Part 5
"Nathan?" Buck walked through the living room heading for the bedroom areas. He could feel Standish tremble. He found the medic at the entrance to the master bedroom directing another group of investigators toward the crawl space in the closet. "Where do you want him?....he's freezing."
Jackson crossed down the hall before Wilmington could take another step.
"They drugged him again," JD's tone had lost some of its fight. He suddenly felt exhausted and cold all at once. A tinge of failure crept into his voice. Ezra should have been better protected. "Looked to be the same stuff as before." JD rubbed at his forehead feeling slightly light headed. "And I hit'im twice."
Jackson could see the dejection in the young agent, "You did good JD, ain't no one here that's gonna say otherwise." Nathan lifted one of Standish's eyelids and then felt a pulse. The undercover agent's skin was chilled. The slight bruising to the jaw seemed trifle in light of the events of the last few days, "'Knowing Ezra he probably deserved it."
Nathan sighed as he backed up a step, "Bathroom Buck, gonna strip these wet clothes off 'im and git'im into the tub...warm him up some." Jackson paused and then added, "an' make sure he don't drown…"
Nathan turned his focus onto JD. The medic tilted Dunne's head left and then right. Had the young agent follow a raised index finger with just his eyes, left. Right, up and down. Nathan seemed satisfied for the moment, "You git out of those wet close an' git a hot shower, then come find me…." Jackson put up a stalling hand, "don't argue JD, I've got Ezra to deal with and don't want to waste my time hunting you down." The curtness of the statement had Dunne blanching.
"Come on Brother Dunne," Josiah draped a brotherly arm around JD's shoulders and lead him toward the guest bedroom trying to instill self confidence in the younger man. Josiah wanted to leech some of the defensive posturing from Dunne in hopes that JD realized that he had in deed succeeded in protecting Ezra.
Sanchez shuffled him down the small hallway to the darkened room with the missing window. Most of the team kept a change of clothes in Larabee's spare room…Standish had refused, just as he still had not added anything personal to his work space at the office.
Buck headed for the closed bathroom door where Diablo still snapped and growled.
Apparently no one had the guts to let the dog out. Smart.
Wilmington paused and reached for the door knob. With a soft click he swung to door open and came face to face with the snapping saliva slinging mouth of Diablo.
The big dog jumped up snapping his teeth just millimeters from Wilmington's nose. Over sized, gnarled paws pushed off the ATF agents chest forcing both parties back a step.
"Gawd Damn it Diablo…." Buck stepped back regaining his balance and faced the dog.
"Damn thing should be put out of its misery," A faceless form slid from the master bedroom with a hand on their gun butt. The sound of a mad dog had adrenaline pouring into blood streams of the agents sweeping Larabee's room and closest.
Both Diablo and Wilmington snarled at the sound of the caustic voice.
"You'd go before the dog," Nathan met the agents eyes with unflinching determination. The man simply disappeared back into the master bedroom.
Jackson leaned against the door jam dropping his hand to let Diablo a chance to sniff his palm. The black lab merely laid at the door entrance and dropped his head across his front feet. "He is a contrary son of a bitch though," Nathan muttered quietly to himself.
"They say they're like their owners," Buck chuckled. Together he and Nathan eased Standish onto the tile floor. Diablo moved and lay at the entrance of the bathroom.
He snarled occasionally snapping at anyone that approached too near the bathroom. Diablo would protect his territory with his teeth if pushed. Agents outside of team seven no longer trespassed near the hall bathroom. Hand talkies and headphones worked just fine in the house.
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JD leaned heavily against the bathroom entrance with two hands wrapped around a hot cup of coffee. He watched as Buck towel dried Standish's hair while Nathan wrestled him into another set of dry clothing. JD cringed, Ezra would hate it if he knew they were doing this to him. Though the guy had no modesty when it came to gambling and types of wagers, somehow he became self conscious in situations like this…not that they came up often. Thank God.
Diablo lifted his head growling, the hackles on his neck standing on end. A Lab technician tried to sneak down the hall but thought better of it. Didn't the agents of Team Seven even hear the dog?
JD closed his eyes with dejection. If he had done a better job, Ezra wouldn't even be in this position, Wouldn't be lying on Larabee's bathroom floor scrubbed clean in a hot bath by his team mates, being dressed yet again by someone else in someone else's clothing.
Ezra would find it humiliating. JD couldn't disagree with him and it was all his fault. JD was to blame.
Why the heck didn't Chris listen to him earlier this evening?
Dunne watched as Diablo lapped up some spilled bath water. Even the dog might have done a better job…hell without Diablo's help Ezra would have been found and kidnapped again. JD squatted down and patted the grizzled broad head. "Yeah did good Diablo…real good." The dog leaned into the attention.
JD wanted nothing more than to lay down in a warm bed and sleep this nightmare away. The warmth of the dog's shoulder leaning against his thigh, gave him some unexplainable comfort. JD sighed, he couldn't hide just yet. Statements needed giving and he still had to face Chris and the others.
What a screw up.
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Chris left the kitchen. He gave his account of what had happened in the woods just outside his home. Vin and Josiah had already started hammering a piece of plywood over the broken window in the spare bed room. The wood floor under the window had been swept and mopped of rain water and glass.
JD had done a damn good job at getting Ezra out of harm's way. Larabee had seen the shock and new respect in the other agents' eyes. Not his men. The members of team seven knew JD could handle most situations. The only one on his team that might have had his doubts was JD himself. Chris hoped tonight silenced those nagging fears.
Larabee left Kelly to clean up the rest of the mess. It was pushing 1am and the different agencies had started filtering their way back home. The laptops had been powered down and snapped shut, papers scooped up and shoved into satchels. The constant din of cell phones had even dissipated. A few men sat at the table sipping coffee and checking weapons.
A detail would be left behind just in case. Michael Schwan's organization had proven to be tenacious if not a little fool hardy. An extra group of security would be left behind to ensure the safety of the key witness. A safe house was discussed and dismissed, simply because Larabee wasn't letting his men out of his sight.
JD still needed to give his statement. Better do it now and get it out of the way. The kid deserved a rest and there would be no way he would rest with people hounding him for his view of the events.
Chris let the kitchen door swing close and headed for the hall bath. Funny how Sarah had wanted that to be a full bath. Chris had originally fought with her about it but she had insisted that they would need it. He had always thought it was because they would have a large family. A house full of screaming kids, with Buck leading the pack.
Things had turned out vastly different, though Buck still led the raucous bunch in volume. The sudden weight of loss settled on him. He closed his eyes swallowing his sudden flash of searing grief. In a moment, he found his composure and headed to where most of his team gathered. He had found a large family it just wasn't with Sarah.
Chris's silent reverie came to a stop at the sound of Diablo growling at some unseen invader. A moment or two later a member of the PD backed cautiously out of the hallway. Chris sighed, his dog definitely had a nasty personality quirk. Chris couldn't help but wonder where it developed.
Chris chuckled and stepped forward, it was time he took care of the hodgepodge group of men that made up his team.
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Larabee stood quietly behind JD watching the proceedings in the bathroom. Ezra was going to be humiliated, no two ways about it. Fool always did have his perspectives ass backwards.
Buck gazed up after slipping the T-shirt over Standish's head. He found Larabee staring at him.
"Nathan you got this?" Buck eased himself to his feet.
"Well, we still got to get'im into a bed," Jackson swung his gaze from Buck to Chris. What the hell is going on now? Two agents down isn't enough?
"Vin or Josiah can help ya," Wilmington stepped across Standish careful not to slip on the water that surrounded the bundle of towels they had under him.
"I can help ya Nathan," JD swung out of Buck's way, misreading the flash of anger in his roommate's eyes and the tension that suddenly filled the area. Gawd, even Buck thought the job had been too big for him…
Damn, he screwed up but good. He might be older than he looked but JD knew he acted younger than his years. He let them down, disappointed the team. He found his eyes focused on the unconscious undercover agent, once again dressed in over sized clothes and dependent on others for his protection.
"No, JD," Nathan schooled from the floor of the bathroom. Poor kid looked like he was ready to fall over. "Go get Josiah or Vin."
JD looked ready to argue but thought better of it. He was tired of fighting. With his heart in his throat, he nodded and trudged down the hall ignoring Buck and Chris.
When Nathan heard the spare bedroom door open and the sound of hammering pause, Jackson nailed the other two agents by the door with a scathing look, "What the hell is wrong with you two?"
Buck ignored Nathan, latched onto Chris's arm and hauled the leader of Team Seven down the hall to the master bedroom.
Larabee stopped him with a jerk of his arm, "Back off Buck." The heat of his words scorched the area.
"Listen, you tight mouthed son of a bitch," Wilmington pinned Larabee to the wall and raised his index finger "JD don't deserve your silent shit…kid did a good job, he got Ezra out of harms way and kept those bastards from taking him…"
"He did better than any of us," Larabee agreed a quirk of smile twitched at his lips. He wouldn't fight Buck, not on this. Larabee knew he could be an ass sometimes, they all could be and were from time to time with amazing ability.
If Chris didn't think JD could do any more than play with computers and electronic gear then Chris never would have been picked him for the team. Larabee admittedly looked at Dunne because of his ability with all things electronic but there was more to this job than just tinkering with a key board. They all knew it. They had to know it, or else Chris would not have wasted his time on bringing any of them onto the team…Especially JD….the kid's age was enough of a detractor…
"If you can't find the decency to….." Buck paused and narrowed his gaze, "what'd you say?"
"JD did an outstanding job," Larabee straightened up as Wilmington backed off, "knew he would. He needed to see it for himself."
Buck nodded his agreement but the fire flared in his eyes, "Next time tell'im Chris…..shit, you could have eased his mind back at the hospital."
It was Chris's turn to get angry, "I don't have to explain myself," His green eyes darkened with his anger, "He had a job to do and he did it. He's in an adult world, Buck and doesn't need nor deserve coddling," Larabee leaned into Wilmington, "you better start realizing it."
"It ain't coddlin', lettin' 'im know he did a good job," Buck whispered back, "he's too young to be dealing with your cagey bullshit….kid busted his ass and saved the day…least he could get is some open gratitude from his boss….instead of this reading between the lines bullshit…" Buck seethed. Chris thought everyone should be able to understand and interpret his moods and actions. "Fact is Chris, they ain't like me 'n you or Vin…JD and the others need to actually hear you say somethin' positive….Hell it won't kill ya or ruin that gawd damn Bad Ass rep. You've worked so hard to cultivate."
A deep growl emanated from beside Wilmington. For a moment Buck thought it came from Larabee. Instead, the dark shadow of the dog made itself known. Figures.
Diablo pushed himself into a sitting position and snarled down the corridor at an agent trying to snake passed Chris and Buck. The agent paused, gauged the dog's mood, then it's owner's disposition, before deciding more work needed done in the main bedroom.
Buck and Chris failed to recognize the dilemma facing the agents in the bedroom.
Larabee quirked an eyebrow at Wilmington. Understanding finally revealed itself. Larabee chuckled slightly, "Just haven't had the time Buck, planned on doing it now."
Buck stared at Larabee reading his old time friend and boss. Chris wouldn't lie to him. Never had. That was one of the things you could count on with Larabee. The man was honest to a brutal degree. That posed a problem sometimes, especially with the likes of Ezra and JD. Chris's honesty came without any sensitivity and therefore came across brutal. Dunne, especially, took such things to heart. Ezra at least had the years of experience to tell Chris to go to Hell or mock him. Vin wouldn't hesitate to hit the man and Josiah and Nathan would not normally inspire such harsh treatment from their supervisor. Buck constantly found himself in the position of having to run interference for the others.
"Good," was all Buck could think to say.
They turned and headed back down the hallway toward the bathroom. Diablo settled back on the floor, keeping a threatening eye on the strangers in his master's bedroom.
"If you two fools are finished," Jackson stood at the entrance of the bathroom, ignoring the fickle, foul disposition of the Lab at his feet and said, "let's git Ezra off the floor."
Larabee and Buck shared a glance and then entered the bathroom. The two hefted Standish up and carried him down the hall to the spare bedroom.
Diablo padded along quietly, much to the relief of the personnel trapped in the master bedroom.
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Buck and Chris placed Standish on the bed. A small lamp on an end table cast a soft glow in the dim room. Jackson pulled the blankets up over the undercover agent's shoulder.
Diablo jumped onto the bed and made himself comfortable at Standish's covered feet.
"Diablo, git off the bed," Chris made a swiping move with his hand to the shoo the dog away. The black Lab merely settled its massive head on its paws and sighed.
Josiah and Vin stood by the broken window and squabbled. It was difficult to discern any recognizable words. The two mumbled around nails held tightly in sealed lips. JD struggled to hold the plywood in place while the other two argued over which type of nail would be the best for the job.
JD wiggled back and forth, stuttering a step or two trying to hold the rain pelted plywood in place. He could feel the wood cut his hands while his shoulders and arms burned with the weight. He struggled, feeling his frustration rise with his blood pressure. All he had to do was hold the stupid piece of wood…was it so difficult?
A gust of wind rocked the wood. The edges gouged at the palm of his hands. He teetered backward keeping a precarious grip on his balance. The rough grained wood scraped his bruised cheek.
Another gust of wind rocked the plywood. JD's back arched under the weight and awkwardness of the board. Rain and wind pummeled JD further from the window. The plank of wood tilted again hitting his already sore head. Frustration and fury erupted from the young agent. JD seethed, "Forget this shit." He stepped back letting the wood crash to the ground. Without looking up, he rubbed his palms on his thighs and he strode from the room. He couldn't do anything right tonight…
Josiah and Vin stopped their mumbled argument and stared at the retreating back of JD as if he had lost his mind. The two older agents then faced each other as if to ask 'What had they missed?'
In the shifting muted light of a lone lamp, Buck pinned Larabee with a pointed glare.
"When you guys are done in here, leave the door open," Chris circled around the bed with the intent of tracking down JD.
Josiah and Vin watched Chris leave and then faced one another picking up their argument where they had left off. Buck sidled up next Vin and slapped him off the back of the head, "Quit your belly achin' and start hammerin'." Buck fixed Josiah with a steely gaze as well, "you too Josiah, quit yer yammerin' and start hammerin'." Wilmington wrestled the board into position fighting both the rain and the wind….not to mention the slow deliberate pace of Vin and Josiah. No wonder the Church roof wasn't finished.
"You threatenin' me Buck?" Vin pounded one nail in through the board.
"Yup," an easy tone matched Wilmington's cocky smile.
"Thought so," Tanner started in on his second nail.
Diablo sighed loudly and flopped over onto his side resting his head on Standish's lower legs.
Nathan busied himself by sitting on the edge of the bed petting the dog. Maybe he should take a picture…Ezra sleeping with a 'filthy' creature.
JD stalked into the kitchen and faced the men lingering behind. Most of the teams had left pursuing leads and checking backgrounds.
JD yanked open the refrigerator door. He grabbed a jug of Orange Juice and drank directly from the bottle. To Hell with the rest of them. The orange Juice splashed into an empty stomach suddenly bringing nausea to a sudden boil. He placed the plastic orange container back in the refrigerator, wiping his mouth on his forearm.
He turned and faced the deputy sitting at the table flipping a pen between bored fingers, "You need my statement?"
"If you're ready," the officer gazed at the closed door wondering if he should wait for Agent Larabee.
Dunne watched the other man, and felt his anger rise. He didn't need babysitting and certainly didn't need on of the others sitting in with him for something as routine as a statement. JD's vision swam slightly and one eye still refused to focus properly. He would never change anyone's mind…especially if he kept giving them reasons to doubt his abilities.
"Let's git it over with," Dunne hauled a kitchen chair out and sat down heavily. Hopefully his head would clear in a bit.
The questions started. JD felt his anger dissipating has he recounted the events of the afternoon and subsequent evening. As he spoke, he stared at his fingers trying to figure out where he could have done something different, how could he have prevented the chain of events that brought most of Denver's Federal agents to Larabee's house? How could he have protected Ezra any better? What had he missed?
Lost in his answers, focused on hindsight, JD failed to see Chris slip into kitchen. Didn't recognize or acknowledge his boss as he leaned against the counter listening.
In the end, the questions stopped, nothing else needed said, or could be described. JD sat discouraged, the hollow feeling of failure consuming him. He still couldn't believe he had shoved Ezra under the house, without an explanation, without any real protection other than the darkness. It would be a wonder if Standish would ever trust him again.
JD placed his head on the table top folding his arms over his head clasping his hands in frustration and failure. He shut his eyes and felt the world spin. It swirled and spun like a night of one to many beers. Lethargy pulled on him and his stomach churned. Damn he hit Ezra, got him drugged again, dragged him outside into the woods only to be caught. If it had not been for the others…what had he gained? He still needed his older team mates to pull his butt out of the fire. They still needed to watch over him and pick up his slack.
JD squeezed his eyes closed. The swollen bruised eye burned in protest. Served him right. He deserved the pain….Gawd how could he have screwed up so badly. JD held his breath and wished desperately to have succeeded where he had failed this evening.
Leaning on his hands resting against his stone counter tops, Chris finally witnessed the anxiety in JD that Wilmington had seen hours earlier….perhaps even months and years earlier.
The agent taking the statement nodded toward Larabee and slipped from the kitchen. It was time to go home…plus the deranged monster of a black dog was no longer in the hallway.
Larabee watched the deputy leave the kitchen. The door swung close giving JD and Chris some privacy. Larabee sighed and stepped forward. He rested a large calloused hand on Dunne's shoulder and squeezed it firmly, "You did good JD. We were damn lucky you were here…Ezra was damn lucky you were around...There's a good chance we could have lost him tonight….no one could have done it better," Larabee stared at the bowed head, noticing the tension in the strap muscles of the neck. " You did this team proud….Thanks."
With an encouraging pat on the back, Larabee left the kitchen. He would not put JD in an uncomfortable situation. The kid needed down time, needed to get things under control.
JD squeezed his eyes shut, fought the tears born of a latent adrenaline rush, tears of fear, insurmountable frustration and finally relief.
Chris thanked him….Chris Larabee paid him a compliment and thanked him….
He did good. Chris said he did real well. Chris never lies, never wastes his breath with false praise.
JD kept his head down, letting the material of his shirt absorb the few stray tears that escaped. He made Chris proud.
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5am
Larabee arched his back pulling on his wrists as he stretched straightening his legs under the oak kitchen table. A half full coffee cup sat slightly off to the side. He yawned trying to stifle it managing only to crack his jaw.
Vin pushed himself from the counter near the sink. He uncrossed his ankles. The early morning frost had settled the area out side in a glaze of white. "Why don't ya git some sleep," Tanner held his coffee mug and settled into a chair. "Nothin's gonna happen with all of us here." The sharpshooter listened to the voices that crackled over the small handset. A team of agents patrolled the grounds checking in every few minutes.
"I think I might," Chris pushed himself to his feet cracking his back on the way up.
"Don't let Nathan hear ya do that," Tanner chuckled raising the mug to his mouth.
Larabee nodded and headed for the door.
"Ya did good Chris," Vin took a sip of bitter black coffee and set the mug quietly back on the scarred woodened table. "JD's as much a part of this team as the rest of us and Ez couldn't have been in better hands." Vin paused and quietly added, "just need to tell'im.."
Larabee paused at the kitchen door and dropped his head. He had no doubts about JD's abilities. In the beginning sure he did, he had doubts about all of them even himself. What worried him constantly was how to handle, to juggle, the temperamental men that made up his team. When did he push and how far did he shove them? When did he sit back and let them work things out for themselves. Would a reprimand be beneficial or detrimental…?
Buck was the easiest to handle. Chris had known Buck for what seemed forever. Steadfast Wilmington, like the comfortable old pair of shoes in the closest. Always the perfect fit and never uncomfortable. Vin somehow fell close into the same category, but even with Tanner there was that little sliver of dark past that none of them knew about. Yet, Tanner seemed malleable and not out to prove anything to anyone…hell he could take you or leave you. Chris found that reassuring.
Sanchez fell into the same category. Old enough to retire but ornery enough to stay on the job. Chris never felt the urge or need to defend Sanchez or argue with the man. Josiah had seen more than any of them and survived. He worked because it suited him, not for anyone else.
How far did Chris have to push Nathan? Never. Larabee felt himself occasionally pulling the reins on the man. Jackson acted predictably. He acted for the best of the team putting himself last. In fact if truth be told, Larabee only worried that Nathan shorted himself for his team mates. Gave credit to someone else when it should have been his own. Larabee hardly ever pushed Jackson. Chris only made sure that Standish didn't goad the other man into violence.
Standish and JD created the most difficulty for Larabee. Standish would mock you even as you dressed him down. His attitude screamed he didn't care but he took Larabee's criticism to heart. Something Chris had missed until Buck and Vin pointed it out. The damn man had something to prove and a past to overcome. He disregarded orders and rules that didn't suit him and manipulated the ones that were left. Larabee felt more inclined to join Jackson in strangling the smug son of a bitch. Yet, there was something about Standish that urged Chris to protect him from outside forces. He would gladly tear the man's head from his shoulders but loathed anyone else to try it. How far did he push Standish, how often should he reprimand and berate the man for foolish dumb stunts? When did he stop trying to vocalize his orders and turn to physical means of explanations? How man times had he actually slammed Standish into a wall or threaten him with bodily harm? Or just plain told him to Shut up….about as many times as the others. Except for maybe JD…
JD saw the good in everyone. Gave them the benefit of the doubt except for himself. The kid was good, knew he was good himself but felt the need to prove himself. The kid saw the doubt in everyone's eyes, read the unease in the older more experienced agents that had been 'strapped' with the kid on busts that involved more than Team Seven. Larabee was constantly shoving JD into some things and hauling back on the reins in other situations. How much of a tether did he give Dunne? Tonight or yesterday he dropped JD into a role that the agent could handle…and did with amazing alacrity. Why didn't Dunne see his own success? Why did the kid depend on the others to gage how well he did?
Buck might have been right. Maybe he should have congratulated JD right away.
Except, it seemed superfluous and unnecessary. JD was a Federal Agent, an ATF agent and one of the best. The kid should not need anymore attention than the rest of them.
Why, then, did Buck's words ring so true?
"Yeah," Chris nodded without meeting Tanner's eyes and slid from the room.