza, taught tennis -"
"Could we possibly move forward to some of your more recent jobs, rather than those you held in college?"
"You are making an inaccurate assumption, but I understand your intention. Prior to my current position, I was with the FBI for a number of years."
"And you left that job under a cloud of suspicion, did you not?"
"Objection Your Honour." Keller finally was on his feet. "Agent Standish is not the Standish on trial here. This line of questioning is wasting the court's time."
"Your Honour. It is essential we understand exactly how credible a witness this man is before we can proceed with our line of enquiry."
Judge Walton did not look pleased. "He's your witness, and you are questioning his credibility?"
"His claims are an integral part of the DA's case, and we intend to establish serious doubt as to how legitimate those claims are. As the DA was unwilling to put this man on the stand, for reasons we can only speculate about -"
"Your honour! He is slandering his own witness!"
"Order!"
Chris was glad Buck and JD weren't here for this. They would both likely be under arrest for contempt already, or at the very least have been tossed out of the room. A cautious glance at Vin and Josiah left him wondering how much longer they would hold their tempers. For that matter, he wondered how much longer he would. What he couldn't begin to understand was how Ezra remained so calm. For all the stress he was showing, he might just as well have been at an afternoon tea, rather that testifying under the worst imaginable circumstances. No wonder he was so damn good undercover.
"Your Honour," Dunston continued, "I would like the court's permission to treat this man as a hostile witness."
"He has been nothing but civil and co-operative. I don't see a reason to allow that."
"I anticipate things are about to change."
"If they do, you can issue the request at that point. As to the previous objection…sustained. Move along with your questioning Mr. Dunston, but let's try to keep things relevant to this case, shall we?"
Dunston turned his back to the judge, ostensibly to retrieve paperwork from his desk. The scowl that flashed across his face betrayed the real reason, but by the time he was again approaching Ezra, his face was neutral. From the shuffling that happened in the jury box, it was clear they had taken note.
"Now, Mr. - excuse me - Agent Standish. Please explain to the court what you were doing in the ballroom of the San Francisco Towers Hotel on the night my client was arrested."
Ezra decided "I was arresting him" might come across as a bit too flip. He kept his sigh to himself as he proceeded to summarize as briefly as possible what had happened. Knowing this question would be asked, he had considered detailing the whole story of Maude's faked death, the discovery she was alive and the unanticipated family reunion, but even to his own ears, the tale sounded outrageous. He hoped he'd be able to avoid most, if not all, of the details. "I was there to try to locate my mother. The presence of Jacob Standish at the scene was unexpected. The presence of your client was even more so, as up to that moment I had been oblivious to his existence."
"You did not know you had a brother?"
"Half-brother. And no. I was blissfully unaware of that fact."
"I find that difficult to believe."
"Your inability to comprehend a simple statement of fact is not my concern."
Damn, Chris thought, he's getting pissed off.
"You were equally ignorant of the fact your dad was there? Even though you were looking for your mother?"
"To the best of my knowledge, my parents had not been together for several years. I had no reason to expect to find him while seeking her out."
"Why were you looking for her?"
"Family matters, not relevant to this case."
"Why don't you let us decide that?"
"No."
"Your Honour - permission to treat him as hostile now?"
"No. Unless you can let the court know what this has to do with anything going on here now, I am going to agree with the witness that his business with his mother, who is not on trial here either, has no standing."
Ezra could see it coming. Dunston had the look of a man who would not be denied, and since the court wasn't about to give him permission to proceed in the manner he had planned, he was going to plow his way through it, and deal with the consequences after. Ezra knew his life was about to be laid open for the jury to hear.
"Very well. Let's turn our focus to the statement you provided in the hotel after your father was killed and my client arrested. You claim your father confessed to you his intention to kidnap you and force you to assist in a scheme he had to steal upwards of a million dollars in jewels."
"That is correct."
"Why would he do that?"
"Objection - he is asking the witness to speculate on the motives of a criminal."
"I'm sorry, that was not my intention. Let rephrase the question. Why would he feel he would need to kidnap and threaten you when you have a long history of working with your family on multiple illegal activities over the years that resulted in an extensive juvenile criminal record and raised enough suspicion to have you dismissed from the FBI? With that kind of history, why would you need to be persuaded Agent Standish?"
The end of the question could barely be heard over the shouted objections and calls for order. Chris had his hand gripped tightly around Josiah's arm to hold him in place. He could feel Vin doing the same to his arm, for the same reason.
"Mr. Dunston!" The judge's face was red with furor. "You are dangerously close to contempt on this matter. In fact, I believe you have passed that limit."
"Your Honour…"
"Please Mr. Keller. I will get to your objections in a moment, if there are any left after I have my say. I cannot imagine that it will do this case, or the cause of justice, any good to instruct the jury to disregard what they have just heard. Your attempt to bring this man's credibility into question has far overstepped any accepted norms. I can only assume you are aiming for a mistrial for reasons I cannot fathom. I am loathe to grant it to you, but at this point -"
"Your Honour? If I may, I would like to answer his question."
tbc
M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7