He knew the moment he saw the
look of malicious delight on the rest of the team face's that something
was up. He'd kept his poker face firmly in place while Chris described
their new case. It was still there when Vin pulled him aside and offered
his help. Now looking at himself in the mirror Ezra gave into a big smile.
They thought he would hate this, thought he would never be able to pull
it off. Giving the figure in the mirror an imaginary tip of the hat, he
picked up his leather gloves and headed out the door.
The rest of Team Seven was already
waiting at an old race track on the edge of town. Buck and JD were arguing
about JD's bike. Buck claimed it didn't fit the "biker" image.
Vin and Nathan were tinkering with Vin's Harley, while Josiah leaned back
on his Indian and watched. When Chris had told the team what their new
assignment was, he'd said anyone who provided their own bike could come
along for the ride, so to speak. He'd been vaguely surprised when everyone,
including Ezra said they could come up with something.
Chris leaned back on his vintage
1968 Harley, resting one denim clad leg on the gas tank and looked at
his men. Vin's bike was his own and his outfit pretty much matched his
usual everyday wear. Tight, faded blue jeans, over brown cowboy boots,
topped by a white t'shirt that clung to every muscle on his chest. The
only thing different was the jacket, made of black leather, it came just
to the top of Vin's jeans. Currently the jacket and t'shirt were hanging
over the seat of the Harley. Chris watched the Celtic wolf symbol on Vin's
back move with the tightening and loosening of his muscles as he worked
on his bike.
Nathan was dressed in army camouflage
pants, topped by an army green t'shirt. He had pulled in on a 1998 maroon
BMW bike. He was now telling Vin, jokingly, that he should go with a more
mechanically reliable choice than a Harley. Vin's response had been pithy
to say the least.
Chris turned his attention to
Buck who was leaning forward on the handles of his bike. The ladies man
wore brown leather pants and a Harley t'shirt with the sleeves cut off.
He had tied a bandanna around his throat and was riding a beautiful blue
and white Harley, that Chris would bet belonged to some girl. Without
sleeves, Buck's favorite tattoo was easy to see. Chris remembered when
Buck had gotten the heart on his right arm. Chris rubbed the dragon on
the back of his left shoulder. He'd gotten it at the same time as Buck's.
They'd both been drunker than skunks.
Parked next to Buck, JD stood
out like a neon sign. His Ninja was certainly the most colorful bike and
JD was dressed to match. Black jeans, red t'shirt and a tight black leather
jacket interwoven with strips of leather died to match the bike. Chris
smiled, JD had just challenged Josiah to a race, his Ninja against the
Indian. Josiah's laugh rumbled across the parking lot as he shook his
head no. The classic Indian was beautiful and worth probably 10 of the
Ninja, but there was no way it was as fast. Josiah had sort of a 60's,
hippy/biker look going. Dressed in jeans and a tie-died t'shirt, the older
man had completed his outfit with a denim vest and a bandanna tied around
his head.
Chris sighed impatiently and checked
his watch. Ezra was only 30 minutes late but he was getting tired of sitting
in the hot sun. A black t'shirt and tight jeans might look good, but they
soaked up the sun instead of reflecting it. Vin had finished tuning his
bike and now was challenging JD to a little test race. Just at the two
took off Chris heard a deep rumble approaching. Suddenly a rider, dressed
entirely in black leather, with aviator sunglasses on, roared by the parked
bikes and joined JD and Vin on the track. The three bikes went around
twice before pulling back into where the others were parked. All three
were laughing as they parked their bikes. Grinning cockily, Ezra hopped
off his bike and walked over to the others.
"Gentlemen, sorry to keep
you waiting. I miscalculated the time required to pick up my chariot."
"What the hell is that thing?"
Buck asked, pointing to the shiny black bike.
"That is a Hesketh Vampire."
Ezra smiled as he pulled off his black riding gloves. "It's English."
Chris laughed and slapped his
undercover agent on the back. "Alright gentlemen, let's get this show
on the road. The Denver Law Enforcement Charity Bike ride starts in one
hour."
Mounting up, the seven men kicked
their metal steeds into life. Accompanied by a deep rumble the Magnificent
Seven rode together once again.
The End
