You, Mr. Wilmington, are delusional if you think that I am going to proceed any further into..." Ezra waved his hand, gesturing toward the handmade sign and its flowing script while he searched for an adequate word, "this." He gave up, ignoring Buck's wide grin as he picked a stray piece of orange confetti from the sleeve of his tuxedo.
"Now Ez, you lost our bet, fair and square." Buck pointed out. "It's this or I'll make sure your name appears on the list for the pie throwing contest…as a target." The ladies' man was unphased by the scowl Standish aimed at him.
The din of the crowded convention center seemed to grow around them while Buck waited and Ezra pretended to debate a decision. Music played loud and distorted preventing anyone from identifying it as tuxedo clad partiers made their way around the elaborately decorated booths. The Denver City Charity Halloween Spectacular was turning out to be everything its planners had anticipated even though they'd had to settle for having the celebration a night early thanks to a miscommunication and double booking of the building on Halloween itself.
Buck adjusted his pumpkin orange bow tie and grabbed a handful of candy corn from a passing server dressed as a ghoul. "Come on, Ezra, a deal's a deal."
Ezra sighed dramatically and read the sign again. ‘Fortunes predicted and Pasts retold.' "Who would have thought our Mr. Dunne could break the city's annual apple bobbing record?" He muttered, motioning for Buck to lead the way through the heavy drapes and hanging beads. Wilmington grabbed his arm as he passed and pulled him into the darkened area with him, not taking a chance his friend might attempt an escape.
Both men stopped immediately inside as the curtains behind them fell closed, effectively shutting out both the light and noise from the party and leaving them in near total darkness. Three candles lit the interior, illuminating a round, cloth-covered table and the slim woman seated on the far side of it. A single candle in the center of the table cast odd shadows across her face.
"All that's missing is the crystal ball," Ezra mumbled, grunting noisily when Buck's elbow found his ribs. "That…was uncalled for," he growled softly.
"Welcome," the woman greeted them with a thickly accented voice. "I am Lady Aislinn."
"Evening Aislinn, it's a pleasure to meet you." Buck stepped closer to the table while Ezra rolled his eyes heavenward. It was not the first time he'd seen this kind of set up. Everything about "Lady Aislinn" was stereotypical, right down to the colorful layers of clothing, flashing jewels and henna tattooed skin.
"You wish to be read?" she asked.
Ezra distractedly tried to place which part of Europe she was trying to imitate with her accent, unaware until Buck shoved him forward.
"This is Ezra," Buck introduced and pushed his friend into the waiting chair.
Standish huffed at the indignant treatment and haughtily adjusted his tuxedo jacket.
"Welcome." Aislinn bowed her head slowly and when she looked up again the center candle flared, the flame jumping to six inches in length before immediately receding to its normal size again.
Buck and Ezra both flinched in surprise. Ezra wiped a hand over his face and whispered "Oh, lord." He heard Buck chuckle nervously behind him.
Aislinn smiled, her dark eyes reflecting the candle's light. "Would you like to hear of your future or visit your past?" she asked in a sultry voice.
"Well," Ezra cleared his throat, "I'm well acquainted with my own past and care not a whit about revisiting it."
"She means your past life, Ez," Buck interrupted. "Quit being a smart ass- I can still sign you up for that pie contest."
"Shut up, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra shot over his shoulder then returned his attention to the Lady across from him.
Aislinn smiled sweetly and brushed a strand of her jeweled blond hair behind her ear, her earrings tinkling lightly. "You are a cynic," she stated quietly.
"One might say that," Ezra admitted with a wry smile.
"Do you wish to see into the life you led before this one?"
"Sure he does," Buck interrupted again, this time stepping up next to the table. "And since I'm paying, I say take him to his past life. Maybe he'll learn something." He slapped his money down on the table and winked. "Might be interesting…maybe he was a mule."
Ezra threw a threatening glare at Buck but Aislinn nodded sagely, the money slipping quickly out of sight. "Please, have a seat over there, Mr. Wilmington." She motioned to a second chair, neither man had noticed before. "I'll ask only that you refrain from any further interruptions."
Ezra stifled a laugh as Buck's eyes widened and he followed the orders with out a word.
"Shall we begin, Ezra?" Her accent split his name, emphasizing the second syllable and drawing it out.
"I suppose we shall." He smiled genuinely. On any other day he'd have been tempted to test her with his sarcasm and uncooperative nature but for some reason, today he decided to take on the game.
Lady Aislinn slid her hand forward on the table and motioned for him to do the same. As she took his slender hands in hers, he noticed only the warmth of her fingers as they gently began to massage his pressure points. "Please close your eyes." Her voice fell to a low soft whisper.
Ezra complied, feeling slightly self-conscious knowing that Buck was watching.
"You are an honorable man."
Buck chuckled and Ezra tensed, but Aislinn continued to massage his fingers and palms, soothingly.
"That is debatable," he told her.
"You work in an honorable profession, you help people," she pointed out.
‘Sure,' Ezra thought, ‘every one here is involved with the government somehow, nice lead in.'
"You doubt yourself," she whispered. "You wear self created shields to keep away those who seek to come close."
Ezra swallowed. "And what does that have to do with my past life?" he asked, his eyes opening and meeting hers. Aislinn merely smiled and nodded for him to close his eyes again. He did.
"Now we will begin," she said. "Go back with me, in time…first ten years." She paused for a moment. "Are you there? Can you see yourself ten years ago?"
"Yes." Ezra kept tight control on his facial expressions wondering absently if when he opened his eyes again he'd be in the center of some bizarre and horrible practical joke that one only saw on inane shows like candid camera.
"Good, good, now go back twenty. Are you there?"
"Unfortunately, I am." He shoved the childhood memories aside and waited for her soothing voice to direct him again.
"Now thirty years," she instructed.
Ezra raised an eyebrow but continued to listen and respond to the seductive voice as she went on to count backwards in furthering increments of ten.
"EzRaa," she drew his name out. "Tell me what you see."
It took a quick moment for Ezra to realize that she wanted a response from him and yet another to calculate the total number of years she had counted back, somewhere around 130. He smiled to himself when the image came into his mind and rapidly created his persona. "I'm in some kind of building, with lots of people," he whispered quietly. "There is music playing, a piano."
"Do you know where you are?" Aislinn prodded slightly.
"Where I always am," Ezra answered.
"You feel at home there?"
"Always."
"What are you doing?"
Ezra frowned in concentration, imagining an old western saloon in an untamed frontier town. He could almost hear the music of a slightly out of tune piano as someone banged mercilessly on the ivory keys. He imagined the feel of a well-worn deck of cards and the sound of coins clinking together in the center of a wooden table. "I'm playing cards," he answered finally, allowing himself to slip into using a thicker accent.
They went on this way for several more minutes, Aislinn asking leading questions while Ezra filled in the details of the scene, describing himself as an 19th century gambler.
"It is time to come back," Aislinn instructed carefully and began to retrace the years by ten again. When she'd reached the present time she firmly squeezed his hands. "Open your eyes."
Ezra blinked rapidly and smiled at her, relieved to find he hadn't gained a larger audience in the meantime. "Most enlightening," he stated.
"I see." She looked up then, meeting his gaze solidly, the double meaning of her words sinking in with her expression. She knew full well that he had merely been playing along with her scam. He started to pull his hands away from hers when her grip tightened suddenly with an unexpected strength that made him tense. She roughly pulled him closer towards the center candle and leaned in herself.
"Be warned," she hissed, the flame dancing from the breath of her harsh words. "Lest your cynicism blind you to the truth when it's revealed."
"Unhand me," he whispered back forcefully, unnerved by the dark glow of her eyes.
"Be warned," she whispered again and released him.
Ezra sat up quickly and straightened the rumpled tablecloth before standing. "Thank you for a lovely time, Lady Aislinn." He nodded and left the tiny, stuffy area suddenly looking forward to the noise and the crowd of the convention room.
Buck was right on his heels. "That was interesting; what'd she say at the end there? I didn't hear," he commented as they made their way to the area that was set up as an open bar.
"Nothing of importance, I assure you," Ezra said, nonchalantly ignoring the unsettling feeling the experience had left him with.
Wilmington shrugged and waved to someone behind them. "She was hot."
Ezra looked at him incredulously but didn't comment. He turned to see the rest of Team 7 waving them over and groaned. He let Buck go ahead and stopped at the bar to order a scotch. He joined the group in time to hear part of Buck's gregarious version of what happened at Lady Aislinn's booth.
"A gambler? Why does that not surprise me?" Nathan laughed, shaking his head.
"She really said you were a gambler in a past life, Ezra?" JD asked, his black hair was still damp from the earlier contest but his tuxedo had replaced his ATF t-shirt. Ezra stared at the pumpkin print on the matching tie and cummerbund a moment before answering.
"She never said, Mr. Dunne. She just asked questions and I answered."
JD frowned. "But was it real?" he asked.
"Come on, kid." Vin draped an arm over Dunne's shoulders. "You really think Ezra would let someone hypnotize him like that? Man doesn't even trust his own mother."
"Would you trust my mother?" Ezra asked, taking a sip of his drink and making eye contact with Tanner over the rim of the glass.
"Hell no!" Vin answered emphatically, the others laughing in response to the obviousness of the answer.
A half an hour later Ezra was following the others out into the cold October night, there was after all work to return to the next day.
"You need a cab, Ezra?" Chris asked, coming up beside him as he handed the valet his ticket.
"No, just had one scotch."
Chris nodded, "Drive safe."
Ezra watched Chris and Vin climb into Larabee's truck and acknowledged Tanner's wave goodbye. He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them as his Jag pulled up in front of him.
"Thank you, Sir." The driver smiled and tucked his tip away and held the door. Feeling like he was being watched, Ezra searched the milling crowd. He found her, not far outside the main entrance. Her costume still on, she puffed on a cigarette and met his gaze without wavering. He felt the shiver as it raced up his spine and finally managed to tear away from the trance she seemed to pull him into. He never saw her lips begin to move and was already pulling out of the drive when her whispered chant was lost in the wind.
"Warn him, Spirits." She finished as the car's taillights faded from her view. "Warn him."
+ + + + + + +
The sun shone brightly across the dusty dirt packed street. Ezra blinked to clear his vision and watched as a man dressed in leather and denim ran past him, shouting something incoherently. He blinked again as he took in the weathered wooden buildings. Horses whinnied nearby and the smell of fresh manure assaulted him. There was a commotion down the street and as he turned towards it the figure caught his attention.
The man stood across the narrow road, on the opposite boardwalk. Clad entirely in black, the wind caught at the long duster he wore, the material flapping and dancing around his legs. He stood tall and wore his guns low on his hips, threateningly. Ezra found himself drawn to the stranger, curious. The man was focused on the action down the street but must have sensed his scrutiny. He looked up sharply, his face hard and rigid. Cold green-blue eyes met his and Ezra inhaled with shock and surprise.
"Chris."
Gasping, Ezra found himself sitting straight up in his bed. Confused for a moment he looked around the familiar setting of his bedroom and sighed heavily, flopping back down in against the pillows.
"Happy Halloween! Bwahahaha!" a morning DJ howled as his alarm clock began to blare loudly, startling him again.
"Infernal contraption." He growled smacking the clock with the palm of his hand and ending its noise. He ran both hands over his face and through his disarrayed hair, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "Stupid dream," he muttered again, throwing back the covers and making his way slowly to the shower. He was going to kill Wilmington for ever dragging him into that ridiculous fortuneteller's booth. Maybe he should have taken his chances with being a target for the pie contest, at least then the most he'd have to dream about would be giant cream pies chasing him through the streets of Denver. "Oh yeah like that's better," he said aloud.
He knew the dream was a figment of his overactive imagination…and the extra three glasses of scotch he'd imbibed once arriving home. He didn't know why his visit with Lady Aislinn had disturbed him; it was all a scam after all. She'd just been bitter that he hadn't fallen for it, he persuaded himself as he shed his silk pajamas and stepped under the pulsing stream of hot water. Now if he could just forget about seeing Chris in that ghastly cowboy get up. What was it with that man and black anyway??
Ezra made it to work in his usual ‘late' timeframe. His headache dissipating quickly thanks to two full glasses of water and a handful of aspirin. He sipped his latte carefully as he entered the office, ever watchful for unexpected projectiles from the direction of Buck and JD's desks on any normal day- holidays made him extra cautious. Seeing it was safe he proceeded, hearing Buck's voice.
"So then she sort of pulled him forward and said, ‘be warned." Buck tried to imitate the voice of Lady Aislinn but failed miserably.
Ezra stood to one side, knowing that though the others could see him Buck couldn't. JD grinned as he popped a Hershey's miniature into his mouth.
"Then she whispered something that I couldn't hear," Buck admitted. "But she was a looker. I thought about trying for her number but Ezra just booked on out of there like he'd seen a ghost or something."
Ezra shook his head and took another sip of his coffee.
"So did Ez tell you what she said?" Vin asked, winking at Standish without Buck's notice and grabbing a Butterfingers from the large plastic jack-o-lantern balanced on top of Dunne's computer monitor.
"Nah, didn't say much at all actually."
"That's because she asked how long you and I had been in a relationship," Ezra told him, smiling when the ladies' man jerked upright in surprise at the sound of his voice.
"What?" Buck looked at him. "Damn, Ezra. You been taking sneaking lessons from Vin or something?"
"Or something."
"I was just telling them more about our little soiree with Lady Aislinn." Buck emphasized her name suggestively. "Hey…wait a minute. Did you say she thought we were a couple?"
JD laughed and narrowly avoided a swat to the head from Buck. Chris just shook his head and moved toward the office. "Get to work. We have a conference on the Rounds case in a half hour."
Josiah patted Ezra's shoulder as he walked by him. Nathan just grinned and shook his head.
Ezra moved toward his desk.
"Wait Ez, what did she really say?" Buck asked again.
"I just told you, Mr. Wilmington." Ezra kept a straight face while Buck mulled it over, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"She thought you and me were? No way." He sat down at his own desk. "Really?"
"Get to work, Buck!" Chris hollered from his office.
Ezra bent his head as he typed in his passwords to get into his computer.
"You're cruel you know." Vin's voice carried just enough for Ezra to hear him across their desks.
"I know." Ezra grinned but didn't look up from his work.
The Saloon was filled with people; one table in particular was noisier than the rest. A group of men, cowhands and ranchers, laid down their bets as a gambler dressed in a well-tailored red coat and matching brocade vest, took a long drink and wavered slightly as he stood and aimed his weapon at the target. The gambler slipped once on a discarded bottle, his shot going wild off the mark and more money was set down. Grinning, the man straightened and aimed again, this time his shots firing one right after another, each one striking the very center of the target with undisputed accuracy.
"Ezra."
Ezra looked up suddenly, finding himself back in the office, Vin looking at him questioningly.
"What?"
"Are you okay?" Vin tapped a file on his open palm, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Ezra lied.
"Cause I've been trying to get your attention for a good couple of minutes. You sure you're okay?"
Ezra frowned. "Yes, I'm fine," he repeated.
"Then why were you staring off into nowhere like that? Something bothering you?"
Patience wearing thin Ezra raised his voice. "Nothing is bothering me."
It was obvious Vin didn't believe that him but the sharpshooter chose to let the matter drop. "Chris wants in conference," Vin reminded, waving the file.
"I'll be right there," Ezra told him, as he began searching his desk for his own file on the case. He couldn't believe he'd actually had another dream, daydream…whatever one would call it, while he was just sitting there. The last thing he remembered was pulling up his email. At least this time he wasn't seeing Chris dressed up like some gun-slinging outlaw. No, this time it'd been him, dressed exactly like he'd described himself to Aislinn the night before. "Never thought you had that good of an imagination, Ezra," he hissed as he grabbed the sought after file and headed toward the conference room. "Snap out of it," he added silently.
Chris waited until Ezra had closed the door and found a seat before beginning. "Nice of you to join us, Standish," he said irritably.
"My pleasure of course."
"Okay, Vin, fill us in on Rounds," Larabee ordered, ignoring Ezra's sarcasm.
Keith Rounds was a local Denver bad boy, already heavily connected into drugs he wanted to expand the business and delve into the weapons trade. Because Ezra had just been undercover helping Team Five wrap up an arson case, the Rounds assignment had fallen to Vin. Tanner had easily slipped into the persona that Rounds had been looking for and been able to get hired on as one of his lackeys.
"The trade is on for sometime late tonight." Vin began quietly. "Rounds will have a dozen men waiting at Mitchell's Garage on West Street. The shipment is due in some time between 10 p.m. and midnight."
"What's the layout?" Josiah asked.
Vin quickly passed out a rough sketch of the Garage while Larabee turned on the overhead displaying the same image. JD reached over the back of his seat and flipped off the light while Vin and Chris traded spaces so that Tanner could go over the sketch with them. "I'll do everything in my power to get into position here." He marked the overhead, indicating where he meant. "But I'll need someone to be covering me once the lead starts to fly."
A figure stood just inside the saloon doors, a mere shadow before hesitantly pushing open the batwings and exiting the protection of the building. She wore an elegant purple gown, trimmed with black. Her long dark hair was curled and accented with a black feather. She seemed unsure of herself for a moment before she stopped, took a deep breath and looked once at the waiting carriage and then directly at him.
"Ahhh!" Ezra jumped back from the conference table, finding all the eyes in the room on him.
"Ezra?"
"You alright?"
"What the hell is your problem?"
Josiah, Nathan and Chris all spoke together. Ezra shook his head and swallowed hard, attempting to catch his breath. "I'm fine," he mumbled.
"Yeah right, he did this earlier," Vin pointed out.
Ezra scowled. "It's nothing," he protested.
"You sick?" Chris asked.
"No, not at all." Ezra hoped he was being honest. What the hell had that been? He'd been dressed up like a woman! That certainly had NOT been a suggestion from the night before, had it? Where the hell, had that come from?
+ + + + + + +
Ezra rubbed his forehead absently as he studied the layout in front of him, memorizing it so that he could be ready for any scenario that might play out later. His lunch sat untouched on his desk, his appetite having deserted him long before.
"I'm heading out, Ezra."
He looked up and found concern in Vin's eyes. He frowned and sat back in his chair. "Be careful, Mr. Tanner."
"Always am." Vin looked down at his hands, then back up at him. "You can sit this one out if…"
"I'll be there," Ezra interrupted, cutting him off. "You're always there for me when I'm inside, now it's my turn."
"Don't want you hurt cause your mind's not in it."
Ezra smiled wondering if Vin had always naturally thought of others before himself. "Don't worry about me," he said firmly. "You focus on what you need to do in there and nothing else."
Vin smiled obviously recognizing Ezra's show of concern. "Later then."
"Watch your back."
Tanner chuckled. "I will."
Ezra watched as Vin walked away, confident that he was ready for the upcoming action. He hated that he wasn't able to be under with Vin on this one but by the time Team 5 had been through with him, the sharpshooter had already had to go in. Bringing Ezra in after the fact would have blown his cover immediately.
"Hey Vin," JD called jogging out of the office to catch up with the other agent.
A flash of panic, JD's voice split the night "Hey…hey!" Running. His own footsteps rang loud on the wooden boards. He could hear JD breathing, struggling against pain and panic. Through the darkness he could see the knife stuck in the boy's shoulder.
"JD!" Ezra yelled frantically, leaping to his feet.
"What?" JD entered the office on the run. "What? What's the matter?" He asked seeing the panic on Standish's face.
Ezra stared at JD, his eyes roaming over him as he carefully searched for any visible injuries.
"Ezra?" He jumped, startled by the sound of Josiah's voice. "What's going on, son?"
Ezra shook his head trying to clear his head. It had been so real. "JD…" he tried to explain. "Knife."
"What knife?" Buck asked loudly.
Ezra flinched again and Nathan and Josiah exchanged worried looks. Ezra was never this jumpy…never.
"Ezra," Chris approached but kept his voice calm, having seen the way his agent was reacting. "You need to tell us what's going on."
"What knife?" Buck asked again, his impatience clear.
JD shrugged. "I'm fine. Ez, no knives anywhere. I just had to ask Vin something about tonight."
The trembling started then and Ezra's legs started to fold, spurring Josiah and Chris into action. They caught him and pulled him back into his chair as Nathan knelt in front of him and started to check his vitals. "You sure you're not coming down with something?" the medic asked, noting the rapid heartbeat.
"No. No, I saw…it was so real."
"What was?" Chris asked, motioning Buck back another step.
JD moved closer to Wilmington and grabbed his arm as the older man began to pace. "I'm ok, Buck," he whispered reassuringly.
"Tell us what you saw, Ezra," Josiah prodded quietly. "What you've been seeing."
Ezra looked up quickly; catching the tone of Sanchez's voice and realizing the profiler was connecting the earlier incidences. Were they all connected? His mind raced through each vision.
"Damn it, Buck!" Standish burst out of his chair with the yell, knocking Nathan to the floor and charging at Wilmington. Chris and Josiah caught him easily before he made contact and held on while he struggled, his tirade against Buck continuing. "What did she do to me? What the hell did she do?"
"Ezra! Calm down, now!" Chris ordered sharply. His voice seemed to break through as Ezra stilled suddenly, regaining a wary control over his composure.
Larabee stepped back but nodded for Josiah to keep a hold on the Southerner. "In there." He motioned to his office and reached out a hand to help Jackson get up off the floor. "You alright?" he asked.
Nathan grinned sheepishly. "Sure."
Inside Larabee's office, Josiah pushed Ezra down onto the couch and with one hand on his chest ordered him to "Stay there." Then he turned, "JD, go get Ezra something to drink. Buck," he paused when the ladies' man scowled at him. "Sit down." He pointed to one of the chairs in front of Chris' desk.
Chris and Nathan entered and Jackson immediately went to sit down next to Ezra.
"My apologies…" Ezra started, but Nathan cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't," he smiled. "Just tell us what's going on."
In silence they waited for JD to come back. "Here you go, Ezra," he said, passing the mug of water to his friend. Nobody missed the fact that Ezra's hands still trembled as he took the drink from Dunne and leaned back again.
"Thank you," he murmured quietly.
They waited again, watching while Ezra took a sip of water and then another. He swallowed slowly and seemed to debate about whether he was going to talk or no one pushed. Finally he cleared his throat but still didn't look up from the cup he held; one finger absently traced the rim. "I'm not positive, but I think I might have been hypnotized," he admitted fearfully.
"How?" Buck burst out, deserting the chair as he started to pace again. "I was there; that lady didn't do anything but hold your hands and talk!" he insisted.
"Shut up, Buck." JD nudged him.
Ezra smiled, still focused on the rim of the mug and shook his head. "I don't know how; all I know is I've been having these…episodes." He didn't know what to call them. "First one was this morning, thought it was a dream, then I had one at my desk."
"And you were late to the conference," Chris commented.
"Then you had one in the meeting, and then one just now," Nathan added.
Standish nodded and finally looked up, still avoiding eye contact. How could he explain without everyone thinking he was going crazy? What if he was going crazy? There were a lot of things in life that he could handle, and he had…from being beaten to being shot but he didn't think he could face the thought that he might be losing his mind.
"What happens with these ‘episodes'?" Nathan asked.
"It's always something in the old west. I've seen Chris." He glanced quick at Larabee and then away again, "Myself a couple of times and just now- JD."
"And you think it's ‘cause you were hypnotized?" Buck sounded calmer this time.
Ezra nodded. "In the dream," he waved one hand absently, the other tightening on the mug. "Whatever you want to call it, I'm always in the old west, a gambler."
Buck's eyes widened. "That's what you described last night."
"Could it just be from the suggestion?" Nathan asked quietly.
"I don't know!" Ezra growled with frustration. "It's just so real, everything…the sight, sounds, even the smell."
"But she didn't even have a watch or nothing to…Hey!" Buck hollered when JD swatted him.
"You don't need a watch to hypnotize someone, Buck." Dunne rolled his eyes.
"Well, she didn't do nothing funny is all I'm saying." Buck gave JD a small shove and rubbed his arm as if he was really hurt.
"Tell us what she did." Josiah turned his attention back to Ezra.
"She took my hands and massaged them as she spoke. Told me to think back in years, increments of ten. I made the story up, Josiah, I just played along," Ezra insisted.
"What do you mean?" JD asked. "You played along?"
"Yes," Ezra sighed. "She counted back approximately 130 years and I just created a persona based on that timeframe. Her questions were all leading and I just provided the answers she sought based on what I'd come up with."
"Still, could she have used the candle light and hand massage?" Nathan asked.
"And tone of voice." Josiah added, his brow crinkling with more concern.
"Damn." Ezra leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and trying to settle his breathing. He had to find a way to get control of what was happening. "How could I have let this happen?" he whispered.
"Maybe you're really seeing things from a past life," JD suggested, earning a frightening glare from both Ezra and Chris.
"Tell us what you see when this happens," Josiah distracted them from JD.
Ezra took a sip of water and shook his head. "Just…a town, people-like something from an old western. I saw Chris, dressed up like a gunslinger. Then I saw myself, exactly like I'd described last night and then," he blushed and looked down at the mug, wrapping both hands around it as if it was warm. "Myself again and then JD…he'd been stabbed in the shoulder." He sat back and pointed on himself where he remembered JD being hit. "It was so real," he whispered hoarsely.
Chris stood up abruptly and headed to his desk. "Nathan and Buck get on the phones and find out who this Lady…"
"Aislinn," Buck filled in.
"Find out who she really is and find her, so she can undo whatever the hell she did to Ezra. Ezra, I'm pulling you from the raid tonight."
"No." Ezra slammed the mug down on the arm of the couch. Water splashed and beaded on the dark leather as the undercover agent jumped to his feet. "I need to be there," he insisted.
"I'm not going to have you blacking out when we need you most," Chris argued. "Can you guarantee you won't have anymore of these…visions?"
Ezra's angered expression fell to one of despair before immediately changing again as he masked his feelings. "No."
"Then for now," Chris qualified. "You're out."
+ + + + + + +
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Chris yelled in frustration.
"That booth was suppose to be rented out to the Denver chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs," Nathan explained calmly. "But they know nothing about a fortuneteller, they said they had a haunted house set up instead."
"I was there, Nathan," Buck insisted. "I know we went into that booth." He ran a hand roughly through his hair and glanced at his watch. It was getting late and any minute now they would need to head downstairs to suit up and get out to the site of the raid.
"Well," Nathan sighed, sitting on the corner of his desk and crossing his arms. "There's no record of her from last night. We came up with nothing." He turned so that he was facing Chris. "JD's scouring the phone books and the net to see if he can find any other information."
Listening to his teammates, Ezra sat dejectedly at his desk, staring at the leather blotter. They'd been searching for hours and they couldn't find her. All they had was a first name and even that was probably false. He could describe her, have a sketch drawn up, but what good would it do? How long would he have to live with the visions- until they found her? What if they couldn't find her? His heartbeat sped with his thoughts. The panic growing inside was well hidden from the others but he knew they still were watching him closely.
"And until then we're just out of luck or something?" Chris asked sarcastically.
The ugly man in the battered top hat sat high on his horse and was talking to the gambler. "…I think he'd like your coat, Mister."
"And you'd like a face. Guess we're both out of luck." Ezra watched himself respond and then gasped when the man struck, sending his green clad counterpart to the ground with a solid blow.
"Somebody get his coat."
"Ezra!" Josiah was shaking him. Recovering instantly, he pushed the large man away and rolled his chair out of reach, bouncing it back against the wall closest to his desk.
"You back?" Nathan asked softly.
Wiping a hand over his face, Ezra managed a nod.
"That was freaky," JD admitted. "You just sort of stiffened up, almost looked like you weren't breathing."
"What was it this time?" Buck asked.
Standish looked up to see everyone watching him carefully, none of them having anymore doubt about the intensity of the visions. "I saw myself again," he said honestly. "An incredibly unsightly man on a horse was demanding the jacket I wore and I refused. He hit me."
"Hit you?" Chris asked. "For a coat?"
"Did you feel anything?" Nathan wondered.
"Only surprise…anger." Ezra shrugged, unable to explain the scene any better than he had. He tensed his shaking hands into fists and then relaxed them again, seeking vainly to regain control.
Josiah was talking again. "I don't like it, Chris."
‘Like I do?' Ezra thought to himself.
"I don't think we should leave him alone. They seem to be getting worse. What if they're some kind of sign that something is going to happen…to him?" Josiah questioned.
Aislinn's last words flashed through Ezra's mind. "Be warned lest your cynicism blind you to the truth when it's revealed."
"Can you find someone to stay with him?" Chris asked.
Frustrated, shaken and angry, Ezra rose to his feet and pushed past the other men. "When you are finished discussing what should be ‘done' with me," he said acidly, "page me. I might answer."
He was halfway to the door when Buck caught his arm and pulled him back. "You're not leaving this way," Wilmington whispered gently. "We're just trying to help."
"What if you can't?" The question slipped out before Ezra could stop it. Immediately he pushed the walls back up, stuffing his emotion aside and shielding himself.
Buck's hand slid up his arm and around the back of his neck, squeezing once before steering him back to the others. "We'll find a way," he assured.
"We need to get ready to go," Nathan commented, hating to bring it up but they had a tight timeline for the night.
"I need to go with you," Ezra said, knowing he was probably provoking Larabee.
Chris shook his head. "I already said no. I can't have you endangering the entire operation."
"Chris."
"No, Ezra." Larabee's voice rose in volume.
"At least let me ride along with Josiah in the surveillance van," Ezra requested again. He didn't know why he was pushing, the last thing he wanted was to put anyone in danger but he needed to be at the raid. He'd promised Vin, and he intended to keep his word. "That way Josiah could keep an eye on me as well."
Chris sighed heavily and looked at his watch. Ezra knew they were running short on time and he hoped that would work in his favor. "Please," he added in a last ditch effort to persuade his boss. "The last thing Aislinn said to me was a warning."
"What kind of warning?" Josiah asked.
Ezra shrugged as he looked up at the profiler. "A cryptic one. She implied that my cynicism could keep me from seeing whatever was being revealed."
"Cynicism?"
"Revealed?"
Chris and JD asked together.
Biting his bottom lip, Ezra nodded. "She knew I'd been fabricating my answers, that's why I'm not sure I was actually hypnotized."
"So, seeing yourself in all of these visions could be some kind of warning that something might happen to you?" Buck asked.
"He also saw me and Chris." JD pointed out.
"Who is really in danger then?" Nathan looked as frustrated as Ezra felt.
"I don't know." Standish closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maybe no one, maybe I'm just weary and my imagination is…" his voice faded and he dropped his hand heavily back to his side. "I just need to be there." He didn't look up from the floor, knowing he couldn't hide his fear at the moment. Everything in his life revolved around maintaining control and now he had none, not even over his own mind.
"You'll ride in the van." Chris finally broke the silence, "and you will –stay- in the van," he ordered.
+ + + + + + +
Three hours later, Ezra sat beside Josiah in the cramped, stuffy van. Monitors showed only the front and back exits of Mitchell's Garage but thanks to Vin's earlier handy work they could at least hear everything that was being said inside. Chris, Nathan, Buck and JD were set up strategically around the building while the Denver City Swat team had been called in for back up.
Ezra listened intently to each member of his team do a routine check in and then turned his attention to the sound of Keith Rounds giving last minute instructions, and focusing on Vin's responding voice. The large garage doors had just opened to let the contact, Lance Garber, drive into the building when Rounds asked Tanner, "How well do you know Garber, Vince?"
He stared at Buck and Ezra, frowning when he stopped less than a foot in front of them, somehow knowing they were going to confront him.
"We might have a problem." Buck said seriously.
"Some disturbing rumors are circulating regarding your relationship with the man in question." Ezra added.
He did his best to stifle the instinct to defend himself. "I expected as much."
Buck looked directly at him. "How well do you know him, Vin?"
"Oh my God." Ezra jumped for the van doors but Josiah grabbed him.
"Chris said you stay in here," Sanchez reminded harshly. "You go out there now and you can blow the whole thing, Brother."
Ezra struggled to pull away. "You don't understand; it's not me."
"I don't care, you can't go out there." Josiah's attention was divided between him and the monitors.
"In the visions, Josiah." Ezra pulled hard, knocking the larger man off balance and freeing himself in the process. "In the visions, I'm Vin." He burst out of the van, and hit the pavement running as the metal doors slammed open and drowned out Chris' order to move in.
Ezra was oblivious to the action around him; driven by the impending fear that was left from the last vision. He had to get to Vin. The sounds of automatic weapons firing filled the cold night as he ran directly into the chaos. He pulled his gun as he searched the area for Tanner. He found him on the far side of the garage, struggling to subdue Rounds while one of Rounds' henchmen was coming up fast behind him.
"Vin!" He screamed, trying to raise his weapon and signal the sharpshooter to the danger behind him but the rest of his warning went unvoiced.
He turned and suddenly an arm snaked around his neck, pulling him roughly against the bars. He struggled, trying vainly to get a breath of air but the arm tightened mercilessly. His vision began to fade. He tore frantically at the arm, grabbing the other arm that reached for him, he snapped the wrist and was immediately released but the darkness was already there, offering no escape.
"Come on, Standish. You stubborn son of a bitch, open those eyes so I can kick your ass." Larabee's voice cut through the haze and Ezra blinked rapidly, trying to focus his blurred vision. "Great." Chris tossed up his hands in mock frustration, relief teasing his voice. "Now you decide to follow orders."
Ezra tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness and at least two sets of hands held him in place. "Vin?" he tried to ask but pain pierced his throat, cutting him off and intensifying when he was hit with a bout of coughing.
"Easy," Nathan said, checking his vitals.
"Stand back, please." A deeper strange voice interrupted as Ezra gasped frantically for air. He closed his eyes as a paramedic gently eased an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. He gagged, his throat feeling like it was blocked…it hurt to breathe.
"What happened to him?" someone asked.
"Don't know he just collapsed."
"Someone strangle him?"
"No, why?"
"Look at his neck."
Gradually the voices melded together and faded.
+ + + + + + +
Yawning, Ezra shifted on the hard hospital bed in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. His back twinged and he bit his lip, as he settled back against the pillows once more. It'd been a long, disjointed night and morning with very little rest as doctors and nurses had filed in and out of his room as often as he'd slipped in and out of awareness. They'd checked the irregular bruising on his back and his swollen throat, debating for hours on the best course of treatment while he laid there concentrating on breathing and not panicking. He'd been doing well until someone had mentioned a ventilator and then all he remembered was trying to get away.
Finally, he'd heard Chris' voice, loud, threatening and not directed at him. Someone had grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear. He couldn't recall what had been said but the voice had been enough to keep him calm. His breathing had improved sometime after dawn and he'd grown increasingly more aware of what was happening around him. He'd wanted to go home, but of course the doctors insisted he stay at least until they were positive there'd be no further complications. If he could talk he would have told them that they were the only complications he could foresee causing any problems.
The door to his room opened and Ezra winced as he turned to see who was entering.
"Doc told you no quick moves for awhile," Nathan reminded, earning a scowl.
"And no talking," JD chimed in, grinning as the look was redirected towards him.
Josiah laughed but passed Ezra the small whiteboard and marker he'd picked up for him on the way in.
"Very amusing," Ezra scrawled, flipping the board around so they could all read it.
Chuckling, Vin parked himself on the foot of the bed. "How you feeling?"
Ezra opened his mouth to speak but caught himself and wrote ‘Better' on the board. He watched as the group settled in the chairs that they'd snuck into the room before they'd been kicked out for a few hours to get rest. His nurses had rolled their eyes at the crowded mess but didn't change anything, knowing it would be a futile effort. Cleaning off the board with the eraser that Josiah provided, Ezra wrote something and then showed the board to Chris.
"What happened?" Chris asked.
"You got away from me and went running into the middle of a gunfight without a vest," Josiah growled. Ezra raised an eyebrow and touched a fist to his chest circling it clockwise a few times. Sanchez smiled. "Apology accepted." He nodded, neither noticing the confused looks around them.
"It was a miracle you didn't get shot," Nathan muttered, but Ezra ignored the reprimand in the comment and pointed emphatically at Vin.
Tanner smiled, "JD heard you scream my name. He rushed the guy just after he'd gotten a strangle hold on me."
The room grew quiet as Ezra's eyes widened and he gently touched his own neck. He'd seen his reflection earlier in the day and knew he had a brilliant red and purple bruise across the front of his throat.
"Yeah, Ez." Vin's voice fell to a whisper, acknowledging the connection.
"That's not all," Buck pointed out. "When he tackled the big guy, they struggled and JD ended up stabbed. If it wasn't for his vest he'd be out of commission for awhile himself."
Dunne tapped his shoulder and shrugged as Ezra's met his. "Right here." The exact spot where he'd been stabbed in Ezra's vision.
Ezra let himself sink further back into the pillows as he tried to process the enormity of everything they were telling him. He picked up the whiteboard and wrote quickly. ‘Aislinn?'
"Still haven't found her," Chris answered, before Standish could show the others. "Called the convention coordinator this morning and the set up crew…no one else seems to remember her or her booth. Have you had anymore dreams of visions?"
"None," Ezra instinctively spoke and then grimaced at the harsh pain that resulted. Josiah picked up the cup of water on the bedside table and offered it to him but he just frowned and waved it away, his frustration was clear as he wrote again. ‘No one attacked me??' He already knew the answer but he had to ask anyway.
"No." Buck shook his head. "No one touched you. You came running in, screaming at Vin and then just dropped to the floor. You moved around a bit like you were struggling and then went still."
"We thought you'd been shot," Josiah admitted, the tremor in his voice betraying the fear he'd felt.
"How did you know I was in danger?" Vin asked.
‘I was you' Ezra wrote.
"You were me?" Vin looked confused.
"In the visions, you mean?" Chris leaned back in his chair.
Ezra made a fist and motioned like he was knocking on a door.
"What's that?" Buck looked at Josiah.
"He said yes." Sanchez translated.
Vin sought eye contact with Ezra. "When you can talk again, I want to hear all about these visions." He ignored the noncommittal grunt he got in response and rested his hand on Standish's leg to communicate his support.
"So, does this mean that Ezra was really Vin in a past life?" JD pulled one foot up into the chair so he could rest his chin on his knee.
Chris barked out a laugh when Standish reacted as if the thought horrified him. Vin slapped a leg and was rewarded with a kick when he answered. "That's a little too scary to think about."
JD frowned. "Yeah…Well…How do you explain it then? The full moon? Halloween? A crazy lady who disappears from the planet?" At the questioning looks he went on. "Come on, Ezra saw me, Chris and himself…and Buck?" He was surprised when Ezra pointed at Wilmington. "Plus there's the whole thing with me getting stabbed and him getting strangled, explain that." He dropped his foot to the floor again.
Ezra watched the youngest member of the team, wishing he could give answers…wishing he had answers.
"I don't know that we can explain it, JD," Josiah admitted.
"So what? We just chalk it up to fate? I mean you're always saying we're destined to be together, is this just fate's way of showing us that?"
"Could be." Josiah smiled mysteriously.
"Seriously?" JD looked at the others. "You think that's it?"
Nobody spoke for a moment, each man contemplating the thought before Buck cleared his throat. "Any other day and you know I'd say that was all a load of hooey, Kid." As JD looked up at him, he gestured toward Ezra's neck. "But when I see something like that, and this…" He reached out and traced his fingers lightly over the spot where the knife had almost embedded into Dunne's shoulder. "I know damn well this wasn't just any other day."
The End
Next story: Brothers
