Believe Me, please

The team had been given a weekend leave after the 6 month case they had just closed. It had been hard, especially for the younger ones in the group. JD Dunne and Vin Tanner had went undercover at a local high school to find out who was running guns in the faculty. There had been three fatal shootings of teenagers when the police department had asked for their help.

JD had uncovered the dirty teacher and unfortunately paid for it, with a beating that was suppose to result in death, but thankfully Vin had his usual impeccable timing. Buck Wilmington had insisted they pull the plug on the case after seeing the bruised and bloody body of his friend, but Dunne had convinced them they were too close to end it then. So, with reluctance they continued and finally busted Mr. Ian Thompson and his thugs.

Chris Larabee talked them all into coming out to his ranch for the little vacation and was happy when they had all agreed, but like anything else when your the best at what you do, the reprieve was interrupted by the fateful call to duty.

"Buck, you and JD circle around the back and see what you can find out." Larabee's stern voice echoed in the huddle. "Ezra, your with me here in the front. We may need you and your fast talk." Standish let a half grin crease his face as the leader continued. "Josiah, you and Nate place yourselves at the far end of the building so when the hostages are released you can tend to them." Chris waited for the men to disperse before his eyes fell on the sharpshooter. "Vin, I need you across the street on the roof. SWAT has their snipers in various positions, but.." The older agent couldn't bring himself to finish his thought. His gut was protesting the words, knowing that to ask Tanner to take this assignment, meant he would be vulnerable for any snipers' the terrorists' might have.

The long-haired agent let a slow smile cross his features, reading his best friends' thoughts perfectly. "Don't worry, cowboy." Vin slapped the man lightly on the shoulder as he grabbed his 30/30 lever action rifle. It wasn't federal issue, but it was the only thing Tanner would use.

"Watch your back." Larabee felt his voice catch as he followed the retreating man.

"Do not worry, Mr. Larabee. I'm sure our Mr. Tanner will accomplish his task with perfection as usual." Standish tried to hide the concern in his words, but the raised eyebrow and smirk from his superior told him he had failed.

"I'm sure he will." Chris turned back to the federal mint and wondered yet again how they ended up in these situations.

+ + + + + + +

"Eagle one to Eagle two, do you copy?" Larabee's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie causing JD to jump slightly.

Buck grinned as he pressed the reciever on his two-way. "Eagle two in position. No movement from this side. Over."

"Ten-four. Stand-by."

"Hey, Buck. Who do you think would pull something like this?" Dunne was impatient and over-exuberant in normal situations, but in a crisis, he was downright unstable.

"JD, if I knew that, then we would be one step closer to enjoying those steaks we left at Chris's. Now, would you please chill." Wilmington shook his head and sighed.

"I was just asking a question, you don't have..." The kid's words were stopped by a hand over his mouth.

"Listen." The older agent pulled his hand away and pointed to the bay doors near the back of the building. As they watched, two men emerged in masks, leading a couple of civilians.

"Eagle two to Eagle one. We have contact." Wilmington clasped his walkie-talkie to his pants and motioned for JD to go to the right while he went left. A flanking technique militaries had used through out history. The bandits never knew the men where there until they felt the 9mm Beretta's pressed to the base of their skull.

"Easy does it boys. My finger's kinda of itchy today." Buck's usually jovial voice had dropped to a deadly whisper. "Now, you two are gonna come along peaceably." The two agents' pushed the terrorists' around the building with the hostages following at their heels.

As soon as Larabee spotted them, he motioned for a couple of black and whites to take the prisoners' and get them to the precinct asap and see to the newly released captives.

"You two alright?" Chris's eyes roamed the agents' in front of him and sighed when he found no new holes.

"Piece of cake." JD's grin sliced his face in half, but quickly vanished as Wilmington cuffed him in the back of the head.

"Sometimes, son..." The older agent rolled his eyes and turned back to the action.

+ + + + + + +

"You inside. This is Special Agent Larabee of the ATF. Throw down your weapons and come out with your hands up." Chris placed the bullhorn back on top of the squadcar and waited.

"Mr. Larabee. Do you actually believe these miscreants will comply?" Ezra quirked an eyebrow toward the leader and was met with a cold grin.

"Hell no. I just like to make it fair."

Standish couldn't help the slight chuckle or the sudden gasp of surprise as the hostages began emerging from the entrance. "I believe your words have power today."

The four men stared dumbfounded at the sight before them, but that suddenly changed as gunfire erupted. They had no idea where the bullets came from, but as the screams met their ears, they knew where they were going.

+ + + + + + +

"Nathan, get down." Josiah and Jackson had broke cover the minute the first prisoner had surfaced, but were both scrambling to get away from the rapid fire.

"What the hell happened?" Nate pushed a woman toward the bushes behind him as he crouched beside Sanchez.

"I have no idea, brother. I saw the terrorists come out of the building with hands raised and then the gunfire."

The younger agent threw his friend a disbelieving glance. "You mean this was started by one of our own." Jackson couldn't understand it. They had won. The hostages were being released.

"It seems that way and it gets worse." Josiah turned to face the other. "The first shot came from Vin's position."

"You've got to be joking. Vin would never fire without reason." Nathan protested, knowing Tanner would never do anything unprovoked.

"Lets just hope he has a damn good reason." The missionary's son gazed back to the carnage that now littered the parking lot of the mint. At least three dead and more than five still lay wounded. "A damn good reason."

+ + + + + + +

"Eagle three, report." Larabee yelled into the two-way but was met by static. "Damnit, where the hell is he?"

Buck glanced from JD's now ashen face to the furious one of Chris. "You can't be thinking this is his fault." Wilmington gasped.

The leader swiveled toward his friend. "I know Vin, and he would never endanger innocent lives." The blue ice glare cut straight through Buck. Larabee let his gaze rest on the other two surrounding him, before he took off toward the rooftop of the nearby building.

As he reached the entrance, he glanced over his shoulder to the scene still unfolding. What the hell went wrong? He shook his head and slung the door outward, taking the stairs two at a time.

+ + + + + + +

Vin Tanner stared at the chaos and then at the rifle he held loosely in his hands. He started to turn and go downstairs to help, but he was stopped as Chris rushed through the doorway.

Larabee paused to catch his breath and lost it once more as his eyes fell on the ashen face staring at him. He raised up and began to walk to Tanner, but Vin backed away. "Vin?" It was a simple question but apparently wasn't taken as such.

"You think I did it, don't you?" The younger agent didn't hide the anger that was engulfing him.

The leader paused, not sure how to approach the situation, which was the wrong thing to do. Tanner took the silence as a yes.

Vin threw the gun at Larabee's feet, along with his sidearm and badge. "Go ahead, take 'em." The sharpshooter passed the older man without a glance back.

"VIN!" Chris turned to stop the other's retreat but it was too late. "Damnit." He ran a shaky hand through his sweat soaked hair and felt like throwing in his badge as well.

"Eagle one, come in, please." Ezra's southern drawl sounded foreign over the airway, but Larabee answered.

"Go ahead."

"I think you better get down here. The situation has reached a point I'm afraid may turn explosive."

Chris immediately knew something was terribly wrong when Standish hadn't used any of his ten dollar words. "Shit." He reached down and grabbed the weapons and badge, before fleeing the rooftop.

+ + + + + + +

"Where the hell is he?" Captain Dan Jorgenson of the Denver PD SWAT faced off with Buck.

"I'm telling you for the last time, take it easy. Chris will be down with Vin in a minute." Wilmington was trying his damndest to keep his temper reigned in, but the good captain was trying his patience.

"Whats going on?" Larabee's gruff voice cut off any more conversation between the two.

"I was just asking the agent here where the bright ass who caused this mess was. I thought you boys were suppose to be the best." Jorgenson had left his brains at home or he would have known to let well enough alone at the sight of Chris's expression.

"Let me explain something to you, Capt. We are the best and until all the facts are in, I suggest you refrain from accusing any of my team of anything. Do I make myself clear?" Larabee had stepped toe to toe with the SWAT officer and their faces almost touched.

"Loud and clear." Dan stared at the leader for a moment before returning to his own team.

"Chris, what the hell is going on?" Buck gazed at his friend with a helpless scowl.

"I don't know. But what I do know, is something is not right here, and somehow, Vin is jammed right in the middle of this mess." Larabee trailed off at the approach of Josiah and Nathan. "Whats the verdict?"

At the grim faces of the two agents', the news wasn't gonna be good. "Four DOA's and five seriously wounded, not including the perps. Their all dead." Sanchez paused at a thought.

"And.." Chris wasn't usually an impatient man, but the longer he stood here the farther away he let Vin get, both emotionally and physically.

"Well, thats the strange part. All three were shot once in the head from long range and within mere seconds of one another." Josiah saw the puzzled looks reflecting his own.

"Mr. Sanchez, I am not a gambling man, but if I were, the odds to that would be highly improbable." Ezra pulled at his sleeve.

"Improbable, yes. Impossible, no." Chris glanced down at the rifle he held and for the first time noticed its warmth.

"What do you mean, Chris?" Nathan asked.

"How many snipers did Jorgenson have stationed?" The leader stepped up to the nearest car, placing Vin's sidearm and badge on top and then popping the chamber on the rifle.

"Three, I think." Wilmington stepped up beside his partner, noticing the silver star for the first time. "Where's Vin, Chris?" Buck didn't like the sinking feeling entering his stomach.

"Nate, did you see the bodies of the gunman?" Larabee never ceased his inspection as he quizzed the other men.

"Yeah."

"Were all the entrance wounds the same?"

"Yes. Why?" Jackson also came to stand with the two men.

Chris shut the rifle and turned to his men. "I think we have a very serious problem." The leader hated the words before they ever left his lips. "I need you boys to buy me some time, until I can find Vin. And, get all the info you can on Jorgenson and his team. If things stand the way they are,.." Larabee paused.

"Vin's gonna take the fall for this." JD had remained quiet up until he had figured out were the others were headed in their conversation. "Theres no way, Chris. He would never fire unless fired upon." Dunne felt compelled to defend his friend.

"I know that JD." The older agent stopped, taking control of his voice. "I know that, JD, but until we come up with the reason this happened, their gonna look for Vin's head on a platter."

The six men exchanged worried glances. "You bes' hurry, Chris. I don't know how long we can keep them off our backs." Nathan looked toward the SWAT leader, who was talking intently to a news reporter.

"I will." Larabee grabbed the badge from the hood of the car and ran to his truck, wishing the whole way he would wake up from this nightmare soon.

+ + + + + + +

I still can't believe he lives in this part of town. Chris shook his head at the run down streets, and gang grafitti on the walls. Purgatorio. The brick building that Vin called home was the only one that didn't sport a turf symbol, which had a lot to do with Tanner. He had fought long and hard to get the streets clean and was succeeding, somewhat.

Larabee sighed as he spotted the new blue Wrangler in front of the home. The younger agent had only purchased the Jeep recently and was overjoyed with it. The leader pulled his black Dodge in behind it and swallowed back the fear that had clutched his heart.

He knew without a doubt Vin would never kill anyone in cold blood, but after his inspection of the 30/30, the three missing bullets, his belief was wavering. Only one way to find out the truth. Larabee opened the door and was stepping out when he saw his best friend emerging from the building with a suitcase in hand.

"Where are you going?" Chris slammed his truck door and rushed to meet the other man by his Jeep.

Vin glanced up briefly, but continued throwing his luggage in the back of the topless vehicle and attempted to get in, when he felt the grip on his forearm.

"I asked you a question." Larabee rarely lost his temper, especially to Vin.

Tanner finally raised his eyes to meet that of his friend's. "I'm taking a vacation." The hoarse whisper held an underlying fury the leader had never heard before.

"I've never known you to run." Chris let his hand drop as the sharpshooter straightened up and shut the Wrangler's door.

"I ain't running from nothing. I turned in my badge. I'm through and theres nothing more to say." Vin turned once more, but again was stopped. "Damnit, Chris, let me go." Tanner whirled on his friend.

"What the hell's gotten into to you? First, you think I'm accusing you of murder, then you throw your badge and guns at me, now your leaving without so much as an explanation. I wanna know whats going on, and I wanna know now." The aquamarine gaze locked with the ice blue one.

As Vin stared into those eyes he saw nothing but concern and worry. "Damn." He sighed heavily and ran both hands through his hair, shifting away from the other man. "I'm sorry, cowboy."

Larabee thought he had imagined the soft words, but as the younger man turned back toward him he knew they were real. The anger and rage were gone and Vin's usually refined stature had returned.

"Nothing to be sorry for, just wondering why you felt the need to run from us." Chris replied. From me. He added to himself. He had kept everyone at bay until he saw this lanky man save Nathan. The moment their eyes met, he knew they were destined to be friends', hell brothers'. "Lets go up and talk." Larabee raised his arm, clapping Tanner began the neck. "That is if we survive the trip." The leader had noticed their yelling match had attracted the local colors.

Vin chuckled softly. "Don't worry about them. Their the watchdog group I've put together, they won't bother us." Tanner slapped his friend's back slightly before leading the way to the apartment.

+ + + + + + +

"Where are they?" AD Travis paced the bullpen, staring each of the five agents' down.

"They were going to follow up on a lead. They'll be.." Wilmington cut his speech short as Orin stopped in front of him.

"Don't give me that crap, agent. You know as well as I do that Jorgenson is trying to pin this thing on Tanner and if he doesn't show up soon with his side of this story, I'm afraid there won't be anything I can do to help." AD sighed. "Just tell them to hurry when you talk to them." Travis turned and went back to his office.

"Whats up with this captain anyway? He went straight for Vin before the shooting had even stopped." JD tapped the keys of his computer dejectedly. They hadn't found anything in the men's files from the p.d. and had done full backgrounds with nothing, except they had all done tours in the army.

"I don't know, JD, but it does seem he is determined to take down Vin no matter what." Josiah put down his coffee cup and picked up another file. Dan Jorgenson had been the model of excellence since joining the force, but the older agent had a gut feeling something was missing. "JD, did you say the captain and his team had all served in the army?" Sanchez stood up and walked to the younger agent's desk.

"Yeah, they all got honorable discharges, but they didn't serve their full tours. Seems they all got out early..." Dunne paused as he scanned the computer screen. "Thats strange."

"What is it, kid?" Buck also came to stand next to the youth.

"Well, they all had the same commanding officer but at different times, but Jorgenson said in a statement he made when forming the team, he had never heard of or seen these guys before." JD turned happy eyes to his friends'.

"I'm not following, son." Wilmington frowned.

"Okay, I'll tell ya again. Each man on the SWAT has served tours in the army under the same commanding officer but at different times." The young agent stopped until understanding became evident in the four mens' faces. "And Jorgenson stated that he had never heard of or seen any of these guys before they applied for SWAT." JD waited.

"And you are attempting to tell us what, Mr. Dunne?" Ezra threw the agent an exasperated look.

"Guys, come on. I've read the army jackets. They were the best and each received at least one commendation, even their commanding officer seemed to think highly of them. So, wouldn't you think they would be some plaques or something showing their accomplishments and this would be seen by any who had served on the base or in the same outfit."

"But, what does that have to do with the SWAT team, JD?" Nathan raised a quizzical brow to the kid.

"Well, don't it seem sorta suspicious to you guys that all these guys ended up on the same squad. Thats little more than mere coincendence. I mean, they served in the same branch, under the same guy..." Dunne was beginning to get frustrated at his fellow co-workers.

"So, what your saying is maybe this was a setup. That Jorgenson has snowed everybody and is really a mastermind, who has devised a team of mercenaries that are protected by the law, because they are the law. Son, you've been watching way too much television. What do you think they are? Some kind of hired killers or something?" Wilmington started to laugh at the youngster audacity, but stopped when Josiah placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What if there is some logic to what you said." Sanchez looked from one man to another. "It is very farfetched but as Chris said earlier, not impossible." The five men shivered at the very thought of even one word of what had been said being true. A proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing.

"If this turns out to have any basis of truth, then why go after Mr. Tanner or what does that have to do with what happened today?" Standish hated being the devil's advocate.

"I don't know, Ezra, but my gut says we better find out soon." Jackson grabbed some files from JD's desk and headed to records, while the others branched out to start their own investigation.

+ + + + + + +

Vin took two beers from the fridge and handed one to Chris as they both walked to the living room. Larabee took a seat near the window and waited as Tanner leaned against the wall.

"I didn't fire first." The agent watched to see if the other man believed him before continuing. "I was listening to you over the walkie and knew Buck and JD had two of the perps. I also saw the hostages leaving the building and the gunman right behind them. I was about to lower my rifle when I caught a glint from one of the terrorists' and saw his hand coming from behind his head. I reacted." Vin took a long pull on the beer, glancing out the window.

"Nobody found any weapons near the perps." Larabee kept his voice low and firm, trying not to sound accusing.

"I figured as much." Tanner turned his gaze back to his friend. "I saw the guns Chris. They were as plain as you and me sitting here. The thing is, I took those guys out and there shouldn't have been any other casualties."

"Then who shot the civilians, Vin?" The leader rose and came to stand by the younger agent.

"If it wasn't me or the bad guys, then.." The lanky man let his voice trail off not wanting to accuse anyone without proof.

Chris turned and stared out the window this time, his mind running through possible scenerios he didn't like. "Damn, something's definitely not right here." He swiveled back to Vin. "Why didn't you say all this back at the mint? Why did you throw down your badge and run?" Larabee waited, watching a number of emotions cross his friend's face, until it stopped on sadness.

"The whole scene was like a waking nightmare." The sharpshooter's voice had dropped so low, Chris had to lean toward him to catch the words.

"What do you mean, Vin?"

"When I was in the Rangers, we were ordered to this town in the Mid-East. We were just suppose to be there as a show of force against these radicals, The Holy Reformers. Some religious cult that believed Christianity was the only religion and used terrorist attacks to enforce their beliefs." He paused, caught in the past.

"And?"

Tanner shook his head from the reverie. "They had taken over this church full of patrons. At least twenty of them, men, women, even children. They demanded that we leave the land and take all that soiled it with atheist talk. I still have no idea why we were really there. It wasn't our jurisdiction, hell, we weren't even trained for these kind of situations. There was this local negotiater that talked them into giving up the hostages. They did and was following them out, just like they did today." Vin looked Chris dead in the eye. "I saw their guns then too, only my commander stopped me from firing. They cut them down like they were nothing. They shot them in the back, Chris. Some of them were barely old enough to walk." His voice caught and turned back to look out the window. "I swore I would never let that happen again. My LT had the nerve to tell me later when I asked him why he took my gun away, that we were there to watch, nothing more."

Vin felt Chris's hand on his shoulder and allowed the strength from it to engulf him.

"Look, Vin.." Larabee never had a chance to finish his sentence as the glass in the window suddenly shattered and a searing pain burned through his left shoulder.

+ + + + + + +

"What did you find?" Josiah and the others had met in the conference room for privacy and didn't relish what they had found.

"Seems our young Mr. Dunne was on to something. I went and talked with some friends at the precinct and they told quite a story." Ezra opened his briefcase and extracted a manilla folder. "There has been four murders in the past five months that the murder weapons trace back to ones that had been taken from the evidence room at the county lockup. They weren't stolen, just misplaced, so to speak."

"How did they know the murders' were committed with these guns?" Nathan pulled out a leather chair and sat down.

"It appears the murderer likes weapons of uniqueness. Each of the firearms used were specially crafted and left a significant signature." Standish slid the jacket to the middle of the table.

"What does that have to do with Jorgenson and his men?" Sanchez picked up the file and began glancing through it.

"Nothing, unless you look at the way the murders' were committed. Mercenary style. It has caught the attention if IAD and they have formed this expose' on our wonderful SWAT team." The conman made his contempt known with his last words.

"But what does that have to do with Vin and the shooting earlier?" Buck threw down his paperwork with a sigh and began to frantically pace the room.

"What if Vin messed up their plan somehow, and the only way to cover their tracks is to find another scape goat, so to speak." JD looked up from his paper and was met with very surprised looks. "What?"

"They were in on it. The whole robbery and hostage situation was a setup and because we happen to be there..." Jackson stopped and stared at his friends'.

"We messed up their plan." Wilmington's sinking feeling turned into a quicksand pit. "We better contact Chris and Vin quick." He reached for the phone, but before he could pick it up, it began ringing. "Wilmington."

"Buu..cck?" The voice was weak but recognizable.

"Chris? Where are you, whats wrong?"

"Vin's pll..a..ceee." The line suddenly went dead.

"Chris! Chris!" Buck began beating on the phone and finally slammed it down in frustration.

"Buck, whats wrong?" Dunne had never seen his friend so frantic before.

"Somethings wrong with Chris and he's at Vin's. Lets go." The five ran from the room forgetting about anything and everything.

+ + + + + + +

Chris Larabee stared longingly at the now dead phone in front of him, hating the feeling of helplessness and the gunbarrel at his temple.

"Good job, Larabee. Seems you gave Mr. Tanner a few more hours to live." The gray haired man chuckled softly as he holstered his 9 mm and went to stand beside the half-conscious form of Vin. "Its amazing sometimes how I can read people so well. Here I thought you would be some hardass, no reason, kind of guy and all I had to do was threaten a friend and you turn into a pussycat." The man emphasised his sentence with a hard kick to Tanner's left side. The younger agent yelped softly, trying to roll away from the attack.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" The older agent's blue eyes had become hardened as he watched the scene.

"Why, that is rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm General Steven Blankenship, retired of course." The man laughed and delivered another blow to Vin's side.

Chris knew losing his temper wouldn't help matters, but watching this lunatic injure his best friend was testing his limits. "That only answered one of my questions. What do you want with us?"

The general finally walked away from the hurt agent and faced Larabee. "It seems you and your team may have stumbled onto my little operation that is yet fully functional. Therefore, I need to do a little damage control, namely, take you and your men out of the game." The stoned faced man turned briefly to the shattered remains of the window then back to his men. "Get these two in position. I want this quiet and fast." Blankenship gave the two agents' a quick once over before leaving the apartment.

"You know you'll never get away with this don't you!" Chris struggled unsuccessfully with his captor, wincing as a pain shot through his wounded shoulder.

"Save it. We've vowed a loyalty to the general and all your hostage negotiation training ain't worth a damn." The red haired soldier pushed the reluctant agent to the back bedroom, throwing Larabee to the floor once there. "Keep quiet or I'll put a bullet in both your brains right now." The man stepped aside and the other captor dropped Vin beside Chris, then they both turned, locking the door behind them.

Larabee didn't waste a second. "Vin, can you hear me?" He eased the younger man onto his back, noting the pool of blood beginning to form on the floor under Tanner's right arm. "Come on, cowboy. Talk to me." The leader ignored the agony of his gunshot wound as he began a quick examination. "Damn!" Chris swore, as he found the bullet entrance just above Vin's right lung, but low enough to cause damage.

"That was my first thought." The sharpshooter's voice was low and husky, but had an underlying strength.

"How do you feel?" Larabee was now checking for an exit wound.

"Like I been shot and kicked." Vin let a semblence of his slow grin crease his lips.

"Well, your sense of humor still sucks, so I guess thats a good sign." Chris tried to give the younger man a glower but the relief at seeing his friend alive made him fail.

"You alright?" Tanner asked, coughing suddenly. "Whats going on?"

"Some insane general is trying to kill us. Nothing out of the ordinary." Chris reached behind him and quickly took the pillow from its case and wrapped the sharpshooter's chest. "And I'm fine. Just a nick in the shoulder."

"Damn, you wanna be a little easier there, pard." Vin glared at his best friend, but was met with a sly smile.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't want Nathan chewing my ass out cause I didn't get the bleeding stopped." Larabee finished his bandaging and quickly began seeing to his own wound. "Your ribs feel broke?"

Tanner lifted himself slowly to a sitting position with only slight twinges of pain. "Naw, just bruised a little. Whats the plan?" Vin had remembered bits and pieces of the men's conversation, especially the part about ambushing the guys.

"We get the hell outta here and warn the boys." Chris's voice dripped with anger.

"What are we waiting for." With Larabee's help, Vin stood and the two men began searching the room for weapons. "Damn. They took all of 'em."

The two agent's stared dejectedly at the empty safe that usually housed the sharpshooter's guns.

"I guess that means we do this the old fashioned way." The leader's face split into a grin.

Tanner rolled his eyes. "Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better."

+ + + + + + +

"Step on it, Buck!" JD's young voice rang through the truck cab.

"I'm going as fast as I can, kid." Wilmington never let his gaze leave the road, but knew their youngest partner was worried. Hell, they all were. Josiah, Nathan, and Ezra were following in the conman's Jag, both had lights blinking.

"What do you think has happened?" Dunne chance a glance at his best friend.

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good." Buck let one hand drop from the steering wheel long enough to give the boy a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder.

All words ceased as the two cars approached Purgatorio. It was the worst part of the city, but Vin insisted on living here and somehow he had become the community's protector. So, the fellows had let the badgering stop concerning his dwelling, as Ezra would say.

They pulled into two empty spaces and before the cars engine died, they were headed to the apartment building. Before they opened the door, JD grabbed Wilmington's arm.

"Buck, whats that?" Dunne pointed upward to the top windows near the corner. Something was being lowered.

The other four chanced a glanced upward, wondering about the object.

"It looks like a sheet tied in knots." Nathan moved toward the corner of the building, trying to get a better view.

"Isn't that Brother Vin's apartment." Josiah was standing beside the healer.

"I believe that would be a correct assumption, considering Mr. Larabee just crawled out the window and is now dangling on the sheet." Ezra's voice caught as fear ran up his body. Chris was slowly descending the rough impression of a rope.

"What the hell is he doing?" Buck didn't stop to get an answer as he headed toward the alleyway, knowing the firescape was on that side.

He was halfway up the stairs when he saw Larabee attempting to swing himself toward the structure. "Damnit, Chris, what are you doing?"

The older agent, hearing his name, swiveled his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted his friend's pale face. "Trying to get the hell out of that apartment. Wanna give me a hand here." Larabee pushed off the building with his foot and aimed at Wilmington. Luckily, Buck reflexes were very good as he caught the leader and pulled him over the side of the escape. "Thanks pard." Chris flashed him a warm, but painful smile.

"Where's Vin?" Jackson and the others had followed the womanizing agent up the stairs.

"Should be right behind me." The older agent turned to the sheet but found nothing. "Damnit Vin, come on."

The six men stared at the unmoving sheet, each willing it to move.

"I'm going back after him." Chris grabbed for the makeshift rope, but Buck intercepted his hands.

"I don't think so. Your bleeding like a stabbed pig." Wilmington moved over slightly, letting Nathan get in position to check Larabee's wound.

"Damnit, get out of the way. I've gotta go back for Vin." The leader tried once more but was met with two more pairs of hands.

"I'll go. You gentlemen take care of our fearless leader and I shall return with the lost sheep." Standish stepped forward, taking the sheet with both hands and lifting himself easily into the air.

"Be careful, Ezra." Larabee tried to hide the fear, but the loss of blood and the intensity of the situation made it impossible. "He's hurt." Chris whispered the last as the blackness threatened to engulf him.

"Don't worry, pard. We'll take it from here." Buck patted his friend's good shoulder as he supported the semi-conscious man.

"They're waiting for you." Larabee got the words out before falling limply into Wilmington's arms.

"That means Ezra could be climbing into a trap." JD looked up quickly, catching the undercover agent disappearing over the window sill.

+ + + + + + +  

The sight that greeted Standish was a frightening one indeed. Vin was struggling with a giant twice his size and was apparently losing. The undercover agent didn't waste anytime as he entered the fray and quickly

subdued the attacker but unfortunately he hadn't seen the second captor until it was too late.

He felt the blade slice threw his side, instinctively turning to the culprit responsible.

"Seems we have a new member to this party!" The red headed soldier grinned as he dangled the blood soaked knife in front of Ezra.

"Well, as my sainted mother would say, its always better to be fashionably late then to never arrive at all." Standish lunged for the oaf and breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of the man's nose breaking, coupled with his slumping to the floor unconscious. "Thank you mother for convincing me to take those boxing lessons." He swiped a hand across

his sweat-soaked brow and immediately noticed the silence surrounding him. VIN!

Ezra turned to the last place he had seen the sharpshooter and was half relieved, half scared when he found him lying on the floor. He rushed over and knelt by the lanky agent's prone form.

"Vin, Mr. Tanner, can you hear me?" The conman reached a shaky, bloody hand out and touched the other man's cheek. A slow moan followed the action.

"Damn, that hurts." The whispered response was music to Ezra's ears and made him feel light-headed. Correct that, Standish, that would be due to the blood loss you are experiencing. He looked to Tanner once more and was met with tired, pain-filled blue eyes. "CHRIS!" The sharpshooter attempted to get up but only succeeded in gasping in pain and falling to

the floor.

"Easy, Vin. Mr. Larabee is fine. He's with the others. Just rest." The older agent patted Vin's shoulder lightly and was happy when he saw him drift off into what he hoped was a peaceful sleep. He started to stand when he heard a shout in the next room. Ezra drew his 9mm and aimed it to the broken remains of the bedroom door.

"EZ! Where are you?" Buck's boisterous voice caused Standish to relax.

"We are in here, Mr. Wilmington and would you be so kind as to call the paramedics..." The undercover agent never finished his sentence as he too succumbed to the blackness.

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"Damn, if they ain't the sorriest looking bunch!" Buck couldn't contain the grin that split his face as he saw the two agents sprawled side by side in Vin's bedroom floor.

Nathan quickly gave them the once over. "Ezra's bleeding pretty bad, but

the cut ain't that deep, so it shouldn't leave a scar."

"He'll be happy to hear that." JD had just finished a sweep of the apartment with Josiah and stood in the doorway watching.

"What about Vin?" Wilmington had knelt beside the sharpshooter and saw the pale face.

The healer checked the bandage Chris had put on Tanner's wound earlier and frowned. "The bleeding had stopped but looks like either he hit something or someone hit him and got it aggravated again. His ribs don't

seem broken, but we do need to get him to the hospital." Jackson replaced the makeshift bandage and turned to head towards the living room.

"Looks like Ez did a number on this fellow." Sanchez squatted beside the

still unconscious captor.

"Indeed I did, Mr. Sanchez. He had the nerve to attack me while I was fending off the other miscreant from harming Mr. Tanner." Standish raised his head and slowly rolled onto his right elbow.

"What other guy?" Dunne looked around the room expectantly, but it was only them and broken nose.

The conman glanced around quickly. "He must have fled when he saw me take now that gentleman over there."

"That means he's heading toward his boss." Buck gazed at his partners' and saw the same expression he knew was reflected on his, anger. "If he tells that bastard we're on to him, we'll never be able to prove anything."

"Then I suggest we get our fallen comrades taken care of and put a halt to that prospect." Ezra stood up, swaying slightly, but quickly regained

his footing. "Shall we?"

JD shook his head. "You better hope we get out of here before Nathan finds out what your up too."

A frown crossed the conman's features. "Indeed." He looked past the younger agent's shoulder, spotting Jackson heading back toward them. "It

is always approriate for a gentleman to exit the same way he entered. I shall join you downstairs." Standish backed toward the window hastily and had just started down the makeshift ladder when the healer entered the room.

"Where the hell is Ezra?" Nathan gave each agent an accusing stare, but was ignored, until his gaze fell on blue eyes that had suddenly opened. He followed the glance Vin gave him and rushed to the window sill. He spotted Ezra about half way down. "If you fall off that damn rope, don't

expect me to come down there and see if your still alive." The healer sighed as he saw Standish step onto the fire escape. "Damn fool." He turned back into the room and found himself alone with Vin. "Now, where did they go?" Jackson threw his hands in the air as heard the front door

shut. "I don't know why I even try."

"How's Chris?" Tanner started to get up, but a restraining hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"They took him to the hospital and I made sure to tell them to keep him sedated until I got there or there would be hell to pay."

"Good thinking, Nate." Vin started to say more, but a sharp pain assualted him and he gasped.

"Easy, just take it easy." Nathan checked his ribs once more and was satisfied they weren't broken. "As soon as I get you to the hospital, I'll find out what the others are up too. Alright?"

Tanner couldn't do anything but nod as he once again was engulfed by the

darkness.

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24 hours later at Four Corners Mercy Hospital:

He heard their voices but didn't know if he was still dreaming or finally coming back to reality. Chris blinked slowly, noticing the white

walls and ceiling surrounding him, the hospital. VIN! Larabee sat up quickly in the bed and immediately regretted it. The mixture of blood loss and sedatives decided his stomach no longer needed its contents.

"Easy, Chris." Buck placed a comforting hand on his friend's uninjured arm and eased him back onto the bed. "Its alright."

"Buck?" The leader quickly sought out the familiar face.

"Right here, pard. We're all here. Safe and sound, well most of us anyway." Wilmington grinned as he thought about one of his partners' in particular but that quickly vanished as he saw the stricken expression on Chris's face. "Now, you just take it easy there pard. I didn't mean that the way you think I meant. Vin's just fine, in fact he's cooling his heels in the bed next to ya." The jovial agent moved aside to let Larabee take in the sleeping form of his best friend.

The older agent visibly relaxed and sighed, closing his eyes as he felt his emotions trying to overwhelm him. "Then what the hell did you mean, Buck?" The icy Larabee glare had returned full force as the blue eyes opened once more.

"Well, I was talking about Ezra. He got sliced at the apartment when he went up to get Vin, but its nothing, won't even leave a scar, but he kinda left back out of the window when Nate wasn't looking to help us collar the SWAT boys. And well, lets just say he's getting the Jackson lecture on pulling fool stunts, which he won't soon forget." Buck started chuckling as he saw the twinkle enter his friend's eyes.

Larabee soon sobered up as his mind drifted back to the apartment. "What

about Blankenship?"

"Who?" Wilmington asked.

"The psychotic general who planned to off us." Chris watched as the other agent's puzzlement grew.

"The only bad guys we bagged was the SWAT. Once we took them into custody they started spilling their guts about the shooting and how they

had been in on it and knew the robbers had weapons, but was ordered to hold fire and then dispose of the guns before anybody else had noticed."

"So Vin wasn't at fault."

"Hell no! That boy saved a lot of lives. It was the trigger happy officers that injured the civilians." The digust was evident in Buck's voice as he saw the fury flare in Chris's gaze, but before they could continue the conversation a southern voice caught their attention.

"I assure you I understand completely Mr. Jackson and it will never happen again." Ezra tried to put on his most sincerest face but knew from the look on Nathan's he had failed.

"Yeah right. You listen about as well as the other invalids in this room." The healer snorted, which caused the five men surrounding him to laugh.

"Can't a person get any rest around here." Vin opened his eyes to find five smiling faces looking at him, but the one he wanted to see the most

was missing. He started to panic when he heard the voice.

"Bout time you woke up, cowboy." The sharpshooter glanced to his left and met the blue eyes of his best friend.

"Figured the longer I stayed asleep, the better chance I had of missing Nate's lecture." Tanner let a slow grin crease his face as he heard a humph come from the foot of his bed.

"Don't worry, Vin. I think Nathan still has a few words left and if he doesn't, I'm sure Ezra can recite them for you." JD grinned wildly as he

saw his family was together once again and alive.

"But, I'm sure Brother Nate will hold off until your able to stay awake for longer periods of time." Josiah had noticed the drifting eyelids of the patients. "Whats say we go grab a bite to eat and let these boys catch some well deserved shut eye." Sanchez opened the door and waited while everyone exited.

Chris tried to stop Buck, but his body was refusing to obey as his eyes closed. I need to know about Blankenship! Larabee thought he had said the words outloud but a muffled slur was the only noise that was heard as the room fell silent.

The End