Music, Management, and Mayhem

Ace

Note: Once again, hats off to my beta and I need to thank my older brother for pulling the prank on my older sister, without it I wouldn’t have this, LOL.


"What do you mean you need my help?" Samantha asks the ATF agent.

"I mean, I need you to do three songs," Chris responds.

"What!?" she exclaims.

"After this act there was suppose to be a guy who was going to do three songs and he has now informed us he has laryngitis," Chris replies.

"And what makes you think I would do this?" she questions, as a few people rush by them.

"Well, you can sing and you always said if there was anything you could help me with…" he begins.

"Alright," she states, "three songs. I’ll go and find something to sing."

Chris smiles as she turns and walks away. He and his team had been assigned to do this charity concert, since they had managed to blow up a building in their last bust. So to make ammends, they were to sign up acts and work a concession stand. Nathan and Josiah were working the concession stand, while the other five team members worked backstage.

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"Chris!" Samantha calls out, running up to the leader.

"Yeah," he replies, turning to face the girl.

"I’ve got my first song, but I need you, Buck, JD, Ezra, and Vin to stand on the stage while I do the first one," she says. Chris begins to open his mouth but she continues, "If you want me to sing then you guys will stand there for one song. I just need you all to stand in a line a few feet apart, hands on your hips and legs spread a little bit. I’ve got to get this music to the band, just be on the stage when I’m suppose to be there."

She then turns and rushes off, leaving Chris in utter confusion.

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"Why are we doing this?" Vin questions Chris as they walk out on the stage.

"Don’t know, but just do it," the leader responds.

The five agents line up on stage; Buck, JD, Ezra, Vin, and Chris. The lights dim, and the music to Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ begins.

Samantha walks out with a head mic on, and begins to speak to the crowd.

"Every girl dreams of a man who’s strong," she calls out, running her hand up Chris’s chest.

Chris glares at her, unsure of what’s going on as the women in the audience scream.

She moves to Vin, "fast," she states walking behind him and running an arm across his shoulders.

She moves to Ezra as the audience continues the screaming, "handsome," she says, running a hand down his face.

She walks on to JD, "young," she states, running a hand up his arm.

The women continue to go wild as she makes her way to Buck, "and larger than life," she croons with a grin, running both hands across his chest.

The five agents stand there as she turns back to the audience and begins the first verse of the song.

The men continue to stand, slightly embarrassed as she sings the song and dances around them. When she finishes, she motions for them to leave, and they are finally able to get off the stage.

Samantha turns back to the screaming audience as the music to another song starts and she begins to sing:

"Some guys, Ooh, they’re really something. They’re always acting like they’re so hot, and you, you don’t seem any different. I keep a wishin’, but I guess you not.

You wanna what? I don’t think so; I don’t waste my time on guys like that. You might be tough but that’s not enough to make it last. You wanna what..."

She continues on with the song, and moves across the stage dancing, while the audience goes wild.

Backstage, two of the stagehands stand there watching. The two teen boys begin to talk about her.

"Man, she’s hot," one says.

"Yeah, but you can’t get your hands on her," the other replies.

"Why not?" he questions.

"She’s a rose; beautiful, yet painful," he responds. "She dumped one guy because he didn’t like riding horses."

The boy raises an eyebrow.

Ezra stands a little off to one side, a small smile spreading across his face at the statement.

"Then her last boyfriend made the mistake of saying how he didn’t like Agent Standish, and didn't think she should be talking with him," he continues, "and she dumped him right then and there."

Ezra had wondered why she had dumped that one, she had never said, but now he knew.

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"Alright," Samantha says into the mic, trying to calm the audience a little.

She notices Josiah and Nathan clapping along with the audience.

"Let’s take this down a few notches," she continues, as some slow music begins to play.

"It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word you can light up the dark. Try as I may I could never explain, what I hear when you don’t say a thing. The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. There’s a truth in your eyes saying you’ll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall, but you say it best when you say nothing at all."

As she begins the next verse, JD and Buck walk to the edge to watch her.

"Looks like she was born to do that," JD muses.

Buck nods his head silently as Chris walks up.

"Looks like you’re gonna have trouble pard," Buck states.

"What do you mean?" Chris asks.

Buck points to the crowd of teenage boys at the edge of the stage.

"I imagine you’ll be receiving plenty of calls tonight," he tells him.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that. You guys still gonna stay the night up at the main ranch house?" Chris questions.

"Yeah, just me, Buck, and Ez," JD affirms, "They somehow managed to not cut the power to Nathan, Josiah, and Vin’s cabins."

"Alright, I’ll get Sam to help me fix dinner then," Chris states, then turns and walks away.

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Samantha finishes the song and walks off stage as the audience gives her a standing ovation.

"That was amazing," JD tells her, as she walks up to the two men.

"Thanks, but don’t expect to ever see that again," she responds.

"Aw, come on kid, you know if they asked you to, you’d do it again," Buck says with a smile.

"Yeah, but would the five of you be willing to stand up there again for ‘Hero’?" she asks with a grin.

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That night, Samantha helps fix dinner for the five of them, then heads off to bed early. She wakes up the next morning, puts her hair up in a ponytail then heads for the kitchen.

"But you say it best when you say nothing at all," she sings jokingly, walking into the kitchen with just a tank top and joggers.

Chris turns from the stove and smiles, turning back to his task at hand.

"Where are the three stooges?" she asks, grabbing a piece of bacon from the table.

"They were up all night," Chris states, not turning around.

"Really? Why?" she asks.

"Turns out you were a pretty big hit yesterday. People called all through the night," he replies.

"Who called?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Boys mostly," the leader states turning around, then points to the living room.

Samantha walks into the living room and stops at the scene in front of her.

JD is laying face down on the floor, shirtless, with a corded phone lying in front of him, using his arms as a pillow. Buck is leaning back in the recliner, arms across his bare chest, with a cordless phone under his hands.

Ezra is lying on his back stretched out on the couch, using one arm as a pillow and the other resting across another corded phone lying atop his naked torso.

Samantha smiles at the three, then quietly moves the phone in front of JD over to the coffee table, turning the ringer down. She then makes her way to the recliner, gently pulling the phone from under Buck’s hands. He moves, but doesn’t wake up. She sets the phone on the base and turns the ring volume down. She then crosses softly back over JD to the couch. She reaches to take the phone off Ezra’s chest. Slowly and gently she begins to remove it, but suddenly Ezra’s hand grabs her wrist and she gasps, then giggles as he begins to laugh.

"Dork," she states, moving the phone, and punching him in chest.

He lets out a grunt and grabs his abdomen, sitting up.

"You had a few phone calls last night," he says, rubbing the back of his head.

"That’s what I heard, any of them important?" she questions him.

"One, I believe. It was the recreation center. They want you to do a concert for the community, oh, and Inez wants to know if you’ll do a few songs over at the bar," he informs her, getting up and following her into the kitchen.

Samantha sits down at the kitchen table and places her head in her hands. Chris sets a plate of food down in front of her, as Ezra takes a seat in the chair next to her.

"I was thinking..." he begins.

"You? Thinking? Now that’s dangerous," she teases, beginning to pick at the food on her plate.

"I was thinking," he continues, "that, maybe I could help you with the financial part of all of this. You know, be your manager."

"Manager?!" she exclaims, "What next, bare my midriff for the Denver Tribune?"

Chris laughs at her sarcasm as JD and Buck walk in.

"Who bared their midriff?" Buck asks, scratching his head.

Samantha shakes her head looking back to her plate.

"Well?" Ezra questions, ignoring Buck.

Samantha shakes her head once more, then looks back up.

"I’ll do the community thing, but they need to make me a song list, and I’ll do a few songs for Inez, but nothing more," she states, "and yes, you can be my manager."

Ezra gives a dimpled grin forcing her to smile.

"So you’re gonna sing again?" JD asks, sitting down.

"Yeah, I guess I’m going to sing again," she replies.

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Samantha is sitting on the couch, surfing through TV channels when JD runs into the living room, having returned from the barn.

"You’ve got to take a look at this!" he yells. "Where’s Chris?"

Samantha looks up in surprise

"What is it JD?" Chris asks, as he, Buck, and Ezra walk in.

"The barn…uh…just come on," he stutters out.

The four follow JD out to the barn, where Nathan, Josiah, and Vin calmly sit.

"What’s going on?" Buck asks.

"Well, we had some visitors last night," Josiah states.

"Yeah, but between the three of us, we were able to handle all of ‘em," Vin comments.

"Okay, exactly what is them and how many were there?" Samantha questions, walking up between Chris and Ezra.

"Boys! And there was at least thirty of ‘em," Nathan tells her, "We have 'em locked up in the tack room."

Samantha’s eyes get big, and a smile crosses her face.

"Really?" she asks.

"Ezra, take her back to the house. She needs to be in confinement when we let them out," Chris orders.

"Oh Chris, who said you had to let them out?" she asks.

"Go," he says pointing to the house.

"Oh man, I never get to have any fun," she complains as she and Ezra head back to the house.

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A few hours later, the six agents return to the house. They walk in to find Samantha and Ezra playing cards and talking.

"So, I need to be at Inez’s tomorrow night and the recreation center on Friday, right?" Samantha is asking.

Ezra nods his head as Buck saunters over.

"Everyone ready for Scary Movie Tuesday?" he asks with a grin.

"Uh, no," Samantha says.

"Well you’re gonna watch them anyway," he informs her, walking into the living room.

"And just why does the thought of scaring me to death with these stupid movies seem to amuse you so much?" she asks.

"Cuz, fear keeps you alert kid," he says with a wink.

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After eight hours of watching horror movies Samantha finally tries to cover her eyes with a blanket, only to have Buck and Ezra pull it away.

"Well, if you boys don’t mind, I believe I will retire for the night," she states standing up and throwing the blanket back to Buck, "I’ll see you gentlemen in the morning."

A string of goodnights follows her up the stairs to her room.

"Where’s JD?" Buck asks.

"Oh, he went to get some more ice, and make himself a sandwich," Vin replies, intently watching the TV screen.

"That kid is a bottomless pit," Josiah comments.

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Samantha walks into her room and turns out the light having already been dressed for bed. She sits down on the edge of her bed and checks the alarm clock to make sure its set. She takes a deep breath, then feels both ankles grasped in an icy cold grip, trying to pull her under the bed. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, kicks free and runs out of her room. She screams all the way to the top of the stairs at which point she turns to see if the ice monster is following her.

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The six agents hear the blood-curdling scream, and are instantly concerned. With panic-stricken faces they head for the stairs.

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Samantha turns to see her "ice monster" doubled over in laughter at her doorway. She sees red and charges JD, with a scream of rage. Tackling him to the ground and slinging her fists at him she gets in a few good punches since he's laughing too hard to fight back. Finally, Buck and Josiah pull her away from him. They drag her backwards to the top of the stairs. She, out of pure rage, chomps into Josiah’s arm with her teeth, causing him to let her go. She then turns to Nathan who is standing at the top of the stairs. Seeing that he is about to help Buck grab hold of her; she kicks her leg out to the side, hitting him in the abdomen, causing him to fall head over heels down the stairs. She then elbows Buck in the ribs as hard as she can, causing him to let her go. She begins to charge back at JD, only to have Chris grab hold of her.

"Calm down Sam," he tells her.

But Samantha, still enraged, throws her foot up behind her, kicking Chris in the family jewels. He doubles over, but doesn’t let go. She sees Vin and Ezra coming to help Chris, so she pushes back on Chris and brings her feet in the air, kicking the two agents in the chest, causing them to stumble and fall. The force of her pushing causes Chris to let her go and she once again charges JD, who is still rolling on the floor laughing so hard he is crying. She leaps at JD once more only to be taken to the floor by another force.

The other six ATF agents quickly regain their composure seeing Ezra sitting on her back holding both hands at the wrists to the floor, while she is still kicking and screaming.

"You don’t want to kill JD," Ezra states.

"Oh yes I do," she replies in an angry, yet calm tone. "Now get off of me."

"Not on your life," Ezra tells her.

"What did you do?" Chris demands of JD, glaring at him.

JD finally gets up and stands there laughing, as his nose and lips drip blood and a dark circle forms around one eye.

"I…uh…kinda waited under her bed holding some ice in my hands until she came upstairs. By the time she was ready for bed the ice had melted and my hands were freezing cold. So I...uh... reached out and grabbed her ankles," he tells the men.

The other six ATF agents try to restrain their laughter. Finally one of them speaks up.

"Well, of all the pranks that have taken place in this house, I believe Mr. Dunne, that you have outdone them all. Congratulations," Ezra states, not letting Samantha go.

"Uh, Chris," Vin says, laughing, "you think we should handcuff her? Just in case?"

"Well, yeah, for our safety at least," Chris replies agreeing with his agent.

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Samantha sits on her bed handcuffed to the bed post.

"This is undignified!" she yells through the closed door, as voices of laughter flow up the stairs.

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"Ezra, you take first watch," Chris orders.

"I don’t know about you guys, but I’m gonna feel a lot safer in my cabin," Josiah comments.

"Me too," Nathan replies as he, Josiah, and Vin start to leave.

"Well boys, think about it, we just got our butt’s kicked by a girl," Buck tells them.

"Seven ATF agents, and we can’t manage one girl," JD says, trying not to laugh.

"Well, you started it," Chris points out.

"Yeah, if I’d had my way and known what you did to her, I wouldn't have tried so hard to stop her from mauling you," Buck states as he sits down.

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Samantha looks over to her nightstand and sees the 'key' to unlocking her shackles. A hair pin. She smiles and reaches for it.

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Ezra looks up from his chair as the door from Samantha’s room opens. She walks out and looks to him.

"Sshh," she whispers putting her finger to her lips.

When he begins to say something she leans over and kisses him full on the mouth. Overtaken by the kiss Ezra has no idea what’s going on. When she stands back up, he finds his wrists handcuffed to the chair, and she begins to gag him with a bandanna. Then with a smile she turns and heads downstairs.

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The next morning, Buck and Chris enter the living room to see Samantha on the couch.

The two agents share a look, and Buck immediately heads to JD’s room.

Chris slowly walks around to look at Samantha, who is fast asleep on the couch, with an empty jar of honey sitting on the coffee table.

Chris looks up to see Buck run into the kitchen, and then rush back to JD’s room with a can of bug spray. Chris follows Buck to their youngest team member’s room. JD is laying on his bed, a trail of honey circling his body and a line of the sticky gooey stuff going up the center of the sheets. His beloved ant farm is overturned in the middle of his bed with the ants surrounding him feasting on the honey.

Chris holds in a laugh as he and Buck enter the room.

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Vin, Josiah, and Nathan walk in about the time Chris and Buck are back in the living room.

Nathan looks to Samantha lying on the couch.

"Tell me he’s alive," he says, looking back to Chris.

"Yeah he is. He’s washing off the honey and ants," Buck tells them, with a chuckle.

"I’m not even going to ask," Josiah says, with a grin on his face.

"Glad I stayed at my cabin last night," Vin states. "Where’s Ezra?"

The five agents hear a thumping noise and turn to see a gagged Ezra, handcuffed to a chair, bumping his way into the room.

Buck walks over and undoes the gag.

"What happened to you?" Vin asks.

"How…?" Buck stutters, laughing.

"How did she get you?" Chris wants to know.

"Mr. Larabee, I did not ask how she disabled you, I believe it only fair for you not to ask me," Ezra states, as Vin uses his key to open the cuffs.

JD walks in toweling off his hair.

"If you’d been on watch, she wouldn’t have done this," JD states angrily to Ezra.

"If you hadn’t pulled that prank, she wouldn’t have had to get you back in the first place," Ezra retorts, unable to take his eyes away from JD’s blackened one.

"Children!" Chris yells.

The seven agents move back a little as Samantha yawns and stretches. JD slowly makes his way behind Buck. She sits up and looks to the agents.

"Morning boys," she states with a smile.

They nod their heads, all afraid to speak.

JD peeks around Buck’s shoulder.

"I guess we’re even," he states hopefully.

"No darlin’," she responds with a lustrous look, "that was only a sample."

THE END

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