Part 4

Cook straightened up quickly when the inner kitchen door was kicked in abruptly. He let Dunne's head fall forward. The Kid wasn't giving nothing up.

"Where'd ya find him?" Robby Cook could feel the praise coming his way already when he delivered Standish back to Mike Jr.

Dunne's head snapped up from the far end of the kitchen table. He nearly bolted from the chair screaming, "Leave'im alone you bastards," a set of hands held him back.

Montague pushed Standish into the chair at the opposite end of the table from Dunne. The undercover agent toppled to the side forcing Peter to keep a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Under the houth," Kennedy limped into the kitchen hugging his right arm close to his body and gingerly rubbing his bleeding mouth on his shoulder. Bottom teeth had ripped completely through his bottom lip. His nose bled from both nostrils and held an ugly zig zag in the middle of it.

Cook cringed, "What the hell happened to you?"

JD continued to struggle from the hands that kept him captive. He stared at Standish and for the first time since finding him earlier that afternoon, Ezra stared back at him. The disorientation was still present but a thinking mind sat behind the glassy eyes.

Dunne felt a glimmer of hope. He tried to smile reassuringly at the older agent, let him know he had everything under control. As per usual with Ezra it seemed he wasn't buying the act.

"Shit ya've been pumpin'im full of is wearin' off," Kennedy slinked over to the refrigerator and yanked the top freezer door open looking for some ice. He forced Dave to step to the side relinquishing his grip on Dunne.

JD took a breath and steadied his nerves. He matched Ezra's gaze and tried to tell him to be ready. Dunne had a plan.

Ezra groaned and shut his eyes. Mr. Dunne thought he had devised a plan to escape this madness….Perhaps the others would come busting through the door soon……Standish sat in quiet disappointment when no immediate explosions or gun fire or apocalyptic event occurred.

"We don't have time for that," Montague un-pocketed a bottle of sedative with needle and syringe, "Larabee's on the way." He stared at the Dunne and knew Wilmington was the force to be frightened of this time. Not the temperamental leader. Buck Wilmington had proven to have the capacity to maim and kill when someone threatened his young friend. Cook you stupid fool.

"Leave'im alone you bastard," JD tried to shoot out of his chair. Tried to get to Montague and Ezra. The well used oak kitchen table proved an adequate barrier as well as the set of hands that cinched his shoulders.

Cook shoved him back into his chair, roughly backhanding Dunne across the face. "Don't worry kid you're next."

Ezra struggled to stand up but his legs had not yet fully recovered from the sedatives. He managed only to force his chair back slightly from the table.

Montague merely put his bulk behind the undercover agent's chair. The older gun dealer kept his eye on the young men at the other end of the table. They didn't have time for this nonsense. He would drug Standish and haul him out of here himself. Pete had his own back up plan and escape route. He had no intentions of getting caught by the Feds.

"Hit'im for me will ya," Kennedy egged Cook on while wrapping ice in a dish towel. Cook complied. Dunne's head snapped to the side. Blood ran down from his nose but he continued to watch Montague and Standish at the other end of the table. Ezra might have been coming back to reality but it wasn't enough to coordinate movement. Standish reacted every time he saw his partner get hit but couldn't quite get his legs and arms to respond.

JD began to struggle more vigorously when Montague re-pocketed the small glass vial and held up the dosed syringe.

Standish sat heavily in the chair. He jerked away when the neck of the sweat shirt was pulled down, tried to heave himself from the chair toward the swinging kitchen door. His large captor easily blocked his escape attempt.

"Knock it off," Montague held the plastic needle cover in his teeth. With his free hand, he pinned Standish's head to the table and quickly drove the needle into the trapezius muscle pressing the plunger down at the same time.

"Stop it!" JD flew from his chair knocking it backward into Kennedy. Kennedy smashed into Dave who lost his footing slamming his head against the cutting board and slate counter. He slid unconscious to the floor. Dunne threw a side elbow catching Cook in the eye. The rough material of his coat ripped the unprotected cornea. Dunne pushed himself back into Kennedy and snapped his head backward connecting it solidly with the already freshly broken nose. Kennedy hit the ground screaming in agony.

Montague had started reaching for his gun. Dunne scrambled across the table just as Ezra tried to spring to his feet.

The undercover agent forced the big man back a step, unbalancing him just enough so that JD's flying tackle knocked all three men to the floor. The gun skittered to the far corner of the room. Dunne used his forehead as a weapon and brought it down sharply to the bridge of Montague's nose. The crunch of cartilage was lost in the ensuing melee.

JD never stopped moving. He grabbed Standish by the back of the sweat shirt and hauled him out the swinging kitchen door into the living room. The southerner tried to regain his feet but managed to only succeed to a three point position. His bare feet skipped and stuttered along the wood floor, his forward momentum preventing him from hitting the floor completely but also keeping his sense of balance just out of reach.

JD had them out the side door and in the pouring rain before anyone in the kitchen regained their feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck jumped from the squad car before it had even settled to a stop. The solid car rocked on its frame. The smell of burnt brakes hung heavy in the rain.

Wilmington had his gun out. The front door of the house stood open. Every light in the house seemed on. The barn sat as a grey shadow just off to his left a dark silhouette against an even blacker night. Horses moved about just enough to confuse matters worse.

Buck started for the house when the Dodge roared up behind him with Nathan's jeep hot on its heels. The four men jumped from the trucks weapons pulled.

"What've ya got?"

"Not sure yet," Buck answered back, "got the front door open as well as the kitchen door."

"JD's still here," Josiah stared at Buck's quiet pickup.

"Ok, Nathan, Josiah, take the house," Chris did not bother looking at the three men instead his eyes searched the darkness surrounding them. The lights lit up the side yard and driveway but the brilliance waned as it stretched from the house. The paddocks and Barn sat in a dark grey shadows of a cold rainy night. The forest beyond that was black.

"Vin, Buck you're with me."

The five men split up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JD continued to drag Standish by his upper arm. "Come on Ez….only a little further," Dunne had no idea where they were going but they had to keep moving. Standish lagged behind him, pulled forward only by JD's insistent grip.

The night rain soaked through their clothing. JD caught his foot on a tree root. He stumbled forward dragging Standish with him. Ezra hit the forest floor. Dunne lost his grip.

"Come on Ez, git up," The young Agent gathered his friend from under his arms and tried to haul him to his bare feet. "Come on Ezra, ya gotta try." Fear laced JD's words.

Ezra sat breathing hard on the wet ground, "You put me in a hole." The words flowed slowly from him. He looked up at Dunne incredulously, "You hit me." No urgency pushed him forward. JD had stuck him in the ground, in the dark and left him until he had been dragged back out again by the same people that had taken him from the front of his home. He had had enough. He did not know where he was, who to trust. Something ran through his blood stream dulling already muted senses even more. He refused to take another step. What little control he had was slowly slipping from him again. When his eyes shut this time….where would he be when he woke up, who would be folding him up to stash in a small dark space?

JD paused. Rain ran down his face mingling with the trickling blood. A nauseating coppery taste filled his mouth. Dunne stared at Ezra unsure what he was hearing. "Gawd Damn it Ezra, I had too, they were rushing the house…" He reached down and hefted more of his friend's weight, "help me out here Ez….I need yer help." Dunne fought a losing battle.

"They work for Schwans, they knew where I lived," Ezra blatantly stared at the agent. Though his rational mind knew he spoke crazy, the heavy sense of mistrust long buried loomed to the surface. JD would no sooner turn bad than Chris would throw out Adam's belongings. The faces, however, continued to flash in his graying minds eye. The men in the kitchen were the same as the men at his home….in that mix JD's stern visage closing a door over his head, blocking out the light. JD had hit him and had trapped him someplace dark and cold despite his own protests.

Something didn't fit. Ezra wouldn't run from the lions den into the fire pit.

"Ezra, we got you out of there today, we're at Chris's, they found us is all," JD paused, not like it was the greatest safe house in the world. You didn't have to be a clairvoyant to know where to look for one of them. "The basement was the easiest place to stick you…I hit ya cuz you were being a pain in the ass," Dunne managed to get a shoulder under Standish's arm and heft most of his weight.

Standish tried to focus on Dunne, tried to keep the world from fluctuating forward and backward. "I'm not a pain in the ass," Ezra muttered quietly, certainly not enough to get punched . He stopped shuffling his feet and took a deep breath as a thought made itself known in the mud of his mind, "Where're the others?….shouldn't we call for help?"

"Shit Ez, what do I look like Triple A? Of course, I called them but I don't know where they are," JD tightened his grip and swung his head left and right, and behind himself, searching for a hiding spot, someplace to stash Standish. He could hear people trudging through the woods after them. He could hear them trip and fall and realized he didn't have much time.

Dunne moved as quickly as he could through the woods. Rain cascaded on them with blinding ferocity. Dunne kept adjusting his grip as Standish's bare feet faltered over the terrain. JD suddenly recognized where he was and had an idea. "Come on Ez just a little further."

Dunne couldn't decipher the mumbled reply and realized that the sedative was taking its toll. No much further. JD grinned with relief when he found the spot. He half carried half dragged Standish through mud puddles and patches of snow. He ducked pulling and cajoling Standish toward the thick apron of a white Pine. The old tree had branches that looped like misshapen horse shoes from the trunk. The branches hit the ground before arching back upward. Inside, would be a small nest of dried pine needles hugging the thick knotted trunk. Buck had shown this old tree to JD some years ago. It was one of Adam's favorite hiding spots. Only the worst snows and rains ever penetrated the sloping blanket of pine branches. They had only a few more feet to go and then they would be out of sight.

"Best hold it kid," The nasally sound of Kennedy had Dunne hanging his head and cursing. Three forms melted out of the forest and converged on them.

JD let Ezra slide to the ground. "Gawd I'm so sorry Ezra," Dunne wiped his stringy bangs away from his face as he put himself between Cook, Kennedy, Dave and Ezra. Chris should have had some one else protect Ezra, someone bigger, someone stronger and someone a lot smarter. The only thing he had managed to do was change the view of Standish's prison.

JD had no intentions of giving up, though. As long as he still breathed and moved, he would make sure these guys never got there hands on Standish.

"You're gonna be ok Ez….," JD shifted his position keeping the three men that tried to arc around him from getting behind him. Thankfully the old Pine protected his back.

"Buck 'n them are on the way…."

"No one's coming to save you kid, jist hand him over and we won't kill you." Cook's brassy tone opened serious doubt.

JD ignored Ezra as he struggled to gain his feet. Dunne figured if he could just waste a few more minutes Buck and Chris and the others would come…they'd save the day. Fix his screw up.

A chopper sounded somewhere in the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strobe lights cut through the darkness. The light bore through the thick blackness illuminating sections of forest in white brilliance. The rhythmic thudding of rotor blades sounded close over head. Tree tops bent under the artificial gale. Rain tore harshly at the five people caught in the vibrating ring of light.

Search lights high lighted five forms on the forest floor. Two against three. Of the two only one stood defiantly before the three others. The fifth floundered on the ground awkwardly trying to gain his feet.

JD stood keeping Standish behind him, at his heels. The young agent swiveled and stuttered his steps keeping himself between the three men and the undercover agent. He kept himself crouched down ready to fight. The game was over, these three just didn't know it yet. JD grinned at them. Egging them on silently, hoping they would make their play. Adrenaline coursed through him, urging the fight into his system.

Standish bumped into Dunne's leg before falling over onto his side.

"Come on guys…make your play or give it up," JD swung his gaze left and right, daring one of the three to break their arc and rush him. He hoped one of them would make the first move and get this started. His heart hammered in his chest. These three did not seem so imposing now. Ezra would be save.

Standish toppled to his side his upper leg bent in the air. Damn ground kept moving on him. There was no way he would leave the kid to face any adversary alone. If he could just focus, get things to listen for him for a just a moment.

JD swung his head left and right searching the woods, trying to make out anything that might indicate that the ground Calvary had arrived.

Where was Buck?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck ran through the woods. He whipped under branches and leaped over windfalls. The Chopper said it had five men just West of the paddocks. Wilmington smiled tightly, Dunne had tried to reach the old Pine tree. Not a bad choice. Good cover and dry.

Wilmington cleared a windfall, landed on the other side and kept going. He could hear Chris and the others running to catch up.

Buck pulled up to a stop when he reached the small wooded area.

JD and Ezra stood illuminated in the Choppers hovering search light. Three of Schwans' men faced the kid keeping their distance. Dunne shifted position to accommodate the ever moving presence behind him. Standish struggled desperately for his feet.

Buck pulled his gun and targeted the far henchman.

"Federal Agents!" Wilmington's deep voice cut through the slap of rotor blades, carried through the sounds of a torrential down pour. "Drop your weapons and on your knees." Buck did not break cover. He hugged the sharply demarked line of light and dark.

JD never took his gaze from the three men before him, never once threw a relieved look at his older friend. Instead, he faced his three pursuers with a cocky grin. "Times up guys. Reach for the sky." His young arrogance brought a smile to Wilmington.

"He's been hanging around you too much, Buck," Tanner's amused whisper had Wilmington chuckling.

"Best thing for the kid," Buck whispered back never deviating his aim.

"Says who?" Larabee took a flanking position just to the left of his oldest friend.

A voice over the Chopper's intercom rang out, "Federal Agents, drop your weapons!" Douglas Stone leaned out the helicopter's door, held in by a harness and aimed his weapon. Let the fools try something stupid.

Robby Cook shared a quick glance with his two boyhood friends. They had already stood before a Judge two times. They were three time losers now. Nothing left to lose, if the cops didn't nail them, they would fall either in Jail or to the anger of Mike Jr. He did not have his father's rather short term benevolence.

Robby Cook made a decision. Like Jeffery Finn at the dilapidated house, logic and intelligence dragged down his quieter voice of common sense. Cook made a move to charge Dunne. He knew he could take the kid. He could cross those twenty-one feet and reach Dunne before the kid could pull a weapon. In such close confines, the Feds wouldn't dare shoot. Wouldn't risk hitting one of their own.

Cook , in a flash of insanity, made to charge the young agent.

He made one step. Had his shoulders rolled forward just slightly, dropped his head like a sprinter hot off the line and lifted his leg to sprint. He even made some distance. Cook had no intentions of getting killed.

A shot rang out. It cracked through the night like a thunder head.

Blue smoke wafted from Tanner's gun barrel. Cook hit the ground dead well before he finished his sprint.

The two other men suddenly dropped to their knees. Hands shot up and clasped over tops of head. Dave and Kennedy could not tear their eyes from the twitching body of their leader.

The forest suddenly came alive. Dark forms seemingly rose from the ground all around JD. Ten to fifteen men clad in navy blue jumpsuits and Kevlar vests swarmed in from the suffocating ring of darkness with weapons drawn. They advanced on the captives bypassing Standish and Dunne. JD stared at them open mouthed. The young agent received a few supportive pats on the back as the larger more heavily armored Federal agents trotted by him.

"See Ez," JD smiled down at the mud covered undercover agent, "told ya I had it covered." Rain sluiced over his hair and face.

Standish merely stared at him owl eyed and dropped his head into the mud with a thud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JD turned at the sound of running foot steps. He faced three men jogging directly towards him. JD swung around, slightly dropping a hand and keeping Standish somewhat behind him.

Buck easily read the body language, "Easy kid, just us," Wilmington slid his gun into its holster. "You alright?"

"Buck?" JD squinted his eyes trying to get the lumbering forms into focus. The rain, artificial light , and closed eye did not aid him any.

"Yeah kid, right here," Wilmington nodded to Chris, he would tend to JD and Ezra. Chris and Vin had the honors of bringing in the prisoners with the rest of their fellow agents. It seemed Kelly had everyone but the National Guard out here.

Buck rubbed a hand down his face. JD did an impressive job. Gawd damn he was proud of the kid.

"Ya did good Kid," Wilmington crossed the muddy patch of forest floor a smile creasing his face. JD did better than good. He deserved a commendation at the least. "Got to tell ya kid ya had me a bit worried back th…" Wilmington paused as he got a better look at Dunne's features.

The worry, fear and frustration suddenly became blinding anger. Buck changed direction mid stride and headed for the two live captives, "You Sons of Bitches I'm gonna rip your hearts out." He pushed two heavily armed agents out of the way making his way toward Kennedy and Dave.

"Back off Buck," Chris's low tone did not stop Wilmington. Larabee was forced to grab his upper arm and swing him around, "knock it off Buck."

"You see JD?" Buck's gaze bore into Larabee's daring him to make light of the situation, "you see his face?"

"No, I haven't Buck," Chris tightened his hold, "git'em in the house and we'll deal with it there."

"I'll deal with it right here," Buck tried to whip his arm out of Chris's grasp.

"Buck we got'em, let it go," JD's voice broke through the enraged haze that consumed Wilmington.

"I'm not letting it go Kid," Buck kept eye contact with Larabee, challenging him.

"Come on Buck, I need a hand getting Ez back to the house, they drugged him again and he's freezing," JD tried dragging Standish to his feet. Ezra for his part latched onto his young friend and tried to pull himself up as well. They both slid in the mud and toppled to the ground in a tangle of legs and arms.

"Go help JD and Ezra," Chris met Wilmington's gaze appreciating the fight that still raged through Buck. "They're gonna pay Buck."

Wilmington shook his arm lose, "You could at least tell'im he did decent job…give him some credit." He shook his head in disgusted anger and headed back to the two men wallowing in the mud.

Wilmington squatted down in front of Standish and chuckled, "Damn, son, ain't no one teach you how to dress for the weather?" Buck smiled good naturedly at the owl eyed expression of their undercover agent. Standish blinked at him and mumbled, "JD hit me…" then rolled onto all fours, gamely trying to make his feet again.

"Well, you were probably bein' a pain in the ass," he winked up at Dunne,

"JD, you doin' alright?" Wilmington grabbed Standish's upper arm and easily hauled the smaller man to buckling legs.

"Yeah Buck," Dunne reached out and snagged Standish's other arm. "Nothin' I can't handle." JD slid under Standish's arm. In that brief instant, relief washed through JD. The anxiety and fear seemed to drain from his system. He reached across Ezra and shoved on Buck's midsection, "What took you so long?....thought you knew how to drive? My grandmother coulda gotten here faster in her walker..."

"Why you ungrateful little...." the three some disappeared into the blanketing darkness that surrounded the small circle of search lights leaving the chaos of working agents behind them.

Tanner and Thompson hauled Kennedy none to gently to his feet. "Kid bust ya nose?" Thompson never would have thought Dunne would have been able to hold his own without his team, much less protect one of the others. Impressive. Funny that Tanner nor Larabee seemed surprised.

" The second time...firth was that other guy," Kennedy kept his head tucked low. Raising it somehow put pressure on the broken cartilage.

Larabee pushed Dave to his feet, "Where's the rest?"

"Ya killed Cook, Montague took off when y'all pulled into the area." Dave had no intentions of lying to the blonde. Montague might have been frightened of Larabee...but Larabee had nothing on that crazy SOB Wilmington.

A supervising agent turned away from Larabee hearing the remark and started giving orders over his headset. Men began combing the area in a systematic grid search.

Chris, Vin and six other agents headed back to the house under the constant din of controlled chaos. Men slid into the night with weapons ready. The helicopter increased the height of its hover and started moving over the tree tops. Someone had escaped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rain pounded the side yard forming puddles in the brown winter grass.

Josiah opened the side door that led to the kitchen, "You boys doin' ok?" They had all heard over the headsets that JD and Ezra had been found and three fugitives captured. One still ran loose. Sanchez had sent up a silent Thank you. He watched as the conglomeration of three mashed shapes dissolved from the shadows into the grey light of the side yard. JD and Wilmington shuffled with Standish slung senselessly between them.

"Nathan's gonna need to look over JD, might want to call an ambulance..." Wilmington stopped at the steps bent down and heft Standish over both shoulders in a fireman's carry. The undercover agent had stopped walking a few yards back.

"No way in Hell Buck, I ain't going anywhere." Dunne stared at Wilmington and Sanchez defiantly. He had every intention of sticking with Ezra. He couldn't quite explain it but it was like the switch was stuck on, "Promised Ezra I'd keep close to him."

"Kid, no offense, but Ezra here is out of it." Buck adjusted the dead weight across his shoulders, "I don't think he's gonna know the difference."

"Doesn't matter none Buck, I gave'im my word," JD held his ground a hard glint darkened his eyes, "I aim to keep it."

"No one's sayin' you have to break it, JD," Josiah stepped aside and let the two pass. Sanchez chuckled out loud. They would probably have no more luck with Dunne than Schwans' men had earlier.

The kitchen was alive with activity and bodies. ATF jacketed agents worked and mixed with FBI and Sheriff's deputies. SWAT had made an appearance as well. The table had become the nucleus of the operation. Portable radios and laptops, folders and papers were sprawled across the table.

A coffee pot gurgled and water boiled on the stove. Lab technicians and investigators scoured the area. Finger prints were lifted, pictures taken. Orders were given and recieved over headsets. Cell phones materialized in callused hands of the ten or more agents milling about the small room.

Everything stopped when Buck crossed the threshold with Standish draped across his shoulders. A dozen anxious gazes settled on the ATF agents in the door way. Wilmington paused for a moment scanning the faces in the room. JD bumped into him from behind.

A wall phone sat nestled in Kelly's ear. The leader of team 8 cocked his head back when he saw Wilmington with his burden. Buck answered the unspoken question with a smile and slight nod. They were all fine. Ryan acknowledged the answer and turned his attention back to the person on the other end of the phone.

Relief settled across the room and agents returned to the duties before them. The area buzzed with activity. Team Seven retained its magic. Their undefeatable aura and mystique still enveloped them.

Buck trudged into the kitchen rain water rolling down his face and neck. He trailed muddy boot prints across the floor. Agents parted without having to be asked. Cautious glances tried to read the demeanor of Wilmington and Sanchez. Agent Dunne took a beating and Standish wasn't ambulatory. It seemed the making for an explosion. All they were missing was Larabee.

A chorus of well meaning questions hailed them. Wilmington answered most the best he could as he headed out to the living room. Sanchez kept a guiding hand on the back of JD's neck and guided the young agent through the maze of bodies. JD shivered slightly and seemed unsteady on his feet.

A rookie deputy blocked their way, wanting a statement from the young man.

Kirk Gustin merely reached out and pulled the new deputy out of Sanchez's way. No need to see Josiah go ballistic on them.

"Brother," Sanchez bowed his head slightly toward Gustin in Thanks.

Someone spoke up from over by the sink, "I called for an ambulance."

JD put on the brakes and shook out of Sanchez's grip. He stared at the older agents nailing each of them with a glare of his own, "I ain't goin' anywhere." They were all here because he had run into trouble, because he couldn't handle the job alone. They might have had to bail Ezra and him out of a jam…but JD refused to show any weakness. He could handle whatever anyone dished out. A shiver caused Dunne to tense. He squared his shoulders and stood straighter daring anyone in the now silenced room to challenge him.

"Easy JD, didn't say the ambulance was for you, now did he?" Sanchez gently pushed the smaller agent's shoulder and guided him out the swinging kitchen door.

Motion in the kitchen started back up as soon as the door swung close. Agent Dunne had been studying under Larabee too long.

Part 5