Political Suicide

Disclaimers: I make no money, profit in no way other than the pleasure of writing such wonderful characters. For this I thank the creators and actors that brought these men to us. And thanks to Mog for the ATF sandbox.

The ambulance backed into the emergency room bay as attending physician Dr. Victor Shapiro and his team rushed out to greet them. As the ambulance driver jumped out of the vehicle and moved around to open the doors a second vehicle pulled up nearby and five men disembarked, moving determinedly toward the ambulance. The Suburban moved off to the emergency parking area.

"What do we have Jake?" Shapiro asked as the two paramedics pulled the gurney from inside.

"Twenty-seven year-old male, approximately 170. Gunshot wound to the abdomen, non-penetrating, possible broken ribs. Injury to the left knee with swelling and possible injury to left hand. Swelling noted there also. Heart rate steady." Jake continued rattling off statistics as the gurney was wheeled inside, the five men following. One, a lanky blond with an attitude no one wanted to cross, caught up with the gurney and walked along side.

"The guy took a bullet across the stomach, then fell about twenty feet to a concrete floor." Jake concluded less formally. "He's with the ATF. These men work with him." Jake tipped his head toward the four men outside the exam room door and at Chris Larabee, who hovered nearby, out of the way, yet close enough that he could see his agent and friend. A sixth man joined the others.

Vin Tanner looked pale and his eyes squeezed shut periodically against the pain. His blood soaked shirt had been cut off at the scene and a cervical collar now immobilized his head. His jeans had been cut away also and an IV had been started in his right arm. An inflatable splint surrounded his left hand and wrist and another encased his left knee.

"Agent Tanner? Is that you?" Shapiro asked as he used a penlight to check Vin's eye dilation. He had seen these men here before. A nurse was getting a blood pressure reading, while a second transferred the bag of saline solution and checked the IV connection. Jake began gathering up his equipment and moved away through the door and back to his rig.

"Name's Vin…"

"Vin, how are you feeling?" Shapiro continued his exam, concentrating on the bleeding wound.

"Like I been shot and landed on a concrete floor," Vin replied, gritting his teeth as Shapiro began probing the wound.

"We need a portable cat scan and film of the head, chest, left leg and arm. As soon as we rule out a head wound we'll give you something for the pain and get you upstairs to surgery to close up this belly wound Vin."

"No."

"No? No what?"

"No surgery. Stitch it up here."

"Well, we can do that, but a surgeon would do a much nicer job. And with less of a scar. It really is a surgical procedure."

"Don't care about no scar. Jest stitch me up. Need ta get outta here."

"Vin, I'm afraid you'll be our guest for a day or two." Shapiro continued working on Vin as the nursing staff removed the inflatable splints, eliciting a hiss from the sharpshooter as the plastic slid along his injured knee. A portable x-ray was brought in and shots taken of Vin's chest, leg and arm as well as a portable scan of Vin's neck.

Once it was determined there was no head or neck injuries, the cervical collar was removed.

"Vin, we're going to give you something to relax you while we stitch this wound up. Unless you've changed your mind about going to surgery?"

"No. No sedative. Jest stitch it."

Shapiro looked at Vin then turned toward the doorway. The words explosion and casualties could be heard. "Helen, what's all the commotion out there? Find out for me would you? We may be getting some of the Delegation victims here soon." A third nurse pushed her way out the doors as Shapiro turned back to his patient. "We really need to give you something…"

"No!" The force in Vin's voice caused Chris to step forward. Chris already knew what the commotion was about in the hall. All of his men waiting outside the door did. Word had apparently gotten to the press and bulletins were now being issued.

"Vin, why won't you let them give you something? It's going to hurt like hell, Pard."

"They cain't. Cain't knock me out."

"Why not?" Chris stepped even closer, his hand resting on Vin's shoulder as he studied his friend. Vin was stubborn under the best of circumstances, but this was unusual even for him.

"The Eagle's dead ain't he Chris?" Vin's voice was just above a whisper.

"Vin? What eagle? What are you talking about?"

"The Eagle. He's dead. And the others too."

Chris' brow knit together in puzzlement. Then Chris remembered Vin's military training. The Eagle. Often the code word used for the President of the United States. How could Vin know? He had been tailing a mark at the time. More accurately, he had been getting shot and falling off a mezzanine when it had happened. And he had been right across the street from where the bomb went off…

Chris looked into Vin's eyes, seeing pain, but seeing knowledge and a little bit of fear there also. He leaned in closer so that Vin would not have to speak loudly.

"Vin?"

"Chris, they cain't put me under. I know who done it. I saw him. Who ordered the hit."

Chapter 2

Chris Larabee straightened from his bent over position. "No sedation."

Nathan, who had been with the others hovering in the exam room door, began to object. "Chris! He'll be in too much pain…"

Chris held up his hand to silence the man. "Use locals if you can. But he can not be allowed to be put under sedation." As Chris spoke nurses and technicians were coming in with test results. Helen came back in and whispered something to Shapiro, who looked at her in surprise and shock before shaking his head and turning back to Vin's films. Chris leaned back over so the two men could whisper, avoiding as many of the extra ears as possible.

"Vin, did he see you?"

"Yeah."

"I need to call the suits Vin. They need to be here, to debrief you." Chris began to straighten, but Vin's right hand grabbed his sleeve.

"No. Ya cain't do that either. It goes too far Chris." Chris studied his friend. He knew Vin couldn't talk here, could not run the risk of strangers hearing matters of national security. So Vin was going to call the shots on this until Chris could find out what exactly Vin had seen. And Vin couldn't tell him what he knew with so many ears around.

"Okay Vin. You tell me. What do we need to do?"

"Need ta get me outta here. They'll be comin for me and they won't care who they hurt."

"Okay Vin. Let the doctor do his job and we'll get you out of here as fast as we can." Vin nodded and Chris moved out to his men.

"Chris, he needs more than a local. He needs surgery to close that wound properly and we don't even know about the knee yet."

"I know Nathan. And so does Vin. But he can't be put under right now." Chris looked around then led the men in to an empty exam room where he could talk to them in private and yet still watch the room Vin occupied. He was certain they didn't have much time. He began his explanation in as quiet a tone as possible. "Vin knows who killed the President and the other delegates."

He allowed the men a seconds worth of reaction before he continued. "Worse yet, they know who he is and likely know where he is right now. And he claims they will have no problem killing anyone and everyone in their way. So we need to get him out of here. And we need to be very obvious about it, so these jokers know that he's gone."

"Josiah, bring your Suburban around to the entrance. Guard it, and be obvious about it. I don't want anyone but us getting near it. JD, go with him. Ezra, confiscate some blankets and pillows. Make up a bed in the back end of the Suburban. Then find us a safe house where we can take him. Nathan, take care of any meds he may need for several days. Get them however you need to. Buck, no one gets into that exam room except those that are already there. If they need to leave, fine. But only they get back in. Let's get to work. As soon as the doc is done with him we are getting him out of here."

The men moved off, each to his own task. Nathan helped guard the entry, waiting to find out what medications Vin would need. Chris went to talk with the doctor.

Shapiro was reluctantly preparing to stitch the gaping wound in Vin's side. An intern was now busily wrapping Vin's hand in protective bandages past the wrist to immobilize it for a while.

"Hey there darlin', finish that hand up in a nice pretty blue cast to match Junior's eyes." Buck called over from his post at the door.

The intern smiled. "There's nothing broken. Just badly bruised and swollen."

"Sorry Vin. I know how ya love them bright colored casts. Just going to have to do without one this time around." Buck glanced over at Vin before turning his attention back to the activity in the hall.

Chris stood across from the doctor, watching the man as he took the first stitch. Vin drew in a deep breath, but held himself perfectly still as the next stitch was taken. A fine sheen of sweat broke out across Vin's forehead and his right hand gripped the edge of the mattress, but he made no further noise. Chris waited until the intern finished and had moved away before he spoke to the doctor.

"Dr. Shapiro, we have a little situation here and we will be needing your assistance. This man was a witness to a matter of public security and it is vitally important that we move him into protective custody as soon as possible. We need whatever it will take to make him comfortable, physically, for at least a week. That means medications and bandages."

"Mr. Larabee," Shapiro looked up at the leader of Team seven, then returned to his work. "Of course, we will be giving Agent Tanner scripts for pain meds and antibiotics. They should make him relatively comfortable." The man shook his head. "You talk like he knows who bombed the peace delegation today or something."

Chris did not reply, causing Shapiro to look up once more. Chris' stormy glare was enough to confirm what the man had jokingly said as being accurate. Shapiro looked at Vin, who's eyes had opened a fraction wider at the accurate guess. Shapiro had treated many of these men before, knew their reputations, and believed what he had stumbled on to.

"I understand your predicament Mr. Larabee. I'll help out in anyway I can." Then Shapiro turned back to his work. When he finished the stitches Shapiro placed a large pad of gauze over the wound and taped it down. Then Chris helped Vin sit up so that Vin's cracked ribs could be wrapped in bandages. Finally Shapiro turned to the films of Vin's knee.

"Here's the problem." Shapiro pointed to the x-rays. "The kneecap is displaced and the bones separated. We can set them back into place but there has been other damage to the ligaments and tendons. And there is a chip of bone right...here…that has broken off." Shapiro turned and shook his head. "The only fix is surgery. I know, I know. We can get a brace of sorts from Ortho to immobilize it for now until you can get back here for the operation."

Shapiro turned to the nurse he had called Helen, "Call Ortho down here. Tell them it's a rush job and that we need measured for some sort of brace to hold a dislocated kneecap." He turned to Chris as he wrote something on a pad he pulled from his pocket. "Here are scripts for an antibiotic, both oral and salve, and two different pain killers. One is stronger than the other and should be used to start. There's enough for three days. Then use the other. I'll get you everything else you'll need."

Chris handed the scripts to Nathan, who immediately headed to the hospital pharmacy. Shapiro had already turned back to Vin.

"I'm going to shift the kneecap back to where it belongs and place the bones back in alignment. I don't like doing this. I could end up doing more damage to the tissues. It really should be done in a surgical procedure. But this may get you by for a while. It's going to hurt like hell. I can't control that, I'm sorry. And it will keep hurting until it's fixed properly."

"Okay. Jest do it and get it over with. Already hurts. I'll deal with it."

Vin's sharp scream of pain could be heard clear down at the admissions desk.

Chapter 3

Forty five minutes later found Vin being wheeled out to the Suburban, now dressed in a pair of blue scrubs with one leg cut to accommodate a neoprene and metal brace surrounding his left knee. Nathan and Josiah carefully slid Vin into the backend, and tried to get him situated among the pillows and blankets Ezra had gathered. Vin broke out in a cold sweat as they moved him, the shot he had been given in his leg doing little to ease the pain even the slightest movement caused.

Chris climbed in on one side of Vin to help get him propped up so he could breath easier, with Nathan crawling in last. Shapiro appeared with a duffle bag, but seeing them trying to make Vin comfortable, he disappeared again, returning with two foam wedges, one for under Vin's leg and one for him to lean against to keep him semi-upright. Then he turned to Nathan with final instructions.

"I have put two syringes of morphine in here. It's what we would have used if he had allowed us. There are also bandages and ice packs. You should use those now if you can." Shapiro's voice was low. What he was doing could get him into a lot of trouble. He reached down and handed Nathan a portable Oxygen unit. "You know how to use this. Watch for fever and any additional swelling."

Shapiro paused and looked at Vin once more. The man's eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block the pain as Chris gave a final shift to the foam wedge under his back. Vin opened his eyes and met Shapiro's gaze.

"Thanks Doc." Vin managed to say before he gritted his teeth together once more. Ezra moved around to take up his place in the front passenger seat, with JD and Buck piling into the seats behind Josiah.

"Good luck," Shapiro said as he closed the back doors. "You're gonna need it," he added as the vehicle pulled away.

Chris waited until they had gone at least a mile from the hospital before he spoke up.

"Josiah?"

"I think we're clear Chris. I haven't spotted anyone following. Anybody else?"

Buck, JD and Ezra had been studying their back trail also, trying to spot any sign of being tailed. Each replied to the negative.

"Vin?" Chris studied the face next to him. Vin's eyes were closed, his breathing labored, his brow wrinkled as his right hand gripping the blanket they had covered him with until his knuckles turned white. "What happened?"

Vin tried to take a deep breath before he started to talk but the bandaged ribs made breathing hard. Nathan quickly turned on the oxygen and connected Vin up. It helped a little.

"I managed ta dig in deep ta Borega's gang. Ya know he was in ta so much more than guns Chris. But things was strange today. We had a meetin' scheduled but we was interrupted in the middle. Jest felt strange. So I tailed him." Vin paused to catch his breath before continuing.

"Followed him ta that office building across from the convention center. Managed ta follow him down ta the basement where he waited on that storage level. Hid behind some crates."

"Cain't believe it was him. But it was. Had at least eight Secret Service men with him. That's why ya couldn't call 'em Chris. Don't know how deep it goes. How many are involved…"

"Who Vin?" Chris asked, glancing at the others in the car. Everyone but Josiah, who was driving, were watching Vin, hanging on his next words. "Who was it?"

"Stevens. Vice President Stevens."

The car was filled with silence. No one could even be heard breathing except for Vin.

"Are you sure?" Chris managed to ask.

"Yeah. I ended up standin' three feet from him. It was Stevens."

"Don't say another thing Vin." Chris pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Chris, ya cain't…"

"Easy Vin," he said. "Judge, it's Larabee. We need your help. On the QT. No, I can't explain right now. But we need a bug scan and some cash. No one else can know. It's important. Yes, I know…Okay. Yeah. ETA 30 minutes."

"Josiah, remember where we met up with my friend the other day?" Chris asked. He was purposely not giving out any more information than necessary.

"Yes."

"Head there. Until then no one say anything else about this."

Everyone in the SUV nodded in consent.

Thirty minutes later the Suburban pulled into a downtown parking garage and wound it's way to the top level. Josiah pulled up next to a grey Accura. Assistant director Orrin Travis, affectionately known by the nickname Judge, stepped out of the car and, hitting the trunk release button, moved around to the back of the car. He lifted the lid open and removed an object that looked very much like a metal detector from the trunk, handing the item over to JD before approaching Chris, who was carefully climbing out of the backend. JD and Buck went to work as Chris consulted with their boss.

"So what's going on Chris?"

"Vin knows who planted the bomb at the Peace delegation…and who ordered it planted." Chris watched as his men worked. Josiah and Ezra had taken up watch points, just in case anyone had followed them. Nathan had stayed in the back of the Suburban with Vin, the back doors open and awaiting Chris once more.

"Good Lord! We need to get him to the FBI right…"

"Can't." Chris interrupted. "If we did we would be running the risk of getting him killed."

"What do you mean? It's a matter of national security! The longer you wait the better the chances of whoever did this getting away!"

"Orrin, the person that ordered the hit isn't going anywhere. And he's also untouchable right now. We have to get Vin away until we can come up with a plan. Give him a chance to heal some also."

Travis studied Chris' face before answering, reading what he needed from the man's expression, accepting that the situation was a volatile one. "How bad is he?"

"Cracked a couple ribs. Took a pretty deep grazing across his left side. Totally blew his knee out. He needs surgery and he's in a lot of pain. But we can't keep him safe in a hospital. And we have to keep him safe."

"That's a priority right now." Travis agreed. The older man reached into his inner suit coat pocket and removed an envelope. "Money and a credit card. No one should be able to track the name." He reached into an outer pocket and removed a cell phone. "Use this one instead of your personal phones. While the calls can't be traced, the records can be. It's also listed under an alias, so no one should be able to keep track of it either. Even I don't know the number."

Travis approached the back of the Suburban as Buck called Chris to the front of the vehicle.

"Jackson," he acknowledged the former medic. "Tanner, how are you holding up?"

"I'll be all right," Vin answered, opening his eyes to look at Orrin, trying to give the man the respect Vin felt he deserved.

"Well, Nathan here will take good care of you I'm sure. I've given Chris some cash and a credit card so you can get everything all of you need."

"Thanks Judge."

"I feel as though I should be thanking you. Be careful gentlemen." Travis stepped away and joined Chris who was holding something in his hand.

"They work fast." Chris muttered looking at the small metal disc in his hand. "The car was left alone for maybe twenty minutes. They managed to bug it in that amount of time."

Buck and JD finished their scan, finding nothing additional. The two men loaded the detector into the backseat and climbed in as Chris walked over to a metal support beam. Reaching out, he allowed the magnetic bug to attach itself to a beam before letting out a whistle to call in Josiah and Ezra.

"We need to get going Orrin." Chris said as he climbed into the back of the vehicle. Ezra and Josiah climbed in, slamming their doors.

"Good luck gentlemen. I know you'll find a way to do what's right." Orrin closed the door of the Suburban and returned to his own car.

"May God be with you all," he said as the SUV drove off. His own car followed, turning in the opposite direction as they left the garage.

Chapter 4

It was after dark when Josiah pulled up in front of a darkened house. Using the remote Ezra had obtained, he opened the garage door and pulled the vehicle inside, quickly shutting off the lights and using the remote to close the door behind them. Weary men began to climb out, still on full alert.

"No lights. The house is supposed to be closed up while the owners are on vacation." Chris said as Buck and Ezra moved off to check the house over before Vin was moved. Josiah stayed behind the wheel, ready to move out if the need arose. JD stood near the door leading from the house to the garage, gun drawn. He would be back up if the two inside found anything.

Vin slept fitfully in the back end, having been convinced by Chris to accept one of the morphine shots Shapiro had provided. When Buck reappeared in the garage door, signaling the all clear, Nathan and Chris gently moved him to the open back doors, where Josiah moved around to meet them. The big man gathered Vin up in his arms and carried him quickly in to the house, Nathan and Chris following with the medical supplies.

Ezra led them to a bedroom, where he had already turned down the bedding. He took up a position near a window facing the backyard as the sharpshooter was settled in.

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Vin awoke in a darkened room, pain and panic causing him to jerk forward as if to sit up. A gentle hand quickly reached out, pressing his shoulder back into the pillows.

"Easy Pard," Chris whispered, taking a glass from the bedside table and helping his friend take a drink. When he had his fill Vin collapsed back in to the pillows, his breathing heavy and labored. Chris used a damp washcloth to mop off the beads of sweat that had appeared on Vin's brow. "Must have been some dream."

Vin nodded and worked at slowing his breathing. Lord it hurt to breathe! He took the chance to glance around the room. The only source of light came from the window, where faint moonlight entered. Standing off to one side in the shadows, Ezra watched what appeared to be a yard.

"Feel up to telling me exactly what happened?" Chris' voice brought Vin's attention back to the other side of the bed, where Chris sat in a straight-backed chair.

"Yeah," Vin's voice cracked and the glass was once more there. He gathered his thoughts. Even as he began, his speech was interrupted as a sharp pain pierced through his leg. The cracked ribs made talking painful and he paused periodically as he talked.

"Followed Borega ta that storage level and hid among some crates. Saw Stevens and his men, Secret Service, come down and they started talkin' ta Borega. I could hear everthin'. Stevens asked if the bomb was set. Borega told him ta wait. Then we heard the bomb go off. Didn't even hear the SS agent come up behind me, it was so loud. Jest felt the muzzle of his gun against my head." Vin started coughing and Chris helped him drink once more.

"I was herded over ta Stevens. He weren't happy ta say the least. Neither was Borega. Thought Borega was gonna shoot me right then and there. But Stevens said he'd take care of it. Then Borega asked about his payment. Stevens, he turned ta one a his men. 'Pay the man,' he said and he walked away. Next thing I knew the Secret Service starts ta fire. Borega went down like a brick. So did his men. I dove, ended up sliding right over the edge a that…what da ya call it? Mezzanine? Grabbed holda the edge but the agent stepped on my hand. I fell, landed on somethin' afore I hit the floor."

Chris nodded. "A box. Looks like it gave out on you when you hit it. It's probably when you screwed your knee up."

"The next thing I knew ya all were there."

"We had followed you. We entered when we heard the gunshots. Must have chased off the remaining agents. We figured that maybe you had shot Borega and his men and they had shot you. Until you told me what happened in the emergency room."

Vin fought to keep his eyes open, his voice already beginning to drift away as the residual drugs in his system began to take over once more. "I'm sure Stevens was long…gone by the time ya…got…there…"

Chris leaned forward until he heard the steady breathing that indicated Vin was asleep, then leaned back in his chair, raking his hand through his face. Ezra glanced over at the two men.

"Might I say Mr. Larabee, that that young man is a dead man walking?"

"I'm afraid you're right Ezra. And it's our job to keep him, and now ourselves, safe until we can find a solution to this."

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Buck studied the street outside, standing safely in the shadows. Something had caught his attention and he concentrated on determining just what it was.

"Damn…" he swore under his breath.

"JD!" he hissed, trying to get the sleeping agent's attention. "JD!" Finally Buck picked up a book lying on an end table and tossed it at the younger man.

"Huh! Wha…" JD awoke, startled.

"Shhh!" Buck hissed again. "Go get Chris!"

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In the bedroom where Vin slept a semi-drugged sleep Josiah was watching the back yard. Calmly he whispered to the only other man awake in the room.

"Nathan, I'm afraid you need to go awaken Chris. I do believe we have company."

Chapter 5

Chris made his way into the bedroom at the back. Taking a quick glance out the window he started barking quiet orders.

"Nathan, gather up his stuff. Josiah, Ezra is already checking out the garage. Take Vin out there. And we need to hurry. There's at least two others out front. Buck's watching them. Now let's get moving."

Nathan shoved drugs and ice packs into the gym bag and grabbed the oxygen tank he had near the bed. After Josiah had gathered the tracker up into his arms, Nathan grabbed the support pillows and the two men moved quickly through the house to the attached garage. Ezra waited there, watching the backyard through the small window in the door leading outside.

Nathan opened the door to the back of the Suburban and Josiah set Vin inside as gently as possible. Nathan climbed in beside him and did his best to get the sharpshooter settled as Josiah closed the door on them. Moments later JD entered the garage followed by Buck and finally Chris. The three men climbed in to the Suburban as Ezra joined them and Josiah climbed in behind the wheel.

"Everybody down below the windows. I want it looking like its just Josiah in the car. Maybe we can fake them out." The men all moved to get down below window level and Josiah used the remote to open the door. He calmly backed out, closing the door behind him, and backed into the street. They had driven several blocks before Chris let the men sit back up. Ezra immediately reached into the front seat for the garage door remote.

"There is no possible way they could have known where we were, unless my source betrayed me," he muttered as he began to take the remote apart. "Nothing here. Mr. Smith must have given us up. There is no other possible explanation."

"Okay. Plan B. Any ideas anyone?"

"We need to keep moving," Buck volunteered. "Seems to be the only way they can't find us."

Ezra thought for a moment. "I have a compatriot who…"

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Fifteen minutes later Ezra was knocking on the door of an old female acquaintance's home. The porch light snapped on and moments later the door opened.

"Ezra? It's the middle of the night! What are you doing…"

"My dear Michelle," Ezra reached inside the door, flipping the switch to blanket the porch in darkness once more. "I wish to request a favor."

It only took a few moments for Michelle to jump into action. Gathering up blankets, sheets and a few supplies she led the group of seven men around the back of her house and to the other side of a pool house to the large RV parked there. She quickly moved ahead of them and began to methodically make up the bed in the back of the camper. When she was done Josiah gently placed a semi-conscious Vin down, eliciting a small gasp of pain when his leg was jostled, onto the bed. Nathan was next to him in a flash, using the foam wedges to make him as comfortable as possible while Ezra and Michelle made up the balance of the beds with the sheets she had brought along.

"The table lowers and can be made into an additional bed if you need as well as the one above the cab and these two bunks." Michelle began ticking off information about the RV that might come in handy. "The propane tanks should be full but if you want to use the sink or toilet and shower you'll need water. The refrigerator will run off the generator stored under here when the RV isn't running." She pointed to a cabinet as she walked past it.

"You'll need to report this as missing eventually," Chris said as the men settled in and Michelle made her way to the door. Josiah was already moving back around to the front of the house to move his Suburban.

"Chances are good I wouldn't notice it gone for a good long while. It's pretty well hidden from the house." Michelle stepped down and looked back inside. "When this is all over, I deserve an explanation."

"Of course my dear. When this situation has been laid to rest I will explain completely." Ezra replied as he took her hand, kissing her fingers gently. "I'll be in touch in a few days. Then you really should turn it in as stolen. In the mean time we must be off."

"Be careful." Michelle closed the door as Buck started up the big rig and carefully backed it out and into the alleyway.

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The RV pulled up in front of a discount store on the west side of town that was open 24 hours a day. They had parked Josiah's Suburban in the parking garage of the ATF building, Josiah sneaking down the fire escape that lead from the top level.

But now they needed supplies and some clothes. None dared go near their homes to gather up the necessities.

"Use your own expense credit card. Get enough clothes for at least 4 days and whatever else you may need. This will be the last time we use these cards until this whole mess is settled. Josiah, I need you to get some things for Nathan. He'll be staying here with Vin. I'll get clothes for Vin. We've got enough blankets to get us by. Let's not take any longer than necessary."

The five men filed out, each moving on to their appointed task. Once inside they headed off in as many directions as they could and still shop for the needed items. One by one the men moved through the check out with their purchases, Ezra not even complaining about buying discount clothing instead of his usual name brands.

As soon as everyone had returned, Josiah climbed behind the drivers seat and headed back through town before taking the interstate heading east.

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