“Kid, where are those forms?” Vin rifled through JD's desk drawer looking for blank forms A-2 to A-5; not, however, A-4, which Tanner just discovered was no longer in use. Instead of just A-4, he now had to use forms A-2, A-3 and A-5. The Texan hated bureaucracy.
JD shouted from the conference room, and headed for Vin at a near sprint. “Wait! Vin! I'll get….”
It was too late.
Vin picked up a small muslin doll with dark hair, clothed in makeshift jeans and a t-shirt. “Whatch’ya got a doll for, JD?”
“That's not a doll.” Dunne replied and tried to snatch it from the sharpshooter's hands. Vin tossed it to Ezra, whose attention had been diverted to the little scene.
JD moved quickly to the southerner’s desk and attempted to retrieve the doll. He was easily batted away, and Standish studied the odd item. “Is it just me, or does this look remarkably like our Mr. Wilmington?”
“Give it back.” The young agent made another try for the doll.
Ezra threw it to Nathan, as he and Josiah approached the Team Seven bullpen. Jackson fumbled with it for a second before finally getting a firm grasp. "Looks like a voodoo doll to me."
Josiah plucked the small object from Nathan’s fingers and studied it for himself. “ ‘Vodoun’ is the more accurate word, Brother Nate. Derives from ‘vodu’, meaning spirit or deity in the African Fon language.” He crossed to JD and handed him the doll. “John Dunne, what exactly are you doing with an effigy like this of Buck?”
JD sighed and sat down. He shook the doll in aggravation. “I live and work with the man - he gets annoying.” JD began imitating the mustached agent. “ ‘JD, be careful. JD, don't drive too fast. JD, water the plants.’ ”
Vin noted the pins stuck in strategic parts of the voodoo doll. “Does it work?”
“Well, I use small pins…” JD explained, then stopped short as Buck and Chris exited the elevator and made their way toward their teammates. The doll was hurriedly placed back in
its drawer.
The team, however, took perverse pleasure in knowing the thing existed. “So, Buck how's the arm?” Ezra asked, pointing to the elbow where he remembered seeing a pin.
Wilmington look at him, confused, and ignored the question.
“Those private areas…?” Vin queried in a low voice, before settling in at his desk with his blank A forms.
“Did you eat anything bad for lunch or breakfast?” Nathan asked, studying Buck's face for any signs of stomach distress.
“What's going on?” Buck sat in his chair, looked around to see if anything was missing just in case anyone, such as a particular Texan, was pulling a prank on him.
“Nuthin’,” Vin shrugged his shoulders and focused on the paperwork in front of him.
JD watched as Buck shook his head and then began massaging his temples. “Headache?”
“Yeah,” Buck answered, holding his forehead. “Have any aspirin?"
JD opened his bottom right drawer, knowing there was a king-sized bottle of Tylenol in it somewhere. It sat underneath the voodoo doll. With a wave of guilt, he cautiously removed the pin glaringly stuck in its head and retrieved the pain-killers for his partner.