Author's note: I would like to apologize to readers who have sent me reviews that I have not responded to. For some reason I'm getting the review emailed to me but it is not showing up in the reviews so that I can respond to it. So thank you all for your kind words and to the person who asked: Yes the story is going to be posted here. Yes, it is going to be finished. And yes, the whole series will eventually end up here. Thanks for asking!

Part 13

Chris stood in the corner of the room and watched as Ezra fought the sedative flooding through his system. 'Damn stubborn cuss,' he thought. 'Can't surrender control even when he's miserable.'

But in that respect Ezra wasn't much different from his teammates. Most of the other people in the ATF office couldn't figure out how Team Seven managed to keep from killing each other, much less work together effectively. But they did work together-very effectively-enough to be nicknamed (supposedly behind their backs) the "Magnificent Seven." The members-each with their own emotional baggage-had come together to form something more than just the sum of their parts.

Ezra Standish, the undercover agent with the unstable childhood who'd been betrayed and framed by his own mentor in the FBI.

Vin Tanner, modern day bounty hunter turned US Marshal turned ATF sharpshooter, fighting to triumph over dyslexia and a childhood spent in foster homes and on the streets. Still trying to live up to the name his mother had told him was his greatest treasure.

JD Dunne, fighting to be accepted as a man one minute and desperate for the approval and security he'd lost with his mother's death the next.

Josiah Sanchez, son of a hellfire-and-damnation minister; a former hippie, former anthropologist, former preacher-he'd once made the comment he'd seen justice from every angle and found it wanting.

Nathan Jackson, whose dreams of medical school had been unfulfilled due to lack of funds and family responsibilities. He carried the pain and bitterness of his mother's suicide deep in his heart.

And then there was Buck. Devil-may-care charmer carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but hidden only so that a few could see.

And Chris himself.

He never said it. He hated even to admit it, but Chris knew the secret to his Team's success. They were more than a team.

They were a family.

And no matter what they might say or do to each other, they faced the world with a united front.

Chris stood silently in the corner and watched as Ezra finally succumbed to sleep.

"Mind taking me by my place before we head out to Chris's"? Buck broke the silence which had existed since he and Vin had left the hospital. "I need to get some clothes an' things if I'm goin' to be under house arrest."

Vin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Better than bein' dead," he commented, signaling for a turn that would take him toward Buck's neighborhood.

Buck made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a laugh. "Yeah, I reckon it is at that."

Vin looked at him again. There was a reason he'd talked Chris into letting him take Buck to the ranch while Chris remained at the hospital. He took a deep breath. "Bucklin, I need to know somethin'."

Buck seemed to brace himself. "What?"

Vin stared straight ahead at the car in front of them. Now that the moment had come he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the truth. "Is the reason you backed out of goin' to Wyoming...'cause I was going?"

Buck whipped his head around to stare at him. "What?" After a second, he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Shit. Oh, no, Vin. Hell, I'm sorry. I never even thought 'bout that-why would it make a difference? Hell, I'm the one that invited you!"

"Thought maybe you'd changed your mind," Vin said quietly. "Chris said nobody'd ever been up there but the two of you."

"Vin, you got to believe me. You goin' along had nothin' to do with me not going."

Vin managed a smile. "That's what Chris said. Those very words, even."

"Yeah. Well, he knows me pretty well." Buck's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Too well, sometimes."

Silence stretched between them again. Vin stopped the truck at a red light. "So?" he said finally.

Buck sighed. He looked down at the newspaper he'd been twisting in his hands since they'd left the hospital. With a sudden movement he flipped it open.

Vin could see the picture enough to tell it was Marcus Hoyt with some young woman. Buck was staring down at the paper. "Hoyt had-has a niece," he said abruptly.

The light turned green. Vin nudged the accelerator. "So?" he prodded.

"She was here, visiting...the whole time Ez and I were undercover." Buck was speaking with difficulty. "She...we..." he sighed again. "We got to be more than friends," he said finally.

Knowing Buck and his propensity for the ladies, that was not a big surprise. Vin couldn't figure out why his friend was so upset about it. "You were undercover," he pointed out.

Buck laughed harshly. "Yeah. And I told myself that I needed to get close to her, see if she knew anything...get information about Hoyt's business." He leaned his head back. "Damn Vin, she's just a kid. No older than JD. And I used her. And she-" he stopped abruptly.

Vin frowned. 'That don't sound right.' "You don't use people, Bucklin," he pointed out. "And...you were doin' your job."

Buck snorted. "Yeah. My job. And I'll just bet that makes her feel a whole lot better when she finds out the truth."

Vin didn't know what to say to him. They pulled up in front of Buck's building, and Vin left Buck in the truck while he got out to approach the squad car parked in front. "Hey," he said, flashing his ID for the officer. "Any trouble?"

The uniformed cop shook his head. "Been quiet since I came on at six."

Vin put his wallet back in his jeans pocket and nodded for Buck to get out of the truck. "We're goin' up to Agent Wilmington's apartment for a few minutes. You need to take a break?"

"Well, I could go for some coffee, now that you mention it." The officer turned the key in the ignition. "I'll be back in ten."

Vin nodded and jogged to catch up to Buck, who was already in the front entrance.

The loft apartment was actually a little neater than usual. For a change, there weren't any clothes strewn on the living room furniture, and it looked like someone had vacuumed in recent memory. Vin never thought too much about Buck and JD's housekeeping (or lack of same) although Ezra had nicknamed the place the CDC and commented he had to get his shots updated every time they played poker there.

Buck headed for the stairs to his loft bedroom. "Help yourself to something to drink. But I think all there is, is Seven Up."

"That's okay." Vin started looking in the sofa cushions for the cordless phone. "Gotta call Chris an' tell him where we are."

Buck reached the top of the stairs and immediately had to sit down on the unmade bed. 'Whoa,' he thought, shutting his eyes against a wave of dizziness. He could hear Vin downstairs talking to Chris. "How's Ez?" he called when Vin hung up, reaching under the bed for his duffel bag. He shakily got to his feet and started for the closet.

"Sleepin'...finally," he heard Vin yell back.

Buck reached out to pull the closet door open. Too late he saw the telltale twisted red, black and yellow wires. In one heart-stopping minute he recognized them for what they were.

He stumbled back several steps. "VIN!"

There was a burst of searing light, then a horrible roaring noise. Buck's body was thrown up into the air.

He blacked out before he felt the pain.