Vin took in everything on the street as he used the push
broom to clean the sidewalk in front of the hardware store.
The owner had been quite understanding when Vin spoke to him about using
his store as a base for a short-term case.
He reflected back on his time in the service.
He honestly had thought he would spend the majority of his adult life
serving his country, but his last transfer led to him uncovering corruption he
never dreamed he’d find. When it
was all said and done, he had come out clean, which was more than he could say
for his new unit, but he didn’t know if he could trust another team, not after
what his previous one put him through. So, when the time to re-up came around,
he didn’t.
After wandering a while and turning down more than a few
recruitment pitches for things he’d rather not know about, he was meeting up
with an old friend, Carlos, who taught him the basics of Bounty Hunting. It
wasn’t a long-term career for Vin and he knew it, but it provided enough income
– especially the larger bounties he and his friend brought in – to pay for life
while he finished college.
With his new degree in hand, he started looking for other
options, figuring out what he wanted to do.
While he had never thought of it himself, one of his other friends spoke
highly of the various law enforcement agencies.
He’d been researching and talking to people to try figure out if he
really wanted to join an agency and which one when Carlos called asking him to
assist with one last job.
That job should resolve nicely tonight.
The skip had gone to ground in this neighborhood and Vin knew his habits.
Carlos would be arriving just before sundown and they would arrange the
take down then.
Focusing back in the present, movement near the bar across
the street caught his attention. Three in the afternoon wasn’t an unusual time
for him to see people enter the bar, but the person entering in the bar
surprised him. Agent Larabee was well known in all the law enforcement circles
he’d been checking into. The small
hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the sight of the black clad figure. He
new something was going to happen and soon.
And he knew it would change his life
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
Larabee walked into the bar and settled on a stool.
A moment later, the bartender came by and dropped off a double bourbon.
Three years ago this wouldn’t have been an option, but
losing your heart and your hope changes a lot of things, especially when those
responsible not only disappeared, but destroyed any identifying evidence.
The lack of direction for the initial all-consuming rage
left an almost unrecognizable person behind.
The burn of the alcohol after a fair sized swallow didn’t
deaden the pain of loss so much as momentarily distract from it. But these days
it was the best that could be hoped for, even with the job that eventually
directed the all-consuming rage.
The sound of gunfire outside drew a sigh of resignation.
This wasn’t the first time gunfire had sounded in this area, but it was
the first time there had been so much of it.
Throwing back the last of the drink and leaving money on
the bar, Larabee headed toward the door to get a read on the situation.
Stepping outside, the sound of gunfire traveled from about
half a block away.
Green eyes narrowed and a string of curses slipped out when
the prisoner the gang was dragging out of a building was revealed.
Leave it to one of the team to get into this sort of
position.
Scanning the street, green eyes met blue and recognition
sparked. It may only be by
reputation, but Vin Tanner was a man Larabee knew about.
Something in the way their eyes met, though spoke to a different kind of
knowing, a kindred spirit. Maybe after this, they would find time to speak,
especially after Larabee saw how comfortable Tanner was with the rifle in his
hands.
A tilt of the head toward the group dragging Nathan and a
responding nod led the two to the middle of the street where they headed toward
the group who was now preparing to execute Nathan.
"Special Agent In Charge Larabee, ATF.
Release my agent."
"He killed our boss!" one of the group shouted.
The statement was met with a glare and silence that
unsettled the rowdy group.
"Reckon you’d all be happier if you just walked away," Vin
chimed in as the group started moving nervously.
Larabee’s eyes narrowed at the man who seemed to be the de
facto leader while registering the shifting of the rifle in Tanner’s hands to a
more ready position. "Shot a lot of
holes in the sky on your way out here," Larabee observed. "Any of you bother to
reload?"
A curse slipped from the lips of one of the men who turned
to run. A gun jumped into Larabee’s
hand faster than most could track, while Tanner quickly aimed at the hand
holding a gun to the ATF agent’s head and squeezed the trigger.
The target dropped as the man screamed, holding up what was left of his
hand.
The man acting as leader, the one who instigated the
incident was laying on the ground screaming and holding his arm, but the fight
was over.
"You OK, Nathan?"
Larabee asked, walking over to the agent at the center of this.
"Yes."
"What happened?" Larabee asked.
Tanner was curious, but this really wasn’t his scene and he
needed to check on his skip. This
would be just the sort of distraction he would use to escape.
"Don’t go far, Tanner," Larabee ordered.
Tanner stopped and raised an eyebrow at the agent.
"Don’t take orders from you," he observed.
"Not yet," Larabee said softly, but not so softly the other
man missed it. "Please," was reluctantly added.
Reading the green eyes before him, Vin nodded. "Let me put
this away"
Larabee nodded.
"Meet us at the bar when you’re done."
"Meet you there at eight. Got some business to take care
of," Vin countered and offered a lopsided smirk when he received a nod of
agreement and a spark of approval in the green eyes.
With a nod, he headed out, leaving the others to sort out the mess as the
police belatedly arrived. He
doubted either agent would be free any time soon, so he should have time to get
things squared away.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
"That Tanner?" Nathan asked, and received a nod of
agreement. "He’s got my vote.
I’ll take him on the team."
"May need to convince him first," Larabee replied.
"From what Buck and I were able to find, his last actual team left more
than a bad taste in his mouth."
Jackson shook his head.
"Maybe, but I saw the two of you together.
You read each other as naturally as if you’d been working together for
years and you haven’t even properly met."
The other agent was quiet, eyes following the form of the
man in question. "Time will tell.
In the meantime, we have some statements to give."
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Vin was sitting at a corner table with excellent views of
the exits. His business with Carlos
had wrapped up quickly and with no injuries.
There would be a nice sized check in his account in a few days.
Taking a sip of his beer, he nodded when Larabee and the
agent entered, indicating the other glasses and the pitcher on the table waiting
for them.
"Problems counting, Tanner, or are you waiting on someone
else?" Larabee asked, pouring a glass and settling comfortably in the chair next
to the Texan.
"Met a man who might be looking for a new job.
Figured if you’re already going to be pitching to me, might as well get
him in the bargain."
"Who?"
"Ezra Standish."
The mug of beer paused on its trip to Larabee’s mouth.
"Agent Ezra P. Standish, DEA?"
Vin nodded, knowing what was running through their minds
and the glance the agents exchanged.
Carlos had introduced Vin and Ezra a few months ago and Vin had quickly
found out about the rumors chasing the man, and the truth behind them.
"Dangerous place he’s in," Tanner observed.
"I want to thank you for what you did today," Nathan
interrupted, knowing his boss would want a few minutes to digest the idea of the
rumored to be crooked agent.
"Some things just need doing," Tanner deflected, accepting
the handshake.
"But not many step up to do them," Jackson observed,
receiving a small head tilt in acknowledgment.
Just then the door opened, green eyes scanned the room and
settled on their table. He nodded
at the trio before heading over.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Ezra was hoping his new acquaintance (friend?) was serious
about the possible job offer.
Things were not comfortable in his current situation.
In fact, they were swiftly heading toward places he never thought he’d
have to face.
The past few months had taught him not to trust people, the
fact he trusted Vin this far was a testament to the man himself rather than the
one who introduced them. It helped
that he was aware of Tanner’s own problems with teams. Had he not known that, he
wouldn’t have agreed to come to this meeting despite knowing Agent Larabee’s
reputation.
As he approached, he took in the two people he had never
met. The first must be Agent
Jackson, a most impressive man who valued integrity and honesty.
The other was not exactly what he had been expecting.
The previous times he had seen Agent Larabee, the words he had heard
seemed to apply, but, leaning back in a chair next to Tanner, something had
changed.
He reached the table and smiled politely as he was
introduced and took his seat. He
poured himself a half glass of beer and settled back, uncharacteristically
quiet.
"You both know who I am and have probably heard rumors
about what we are gearing up to do.
It’s a bit more than what you’ve heard. I need the best and I need you
committed," Larabee growled.
"Your assumption would indicate your belief that we live in
a rather small world. You can
hardly expect us to have heard anything," Ezra stated with an air of
nonchalance.
"Fifty-three minutes," Larabee stated, meeting Ezra’s eyes.
Ezra didn’t flinch, but he could feel his face still
momentarily. That was a very specific number and had very definite meaning to
the man. Allowing his lips to curve upward, he tilted his head toward the side.
"To what do you refer?" he asked,
his tone even.
"With my team back-up will either already be on site or
will be only minutes away. No one goes alone."
Ezra did his best to read the agent in front of him and
determined that the truth, at least as they saw it, had been spoken.
He glanced at Vin and received a small nod.
He wouldn’t be going in alone and knew that, even if it didn’t result in
friendship, he would at least have someone watching his back, as he would be
sure to watch Vin’s. "Tell me
more," he encouraged.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
A half hour later, Vin was slouching in his chair.
He knew he and Ezra were in. Nathan was already on the team.
There were two others they hadn’t met yet.
There was at least one more Larabee would be recruiting.
He knew that, not because he had an inside track, but because of
something he couldn’t quite place.
Yes, he and Larabee were both tactical thinkers, but it was something more as
well. When their eyes met, there
was a connection, an understanding that happened, something he hadn’t felt in a
long time. The best way to say it
was that they clicked.
As the agent stood, her long braid swung slightly at her
back. Her green eyes turned to meet
his. "Vin," she said with a nod.
"Sarah," he returned.
"Be seeing you tomorrow, ‘round eight I reckon."
She nodded and a small smile curved up the corners of her
lips. "See you then."
The End
