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azombiewritesTitle: An Alien investigation
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: All Seven.
Summary: When reports of alien sightings and abductions are made, SPIT7 head an investigation with the help of their new team member.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 32,663
Chris wanted to get more information from Ezra in regards to what had happened to him. Abducted by aliens wasn't enough, especially when he knew that aliens weren't involved. By the time they had reached their destination, Ezra's eyelids were drooping. The only thing Ezra was going to want to do was sleep. Chris was going to have to wait.
Ezra walked to the vehicle on his own, he ignored JD who watched his movements with interest and headed straight for the bottom bunk. He was tired, very tired and he felt like he could sleep for a month. Well, until the next day anyway. He lay face down, feeling the discomfort through his chest and stomach. He didn't care, he'd had suffered worse pain than this in his life. His eyes closed. Someone began to pull his boots off. Ezra was too tired to open his eyes or complain about what was happening. His jacket was next. A blanket was thrown over him and then he was left in peace. He began to think about the men who would be watching him, they seemed to care about a total stranger. The stares were baring into his back making it itch. He unconsciously shifted his shoulders. The left one still gave him some pain but he knew it would be gone in another few days. He heard JD ask if he was going to be all right. He felt like telling him that he was and they could stop showing concern that he didn't want or need. Chris answered yes. It was the last thing he remembered hearing before he fell asleep.
The dream was pleasant enough to start with, he was walking in the woods, enjoying the sunshine and sounds that were all around him. Then the noise suddenly stopped, sending him into an unpleasant nightmare. He stood frozen in one spot but the trees spun around him. Ezra closed his eyes and slammed his fists against them. After counting to five, he revealed them to what was happening around him. The two aliens that stood in front of him looked friendly enough, the faces that had very few features watched him. He grimaced when his head began to hurt. Ezra looked up to see a human form watching him. He knew the face. This wasn't right, something was wrong. The sound of something moving caused him to look back towards the aliens. They had come closer, the large black eyes now held a menacing look. Fear gripped his heart. He took a step backwards and fell.
When he opened his eyes, he was laying on a cold metal table. He thought he was dead but realised he was still breathing. A face appeared above him, at first, it was human, and then it changed to something more alien. A long sharp blade was held in front of him. The experiments started. Pain radiated throughout his body, it wasn't just centred on his chest and back. Even his mind hurt. Blood began to pour from his body. He struggled to move but couldn't. His eyes searched the room, he thought he saw stairs at the end of the room. When he blinked, they disappeared. Ezra turned his head to the right. Two men were there. The smiles on their faces told him they weren't on his side. Were they helping the aliens. One of them held a bloody scalpel in his hand. The revelation hit him so hard it stole the air from his chest. They had done this to him, not aliens. He began to fight even harder to get away. He stopped when one of them appeared before him. The scalpel was pressed against the vulnerable flesh around his neck. He felt the surgical knife began to slice into his flesh.
"NO!" Ezra woke suddenly with a scream.
The sweat had soaked his through his shirt and scalp. The salt water ran down his face in small rivulets. His body shook with the fear that his mind still held. The darkness he was in didn't help to set his mind at ease. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. A light made his body jerk with surprise. He covered his eyes so they could adjust to the sudden intrusion.
"Ezra?"
The voice was familiar. Chris. He was safe. He tried to concentrate on the nightmare, something important had happened but the fear that still raged within him made if difficult.
"Ezra?" Chris spoke louder than was necessary.
Ezra held up a hand to stop him from talking. "It wasn't aliens." his eyes searched his dream and his head moved with them. "There were wooden stairs, a basement."
Chris kept silent and watched the man he was beginning to admire. He had to be scared and yet he was pushing himself to remember the nightmare that had left him in a cold sweat and shaking with fear.
"A scalpel, two men, blood." it was fading. His eyes were closed tightly and his fists were clenched against them trying to stop the images from escaping. "The restaurant, they were there." Then it was gone. There was nothing left to allow him to remember what had really happened.
"Ezra?" Chris had listened to what Ezra had described. It wasn't much but it was enough to confirm him suspicions that it was a human act of evil and not an alien visit. A basement could belong to any house or farm in the area. But Ezra had recognised the two men at the hotel restaurant as being the culprits of the crimes that had been committed over the last few months. Ezra had been there only once so Chris knew who he was talking about. The two men had been sitting near the front entrance. Chris saw the young faces in his mind. The waitress would know who they were.
"Yes." Ezra removed his hands and opened his eyes. He squinted against the light then looked at Chris and Vin.
"You okay?"
Ezra nodded then turned away from the two men. He lay down on his side with his back to them. He tried to remember the dream but it was useless. Again, he believed he had been abducted by aliens but couldn't understand why.
"We'll talk in the morning." Chris patted the exposed shoulder and placed the blanket back over his agent.
Morning wasn't going to come soon enough for him. Their first job was to visit the restaurant, with any luck the two men would be there, if not then he would find out who they were, where they lived, then pay them a visit. No one hurt one of his men and got away with it. No one.
Ezra waited until they moved away. Someone got back up onto the top bunk and the other sat down in a chair. He let go of the breath he was holding. The nightmare was no longer in his memory but the fear was still there. His body was still shaking, the sweat still forming on his body. A river of fear was running out of control. He had always been able to control his fear but not now. It made him feel weak and embarrassed. He berated himself for his childish behaviour. He had to think of other things, anything that would rid his body of the fear he was feeling. He remembered the discussion he had woken up to in the hospital. Calmness began to fill him as he thought about the cartoon characters they had been discussing. Talk about childish behaviour. He began to think about Muscular Beaver, Daggett's alter ego. The fear began to leave him as he pictured the large white underwear, the fake muscles and the large ski hat. No one was to know about this, no one could know what he was thinking at that moment. If anyone found out, they would have to die. As the fear left him, sleep began to take control once more.
________________________________________
Chris hung up on Buck after trying to explain Ezra's nightmare, and the ladies man claimed he wouldn't listen. He turned to see how Vin was getting along. The security expert had been trying unsuccessfully to wake the Southerner for the last ten minutes. He was deciding whether or not he should call Dr Jenz and find out if the drugs may be the reason for being unable to wake Ezra. The last thing he wanted to do was to take him back to the hospital. Chris watched as a hand appeared from under the thick blanket to swipe at Vin's form. The hand missed. Chris smiled and folded his arms and leaned against the low desk, it wasn't the drugs, and the man just didn't want to wake up.
Vin's worry eased when Ezra tried to hit him, it would have been only a light tap but that wasn't the point. He shook the shoulder under the blanket, no longer caring if it was going to hurt him. He was beginning to get frustrated about the fact he was spending so much time just trying to wake one man. How could it be so difficult. This time an entire limb appeared and managed to hit Vin across the face.
"Damn it Ezra!"
"Well if you left me alone, it wouldn't happen." Ezra growled and pulled the covers up over his head. He was still tired and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't the next day yet. The sun was barely shining through the windows in the van. Usually he didn't get up before ten, or midday if he had a late night.
"I ain't leaving you alone until you get up."
"Expect to be hit again then Mr Tanner." he snuggled further into his pillow. "I refuse to get up before the sun."
"The sun is up." Vin argued.
"The sun is up when it's above you, from what I can see the sun is still below the tree line."
"How can you see anything from under that blanket?"
"Experience. Maybe you've heard of the term."
That was enough for Vin. He tore the blanket from the tight grip it was being held in. A fist then closed around Ezra's wrist and he was pulled from the bed. The ex-con ended up on the floor with a shocked expression on his face.
"Learn from the experience Ezra." Vin walked away, passed Chris who was wearing an amused expression and out into the fresh air.
"How rude." Ezra muttered then gathered the blanket and began to climb back into bed, he was going to go back to sleep, he had earned it after what he'd been through. Yesterday they were concerned, today they didn't care.
Chris smiled, it was times like this that would make you think Ezra had been with them for several months instead of days. "Ezra!" He had enjoyed the show but he wasn't going to allow Ezra to go back to bed. God help them if it was going to be like this each time they had to get the man out of bed.
"There is way too much noise in this place. Perhaps I should go back to the hotel. You know, the one in Denver."
"Quit your complaining and get up. We've got a lot of work to do today." Chris reminded him.
"I'm not well, perhaps I should stay in bed." Ezra told him.
"Perhaps you should go back to the hospital. You know the one you don't want to stay in."
Ezra looked over his shoulder and glared at the man before him. "That was not kind, not kind at all."
"Ten minutes Ezra, I'll wait for you in the car."
"How is a man supposed to be ready in ten minutes. I don't even have a change of clothing."
"You'll find some in the bathroom, Josiah brought some back with him last night."
"Remind me to thank him." Ezra scowled at Larabee's back.
He didn't like anyone to go through his belongings, not that there was much in his bag. The few things that were there were his personal things and he wanted them to stay that way. He wondered if Josiah had read the latest letter from his mother. God he hoped not, he didn't want the man's pity. Ezra decided to take his time getting ready. He stepped out of the van twenty-five minutes later looking refreshed. Sunglasses hid his eyes while a dark blue shirt covered his wounds. You couldn't tell that anything was wrong with him.
Chris and Vin kept their thoughts to themselves. It wasn't the time or the place for an argument. Chris though, was beginning to think that Ezra was going to more trouble than he was worth. The police officer had told him that Ezra was a slippery bastard, he didn't mention anything about him being stubborn, unsociable, moody, a smartass, or aggravating . . . he stopped thinking about it, if he continued he was going to need a thesaurus and he didn't have one.
"Josiah and Nathan are going to meet us at the hotel restaurant." Chris informed their passenger.
"I'm not really up to breakfast Mr Larabee, I think I'll pass if you don't mind." Ezra watched the trees passing by.
"We're not going there for breakfast Ezra." Chris turned around to face the younger man. "Do you remember anything about the dream you had last night?"
"I had a dream?"
"You don't remember do you?"
"No."
"You said that you hadn't been taken by aliens, it had been the two guys at the restaurant the other day. You said that you were in a basement with stairs."
"I don't remember that. My mind keeps telling me I was abducted by aliens." Ezra frowned. "Headaches. I got a headache when I saw them in the woods."
"When they took you?" Vin looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the confusion written all over Ezra's face.
"No, before then. When I was setting up the equipment. My headache got worse then I saw one. I ran towards it but another appeared. I continued to go after the first one but I tripped over." Ezra looked at Chris. There was a touch of anger in the blue eyes. "I got a headache when I saw them."
"So you don't remember anything about the two men taking you and cutting you up?" Chris demanded of him.
"No."
"Damn it." Chris slammed his fist against the dashboard. "That means you won't be able to identify them."
"We can't arrest them on what Ezra saw in a dream." Vin told him.
"I'm not responsible for my incorrect memory." Ezra tried to assure them. He wasn't going to take the blame for this.
"It's not your fault Ezra. They did something to you, something that made you believe it was aliens and not them that did this to you. But how, that's the question."
"So what are we going to do?" Vin asked him.
"We'll have breakfast after all and see what happens." Chris shrugged. "There isn't much else we can we do right now."
________________________________________
Ezra stepped into the restaurant first. His green eyes quickly glanced over his surroundings. It was empty except for the waitress who had served them when they were first here. He moved to the booth that was closest to the men's room, he had a feeling he was going to need it. Ezra sat down and was then forced to move up when Chris sat down next to him, Vin sat opposite him.
Lucy smiled when she noticed the three men come in. Included in the small group was the man with the green eyes. She straightened her uniform then walked seductively to the table. Thoughts of her husband had been pushed aside by this man. She hadn't thought of anything or anyone since. No man had affected her like this since she met her husband.
"Morning," Lucy smiled at each man then her eyes settled on the handsome stranger, "what can I get you today?"
"Morning Lucy. Coffee all round for now." Vin told her. "We might eat later, not sure if we're staying yet."
Lucy nodded then waited a moment. She turned and left, the disappointment she felt matched her movements. The man hadn't even looked at her. He had been friendly enough the other day, she wasn't sure what had happened.
Five minutes later, she returned with the coffee. The man that made her feel good was rubbing his forehead with his right hand. She saw the small bandage on the back of it. That's what had happened.
"You okay?"
Chris nudged Ezra and when he got his attention, he nodded towards the waitress. "Lucy asked if you were okay."
"Fine, thank you for asking." Ezra smiled up at her.
Lucy smiled in return and began to pour the coffee.
"Lucy, do you remember when we were in the other day?" Chris asked her.
"Sure. Why?"
"Those two guys that were sitting near the entrance. Do you know who they were?"
"Jimmy Morris and Sam Orstein. Moved here about three months ago. Nice guys. Why?"
"Know where they live?"
"Out on Jordan's Road. Big white house at the end of the road. "Why?"
Chris flashed his badge at her. "Don't let them know we've been asking about them. Official business and all that. You think they'll be in today?"
"Should be here in about ten minutes."
"Thanks." Chris smiled then leaned towards her. "If things look like they're going to get nasty, I want you to go into the kitchen and stay there. Understand?"
"Yeah. Nasty? You’re not going to hurt them are you? What did they do?"
"They hurt one of my men." That was Chris' explanation, and it surprised Ezra so much that he wasn't able to hide it.
"Excuse me?" Ezra realised they must be able to see what he was feeling, he quickly changed his expression. The poker face that he wore so often was back in place.
"He hurt one of my men." Chris repeated for Ezra's benefit. "No one does that and gets away with it."
Ezra's shock took any words that he might have voiced from his mind. He just sat there without saying anything. Chris took it as a thank you and that Ezra was agreeing to be part of the team. "Drink your coffee Ezra before you drool into it."
The main entrance was opened. Nathan and Josiah stepped in through the open doorway and smiled a greeting at their fellow teammates. They quickly joined them and asked for more coffee.
"They coming?" Josiah asked as his eyes examined Ezra.
"They'll be here in ten minutes. Got a problem though." Chris glanced at Ezra and saw the guilt flash across his features. "Through no fault of his own, Ezra doesn't remember what happened. He still thinks he was abducted by aliens, even though in the dream he had, it was humans who took him."
Nathan studied Ezra. "Do you remember the dream at all Ezra?"
"No, only what Mr Larabee reminded me of what I said." Ezra admitted.
"But you believe it was aliens even though you dreamt it was humans?"
"Yes." Ezra growled.
"Take it easy Ezra, just trying to work out why your mind's telling you one thing while your awake but something else when your asleep."
"Either way, Orstein and Morris can tell us what happened." Chris informed them.
Fifteen minutes later the two men arrived. If they were surprised to find Ezra and the others in the restaurant, they didn't show it. They sat in their usual booth, placed their order with Lucy then watched the other occupants of the restaurant. Their interest seemed to be in Ezra. Morris spoke to Orstein who smiled then nodded. It was time to have some more fun.
Ezra knew he was being watched by everyone. The men he sat with, Lucy who was behind the counter and the two men near the front entrance. He felt like telling them all to go to hell. He wasn't use to attracting so much attention, normally no one knew he was around. He blended in, became one with the crowd. Not here, he stuck out like a sore thumb and there was nothing he could do about it. A sharp headache began to form within his skull. Ezra grimaced and began to rub his temples. He'd had these headaches when he saw the aliens. Was he going to see them again.
"I'm getting a headache." Ezra announced to the group of men. Why did he just say that? He had no idea.
"I'll get you something for it." Nathan began to get up from his seat.
"No," Ezra waved a hand at him, "I got these before . . . "
"When you saw something?" Chris looked sideways at him.
"Yes."
Chris lowered his head, when he lifted it again, his angry gaze was aimed at the two men that were the cause of what was happening with his new team member. But what could he do now? There was no evidence to arrest them. They would be out of jail in twenty-four hours and what would they do. Take their anger and revenge out on Ezra? Probably. He had to come up with a plan to either get the evidence that was required to take them down, or, catch them in the act and that meant using Ezra as bait. That was going to be a last resort. He didn't want the man hurt anymore, hell this was his first operation and maybe his last. He was going to need to do some fast-talking to get Ezra to stay.
Ezra stared down at his coffee, a large black hand appeared, and it poured sugar into his cup. He scowled at the cup then at Nathan. He hated sugar. The hand began to stir the liquid, a lump was forming. At first Ezra thought, it was the sugar refusing to dissolve. It wasn't. A black form was now floating to the surface. Ezra stared at the object, fascinated by its birth. Small legs began to fight for air, they found a surface they could grip and they began to pull it's body to freedom. A head appeared, the eyes searching for something to aid in its escape. They found Ezra. It attacked what it thought to be the reason for its fight for life. Ezra jumped back, more as a reflex than in fear. His hands grabbed for the spider that was now crawling on his chest up towards his face. It scuttled away from the reaching hand. Ezra felt more movement. There was a second spider on his chest, this one bigger than the first.
"You okay Ezra?" Chris noticed Ezra's quick movements and followed the confused eyes to what he was looking at. He saw nothing. But obviously, Ezra did. "What is it Ezra?"
"Spiders, they're on me." Ezra now counted five, each of them were able to escape his attempts of capturing them.
"I don't see any." Nathan leaned over the table closer to Ezra.
Ezra looked up at Nathan, then Chris. "Aliens, it's the same. They're not real, they can't be."
"What the hell is going on?" Vin had turned in his seat and was now staring at the two men. One of them was concentrating, his eyes never leaving Ezra's face. "Chris?" he nodded towards the young man when he knew he had gotten Chris' attention. "What do you think he's doing?"
"I don't know." Chris decided to ignore them for now and concentrate on Ezra. The man was now staring at Vin.
The spiders had left his body, he didn't know why at first but understood when they begun to crawl across the table towards Vin. He wanted to say something, to warn the man that spiders that couldn't be real were creeping closer to his form. A voice called his name and he slowly turned to look at Chris, he blinked once then his eyes returned to watch what was going to happen. The spiders were now on Vin. He was unaware of their touch. They moved quickly up to his face. Three of them scattered to the back of his skull and began to move freely through the long fine hair. The two remaining tarantulas looked for moist dark places to hide. One darted into the open mouth of Vin Tanner. Ezra's mouth closed in response to the vision. The second one tried to gain entrance to the left ear. Ezra stuck a finger in his own in an attempt to erase the phantom feeling. It was as though he could feel the movements of the spiders that were crawling over Vin's face and hair. Ezra's eyes widened when Vin turned to him and began talking, he could see the dark form moving around within his mouth.
Something else caught Ezra's attention. He knew what it was before he looked. An alien stood close to the two men who were watching him with amusement written all over their faces. The alien seemed to smile at him, he wasn't sure, there had only been a slight twitching of its mouth. It took a step towards him. The room that he had been held in appeared in his mind. The fear began to grow and take control. He tried to concentrate on the thought that Chris had told them that they weren't real, that humans had taken him. But the fear he was feeling was real. Humans wouldn't scare him like this. Maybe Chris was wrong. Maybe they were all playing with his mind. He pushed himself further into the seat when it took a second step. The features change, it was no longer a smile but something more evil. A guttural sound came from the being, sharp teeth appeared where they hadn't been before. Light glistened off a sharp instrument that was being held within its long fingers.
"Aw shit." Ezra muttered as he began to lift his feet.
The creature lunged at him. Ezra ran, he couldn't help it, he'd never faced this sort of thing before. He knew how to fight humans, even had a few dirty tricks up his sleeve. Had to, you needed something when you fought people who were bigger than you. Ezra scrambled to his feet and fell backwards into another booth. He rolled off the table onto the floor and managed to get himself up onto his feet. He began to walk backwards, more aliens faced him now, each of them holding an instrument of death. These were the same ones that had experimented on him. He turned and looked for an escape route. The only thing he saw was the door to the men's room. Had there been a window large enough for him to climb through? He forced his mind to remember. Yes there had been. He made himself walk, if he ran, they would move faster and catch him before he could escape. They followed him, their arms reached out for him. Sounds came from their mouths but he couldn't understand the words they were trying to form.
"Ezra?" Chris had grabbed for him as the smaller man scrambled from the booth. His hands missed the quick movements of the Southerner. "Ezra!"
Vin motioned for Nathan and Josiah to let him out, he had all intentions of distracting the men who were doing this. If Ezra stopped and calmed down then it would be confirmation that the young men were responsible. The only question was; how were they doing it?
Nathan and Josiah joined Chris in his attempts to help Standish. The fear the man was feeling radiated from his eyes. He didn't see them, he was seeing something else, something that terrified him. Jesus, what a way to start your new job. Nathan reached out and grabbed Chris' arm.
"Don't rush him, he might do something we'll all end up regretting."
Chris nodded in agreement. He stood still as did Josiah and Nathan but Ezra kept moving. Each step he took led him closer to the bathroom. Chris was aware of the lack of presence by Vin, he also knew what he would be doing. He took another cautious step towards Ezra when he had reached the door to the men's room. He then ran when Ezra disappeared behind the door.
Vin rushed to the booth that held the two men. The one that was concentrating on Ezra didn't flinch, he continued to do what he was doing; whatever that was. The second man stood up to confront Vin. No words were spoken, each man knew what was about to happen. A physical altercation began. Vin knew he was protecting the other man, he was buying him time. Vin pulled every trick he knew but the guy he was fighting was good. This was going to take a bit longer than he expected.
Ezra allowed the door to close behind him. Now he ran, it was only a few steps but he was no longer willing to take his time. The window was high, he didn't remember that. Shit. He was going to need something to stand on. Green eyes quickly searched the tiled room. A large bin stood by the sink, it was plastic, and it wouldn't hold his weight. Shit. Shit. Shit. The door burst open and a shout of surprise was torn from Ezra's mouth. He etched his way to the corner. There was nowhere to hide, he could no longer escape from his fate. They moved closer to him. Ezra fell to the floor slowly, his back sliding against the wall, his knees creeping closer to his chin.
"No," it was a whispered plea that seemed to do him no good. They still came. The flesh began to melt from the skull of the first alien. "no," he began to peddle his legs in an attempt to get further away from them. Human features began to appear as the flesh melted away. Blond hair, then familiar blue eyes stared down at him. It couldn't be, Chris. No, he was one of them, they had fooled him. The fear gripped his heart like an icicle. Why didn't he listen to his mother, he would be living a comfortable life instead of sitting here in fear as what he had thought never existed came even closer to him.
"Ezra, it's me Chris. Come on, whatever it is that you’re seeing it's not real."
A cold sweat began to soak into his hair, his face had paled considerably, and his shirt was sticking to his back causing the wounds to itch. He was hating every second of this. Even though the faces had changed, the weapons were still there to threaten him.
Ezra made up his mind, he wasn't going to die like this, a frightened animal hiding in a corner. He was going to fight, hurt them as much as he could before they killed him. His eyes shifted when the door opened a second time. Vin walked in, or stumbled was more like it. His face was bloodied. The three aliens quickly moved to the injured man. That was it for Ezra. They could kill him but not the man that had been trying to be his friend. This time it was Ezra's turn to lunge.
Chris took Vin's arm and helped him to the floor. He grimaced at the cuts and bruises.
"He was a better fighter than I thought, but I finally beat him. The other guy was easier." Vin smiled up at his friend and saw the threat over Chris' left shoulder. "Watch it guys." he nodded at Ezra.
Chris turned just as Ezra landed in his back. The smaller man had a tight grip on him and had begun to hit every vulnerable spot he could reach. Josiah grabbed one arm and Nathan the other, together they were able to tear Ezra off Chris' back. But then he began to kick. A heavy boot landed in between Chris' shoulder blades. He was forced forward and he took Vin with him.
"Ezra!" Josiah yelled into his ear.
Ezra didn't listen, he continued to struggle. There were no longer any aliens present but the fear continued to control him. Fear for his own life and Vin's.
"Ezra stop it. It's us, we're not going to hurt you!" Nathan growled at him. He wouldn't have imagined this thin, smaller man held so much strength and so many moves. He knew of two bruises that were already forming on his own legs. Chris and Josiah weren't doing any better. They were all going to be pretty sore after this event.
Chris momentarily forgot about Vin. He pushed him out of his way and stood up. The distance he kept himself in was more for protection than anything else. He waited for his chance, when the opening came he struck out and his fist slammed against Ezra's unprotected jaw. The ex-con collapsed, falling towards Josiah. Nathan let go and allowed the larger man to take the burden.
"What did you do that for?" Vin asked from his position on the floor.
"What else was I supposed to do." Chris growled at him on his way to the door.
Once Chris was back in the restaurant, he searched it for the two men. They were gone. The only person there was Lucy, she was already beginning to clean up the mess. He muttered an obscene curse then went back into the men's room. Ezra was cradled in Josiah's arms as he tried to wake the unconscious man. Nathan was examining Vin. What a mess.
"They're gone." Chris informed them. "We're going after them."
"We can't go after them now. Ezra's unconscious and Vin's in a mess." Nathan told him.
"They have to know that we're onto them, if we don't go now they're going to leave town and we won't be able to find them." Chris growled at him. "We're going now!"
There was no choice. Josiah lifted Ezra into his arms and Nathan helped Vin up onto shaking legs. They followed Chris out into the restaurant where Josiah was questioned by an obviously distraught waitress. Lucy wanted to help. Josiah told her that Ezra would be fine, that they were taking him to the hospital. It wasn't really a lie, they probably would be by the end of the day. Once he reached the car, Nathan helped him to get Ezra into the back seat where Vin was. Josiah struggled over the smaller man so he could sit in the middle, he needed to keep an eye on both team members. Chris pushed the accelerator to the floor before Josiah could even close the car door.
"Jordan Road, house at the end of the street." Chris informed Nathan of their destination.
"You going to call Buck?" Nathan asked Chris as his eyes searched the road map he had gotten out of the glove compartment.
"No, I want him staying where he is just in case they're headed his way."
"Take a left up here," Nathan ordered. "what about the sheriff?"
"What about him?"
The car lurched around the corner, Josiah feared that they were going to tip over, he reached out with both arms to protect the men who sat on either side of him. Vin was able to stop his head from hitting the window. Ezra's slammed against Josiah's shoulder, the sudden movement elicited a moan from the younger man.
"Ezra?"
"Right just up here, it'll come to a t-section, turn right again," he pointed to the turning, "don't you think he should be notified of what we're doing?"
Ezra didn't want to answer, he was confused. His eyes searched his surroundings, he was in the hire car that Chris had been using. Was it a dream? It had to have been. He must of fallen asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant. Nothing had really happened, it had been a nightmare, and it was the only explanation that he would accept. For now anyway, he would go crazy otherwise.
"And what are we going to tell him Nathan, that we're after two men that abducted one of my men, made him see things that don't exist, did the same to three other people, two of whom are now dead."
"Ezra?" Josiah used his shoulder to shove Ezra in an attempt to get a response out of him.
He sighed silently, these men would not leave him alone. "What?"
"You okay?"
"Fine, just had a nightmare that's all."
"Left up here onto Jordan's road, house should be at the end of the street."
"He'll just laugh at us Nathan, then get in my way. I want these guys for what they did to Ezra."
Chris slowed down, the road was short in distance so it wasn't long before the house they were searching for came into sight. The blond leader slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a halt. All occupants were forced forward by the cars sudden lack of momentum. Muttered curses were voiced from the back. Chris ignored them. He had a mission to complete.
"Ezra, Vin, stay here!"
"You will receive no argument from me Mr Larabee." Ezra replied.
Ezra stared at the house, it was like any normal residence. White panelling, a large porch ran from left to right. Huge armchairs sat on either side of the front door. Pot plants could be seen through the railing, some dying while others had already lost the fight to live. The grass on the front lawn was long, large trees gave the porch the shade it required to allow people to spend time there. Ezra was distracted from his view when Chris and the others crossed it as they ran to the front door. They separated before they got there. Nathan and Josiah moved to the left and right. The back door. He flinched when Chris forced the front door open, he'd obviously done it before, and it had only taken one kick.
Ten minutes passed, no sound came from the house. Ezra was beginning to worry about the men who had entered it. Vin was beginning to fidget. The slender man was about to exit the vehicle and go in. Ezra wanted to stop him but both his body and voice refused to aid him in his attempts. The car door slammed shut, he was gone. He continued to watch as Vin moved slowly towards the front door, he looked as though he was going to fall over. Ezra wanted to turn away, he wanted to get out of the car himself and walk away from the entire situation he had been placed in. It wasn't what he wanted.
Voices brought him back from his thoughts. His eyes had seen Chris and the others leave the house but it was his ears that made him aware of them. He could see that Chris was angry, they were also empty handed. Ezra felt as though he hadn't done enough to help them catch the two men that had committed crimes against himself and others. But what could he have done, he didn't remember anything that connected them to the crime. There was nothing he could do.
Ezra got out of the car, he wanted to hear what they were talking about. He leaned against the door he just closed. His eyes followed Chris' pacing, occasionally he glanced at Josiah and saw the determination that was written all over his face. Ezra wanted and needed to know what Chris was angry about, or who he was angry at.
"I want an APB put out on them!" Chris growled at anyone who was listening.
"Why?" Josiah stood still with his hands on his hips, he wasn't going to budge. "You said it yourself Chris, there's no evidence, nothing to connect them to the crime. It's like you said in the car, the police will just laugh at you, if they did manage to arrest them, and the case would get thrown out of court."
"FUCK!"
"Until evidence is found there is nothing we can do." Josiah reminded.
"They hurt one of my men Josiah." Chris turned to him, he didn't know Ezra was listening.
"I know Chris, we all saw what Ezra went through. At the moment there's just nothing we can do about it."
"We can get the evidence we need."
"How?"
"We can search the house . . . "
"And if we find nothing?" Josiah was also following Chris' pacing, they all were. He could see Ezra leaning against the car. He was rubbing his jaw and listening to every word that was being said.
"I can't let them get away with it."
"They're not getting away with it Chris, there's just nothing we can do to stop them. The only chance we had was to catch them in the act, that's not going to happen now. They're gone."
"We don't know that for sure." Nathan suggested.
"Yes we do," Josiah said what they all were thinking, "they weren't stupid, they got past our detectors, were able to draw Ezra out of the van without us knowing it. They knew we were on to them when Vin tried to stop them. They left town, probably when they left the restaurant. I'm sure they've done it before, they know what they're doing."
"I hate it when this fucking happens!"
"We all do Chris."
"Shit!"
"It happens Chris, this isn't the first time we haven't been able to close a case." Vin told him, he was leaning against one of the trees that lived in the front yard. Right now, all he wanted to do was get Chris to calm down and accept the fact that they had given themselves away and the culprits were smart enough to skip town.
"But we had them."
"They're gone Mr Larabee, let them go." Ezra called out to him. He just wanted to get away from this place, sleep in a comfortable bed and forget that it ever happened. He knew that wouldn't happen, maybe he could think of it as a nightmare and leave it at that, like the incident in the restaurant earlier.
"I'm sorry Ezra." Chris walked back to the car and stood next to his newest team member.
"For what Mr Larabee?" Ezra raised an inquiring eyebrow at him, he had no idea why this man would be apologising to him.
"That we couldn't get the bastards that hurt you, put you through so much shit."
"Don't worry about it Mr Larabee, I've been through shit, as you put it, before and the culprits were never apprehended. You just have to realise that justice isn't always available. Not everyone is going to get caught."
"I know," Chris let the confession that gave him a little bit more of Ezra's past slide for now, "it just pisses me off."
"That is why you, Mr Larabee, are prematurely ageing."
"Excuse me?" Chris turned to him.
"You look older than you are."
"I know what it means, I want to know what you meant by it."
"Perhaps we should go back to the hotel, I could do with some more sleep."
"It's the middle of the morning Ezra." Vin told him as he made his way back to the car. He glared at Nathan when the scientist tried to help him.
"As far as I am concerned Mr Tanner, the sun is still not up." Ezra opened the door and slid along the seat.
"You haven't answered my question Ezra." Chris got into the driver's seat and twisted his body so he could look at the younger man who now sat in the back seat.
"And what question was that?"
"Ezra!"
"Leave him be Chris, he's been through a lot the last couple of days." Nathan chastised Chris when he took his position in the passenger's side.
"Didn't you hear what he said to me?" Chris was astonished.
"Yeah, we all did and speaking for myself, I agree with him." Vin leaned back against the seat and used Josiah's large shoulder as a pillow. A day in bed sounded pretty good to him now that he thought about it.
"Agreed." Nathan and Josiah spoke in unison.
"Great, just fucking great. Of all the people, I had to pick to join the team it was a smartass that's going to get the sympathy from the others. Six against one, why me?"
"You're talking out loud again Chris." Vin told him. "You know I warned you about that."
"Shut up Vin."
"Is it always like this Mr Sanchez?" Ezra asked the larger man who sat next to him.
"Afraid so Ezra. They're like children most of the time. Need a man like me to keep them in line."
"I thought you were the mother." Ezra frowned in confusion at him.
"Chris, I think he's going to be worse than Vin and Buck put together." Josiah rubbed his stubble with his fingers. "Do I look like a mother to you?"
"You look like a mother to me." Vin pressed a hand against Josiah's chest. "Your just lacking in some areas."
"Why you little . . . "
"Now, now Mr Sanchez, Mr Tanner is injured and I am suffering from a headache, so if you would, please stop harassing us and let us get some much needed rest."
"What!? I didn't start this, you did." Josiah pointed an accusing finger at Ezra.
"You Mr Sanchez, are mistaken. Mr Larabee started it."
"You wait until we get back to the hotel . . ." Chris began.
"Chris! Josiah!" Nathan spoke with confidence. "Will you please leave them alone."
"Us!?" Chris and Josiah answered.
"Yes you!"
Josiah looked at Vin then at Ezra. He shook his head. If Ezra stayed - which he hoped he would - then they were going to have to keep these two separated, or Chris was going to kill one of them.
________________________________________
Somewhere over Wyoming - Sunday, 2:58pm
Chris sat in his seat watching as Ezra stared out of the airplane window. They had forced him to sit with them again but after take-off, the ex-con had extracted himself from their care to find a seat where he could sit on his own. Chris understood that Ezra had a lot to think about, he still hadn't informed him if he was staying or going. He was worried that his newest recruit wasn't going to stay. Could he blame him? Of course, he couldn't. Ezra was supposed to just watch and learn on his first case, instead he had been thrown into it head first. He had injured himself, through no fault of his own, was abducted and carved up like a piece of beef carcass and suffered hallucinations. Why would the man stay.
The report that he had completed, after discovering that the culprits they so desperately wanted to arrest got away, told a simple tale of alien abduction - unproven of course. End of story. There was nothing else to say. He had forced Vin and Ezra to stay in his room so he could watch them both. He knew Vin was going to be okay. He wasn't so sure about Ezra, the man had had a restless night, the nightmares causing him to wake up in a sweat. Each time Ezra had refused to talk about them or what had happened to him. Even Vin had tried to get him to talk but to no avail.
Chris knew Ezra was trying to deal with it in his own way, on the outside everything seemed to be normal while on the inside he was full of confusion, doubt and fear. Chris did have his hands full with this one but he knew he wasn't going to regret it. Maybe he would come around like Vin had.
He couldn't stand it any longer, Chris got up and took the few steps that were required to take him to Ezra.
"Can I sit down?"
"Can I stop you?"
"No." Chris smiled.
"Then by all means Mr Larabee, sit down." Ezra watched him take a seat then waited to hear what he had to say.
"You doin' okay?"
"Doing fine, and you?"
"Fine. You going to stay?" Chris watched for a reaction, there wasn't one. Ezra did have one of the best poker face's he'd ever come across. There was also no reply to his question. "You angry?"
"About what?"
"That we didn't catch them."
"No, I already told you Mr Larabee that it happens, there's nothing you can do about it."
"It's happened to you before?" Again, there was no answer.
"Do you always look after your men like that?"
"Yeah, but I didn't this time." Chris leaned further back into his chair. "I wasn't able to take care of you."
"But I'm not one of your men."
"While you work on my team you are." Chris assured him.
Ezra looked out at the brilliant blue sky. His mind had been full of confusion. Some of what happened seemed to be real while the rest of it felt like a nightmare. He was finding it hard to separate reality from the dreams. He hadn't thought about whether or not he was going to stay. These men had made him do things that no other person could. He had trusted Larabee and the man came through. He had allowed small pieces of information to be given to them. His own type of humour matched theirs. He found that he, Chris and Vin had something in common; cartoons. He actually liked these people.
"Ezra."
They had wanted to take care of him when he was hurt, to comfort him after he'd woken up from his nightmares. They protected him as best they could from the enemy and felt anger when they had failed. He got a sudden feeling that he belonged with these men. And he did trust his own feelings, they kept him alive.
"Mr Larabee." Ezra's expression was serious when he turned from the window. "I quit."
"If that's what you want Ezra. But just so you know, I enjoyed working with you." Chris shifted in his seat. He wanted to leave it there, to stand up and walk away but he couldn't.
"Perhaps a week’s recuperation, with sick pay of course, is needed before I rejoin the team."
"Huh?"
"You can't expect me to go back to work after what I've been through." Ezra made himself more comfortable. "Not only did I suffer physical injuries at the hands of criminals or aliens, whichever it was, I was also verbally assaulted by my team mates. Mr Jackson caused me undue pain while trying to repair my injuries, you forced me to go to a hospital, which I did not want to do, and I had to be a passenger in that dreadful vehicle Mr Tanner calls a jeep. I was forced to work with hippies," Chris smiled at that one, he knew Ezra was talking about Vin and JD with their shoulder length hair, "not to mention a man who dresses entirely in black, colour blind if you ask me. Why no one has bought him a coloured piece of clothing for Christmas, I do not know." Chris' smiled dropped from his features. "Kicked, literally, out of my bed at an ungodly hour every morning and not to mention the five thousand dollars I lost. That was a lot of money, and it was meant to earn me a lot more. Forced from my home, the fact that it was a hotel isn't the point. And not all in that order."
Chris' mouth was now hanging open.
"Mr Larabee? Are you okay?" Ezra waved a hand in front of the man's face.
"Um, yeah."
"Considering the fact that I faced danger during this first job, I hope I will be receiving danger pay and would the organisation be willing to compensate me for loss of personal effects. My blue shirt was ruined, I can't replace that, well I could but it was expensive and now that I have no money, well, you can see my predicament." Ezra was far from finished. "Do I get a gun? A company car? What about a place to stay? I did have one but I can't go back there, not now and what about clothing, do I have to supply my own when I am required to go undercover . . ."
The Southern accent was beginning to drive Chris insane. He put out a hand and covered Ezra's mouth.
"You finished?" A shake of the head indicated that Ezra wasn't. "Well you are now. Understand." Ezra nodded. Chris removed his hand. "You always talk that much?"
"Only when I have something to say." Ezra smiled at him.
"Is that often?" Chris grimaced, he was hoping the answer was going to be no.
"Yes."
"Damn."
Ezra looked away as the smile filtered across his face.
"How about we get serious for a minute Ezra." Chris shifted sideways so he could look at Ezra. "Do you need to talk about what happened? Because I'm here if you do. You can talk to any of us, we'll all listen. You went through some bad stuff back there. None of it has been explained in a way that satisfies you. You’re always going to have questions about what really happened."
"I know but there isn't really anything I can do about it."
"You can talk to me."
"No, it's like hospitals, I don't talk to people about my problems.. I deal with things better on my own.
Everything seems to be a dream anyway, as long as I think about it like that I'm okay."
"Those dreams are pretty nasty though Ezra."
"I know but they won't last."
"You can stay with me until you find your own place."
"Thanks Chris, I appreciate that."
"Why did you decide to stay?"
"Just had a feeling that I should."
Chris nodded. He wasn't sure what to say next. He turned his head sideways to find the others watching him, he smiled at them and they all seemed to relax. They all wanted Ezra to stay. He was sure the Southerner was going to fit in well with the group.
"So what is it you like about the Angry Beavers?"
Ezra hung his head as a huge smile lit up his face, dimples appeared and his eyes sparkled. He looked up at Chris. "The noises Daggett makes when he's running around and his attitude, he's my hero."
Before both men knew it, Vin was sitting in the third seat. "I like it when he's muscular beaver."
"Toe robot." Ezra nodded in agreement.
"And what is it with that naked episode. What were they hiding anyway?"
"What do you think Vin?" Chris smiled at him.
"Well it's not their genitals." Vin assured him. "They don't have any."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Because if it they did they would dress during the day."
"It's their belly buttons." Ezra told them.
"What?" They both looked at him.
"They're hiding their belly buttons." he repeated.
"They don't have belly buttons." Chris informed him.
"Yes they do!" Vin argued.
"No they don't, if they did you would still see them when they had fur." Chris growled at him.
"So why do they wear pyjamas?" Vin asked the question again.
"And underwear." Ezra added.
"And swimming costumes."
"Who the hell knows, I still can't figure it out." Chris shook his head.
"I know." Ezra lied
"Then tell us." Chris ordered him.
"No."
"You don't know do you." Vin sneered at him.
"Why would I lie about something as serious as this."
"You didn't know at the hospital." Vin smiled smugly.
"I've had time to think about it." Ezra shrugged.
Chris and Vin looked at each other then Ezra. They couldn't read his face, this was going to make their arguments more difficult.
"You know what I want to know?" Ezra leaned towards them.
"What?" they asked together.
"Why doesn't Johnny Bravo get whiplash?"
Yep, Chris thought as he smiled at Vin. Ezra was going to fit in just fine.
The End
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: All Seven.
Summary: When reports of alien sightings and abductions are made, SPIT7 head an investigation with the help of their new team member.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 32,663
Chris wanted to get more information from Ezra in regards to what had happened to him. Abducted by aliens wasn't enough, especially when he knew that aliens weren't involved. By the time they had reached their destination, Ezra's eyelids were drooping. The only thing Ezra was going to want to do was sleep. Chris was going to have to wait.
Ezra walked to the vehicle on his own, he ignored JD who watched his movements with interest and headed straight for the bottom bunk. He was tired, very tired and he felt like he could sleep for a month. Well, until the next day anyway. He lay face down, feeling the discomfort through his chest and stomach. He didn't care, he'd had suffered worse pain than this in his life. His eyes closed. Someone began to pull his boots off. Ezra was too tired to open his eyes or complain about what was happening. His jacket was next. A blanket was thrown over him and then he was left in peace. He began to think about the men who would be watching him, they seemed to care about a total stranger. The stares were baring into his back making it itch. He unconsciously shifted his shoulders. The left one still gave him some pain but he knew it would be gone in another few days. He heard JD ask if he was going to be all right. He felt like telling him that he was and they could stop showing concern that he didn't want or need. Chris answered yes. It was the last thing he remembered hearing before he fell asleep.
The dream was pleasant enough to start with, he was walking in the woods, enjoying the sunshine and sounds that were all around him. Then the noise suddenly stopped, sending him into an unpleasant nightmare. He stood frozen in one spot but the trees spun around him. Ezra closed his eyes and slammed his fists against them. After counting to five, he revealed them to what was happening around him. The two aliens that stood in front of him looked friendly enough, the faces that had very few features watched him. He grimaced when his head began to hurt. Ezra looked up to see a human form watching him. He knew the face. This wasn't right, something was wrong. The sound of something moving caused him to look back towards the aliens. They had come closer, the large black eyes now held a menacing look. Fear gripped his heart. He took a step backwards and fell.
When he opened his eyes, he was laying on a cold metal table. He thought he was dead but realised he was still breathing. A face appeared above him, at first, it was human, and then it changed to something more alien. A long sharp blade was held in front of him. The experiments started. Pain radiated throughout his body, it wasn't just centred on his chest and back. Even his mind hurt. Blood began to pour from his body. He struggled to move but couldn't. His eyes searched the room, he thought he saw stairs at the end of the room. When he blinked, they disappeared. Ezra turned his head to the right. Two men were there. The smiles on their faces told him they weren't on his side. Were they helping the aliens. One of them held a bloody scalpel in his hand. The revelation hit him so hard it stole the air from his chest. They had done this to him, not aliens. He began to fight even harder to get away. He stopped when one of them appeared before him. The scalpel was pressed against the vulnerable flesh around his neck. He felt the surgical knife began to slice into his flesh.
"NO!" Ezra woke suddenly with a scream.
The sweat had soaked his through his shirt and scalp. The salt water ran down his face in small rivulets. His body shook with the fear that his mind still held. The darkness he was in didn't help to set his mind at ease. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. A light made his body jerk with surprise. He covered his eyes so they could adjust to the sudden intrusion.
"Ezra?"
The voice was familiar. Chris. He was safe. He tried to concentrate on the nightmare, something important had happened but the fear that still raged within him made if difficult.
"Ezra?" Chris spoke louder than was necessary.
Ezra held up a hand to stop him from talking. "It wasn't aliens." his eyes searched his dream and his head moved with them. "There were wooden stairs, a basement."
Chris kept silent and watched the man he was beginning to admire. He had to be scared and yet he was pushing himself to remember the nightmare that had left him in a cold sweat and shaking with fear.
"A scalpel, two men, blood." it was fading. His eyes were closed tightly and his fists were clenched against them trying to stop the images from escaping. "The restaurant, they were there." Then it was gone. There was nothing left to allow him to remember what had really happened.
"Ezra?" Chris had listened to what Ezra had described. It wasn't much but it was enough to confirm him suspicions that it was a human act of evil and not an alien visit. A basement could belong to any house or farm in the area. But Ezra had recognised the two men at the hotel restaurant as being the culprits of the crimes that had been committed over the last few months. Ezra had been there only once so Chris knew who he was talking about. The two men had been sitting near the front entrance. Chris saw the young faces in his mind. The waitress would know who they were.
"Yes." Ezra removed his hands and opened his eyes. He squinted against the light then looked at Chris and Vin.
"You okay?"
Ezra nodded then turned away from the two men. He lay down on his side with his back to them. He tried to remember the dream but it was useless. Again, he believed he had been abducted by aliens but couldn't understand why.
"We'll talk in the morning." Chris patted the exposed shoulder and placed the blanket back over his agent.
Morning wasn't going to come soon enough for him. Their first job was to visit the restaurant, with any luck the two men would be there, if not then he would find out who they were, where they lived, then pay them a visit. No one hurt one of his men and got away with it. No one.
Ezra waited until they moved away. Someone got back up onto the top bunk and the other sat down in a chair. He let go of the breath he was holding. The nightmare was no longer in his memory but the fear was still there. His body was still shaking, the sweat still forming on his body. A river of fear was running out of control. He had always been able to control his fear but not now. It made him feel weak and embarrassed. He berated himself for his childish behaviour. He had to think of other things, anything that would rid his body of the fear he was feeling. He remembered the discussion he had woken up to in the hospital. Calmness began to fill him as he thought about the cartoon characters they had been discussing. Talk about childish behaviour. He began to think about Muscular Beaver, Daggett's alter ego. The fear began to leave him as he pictured the large white underwear, the fake muscles and the large ski hat. No one was to know about this, no one could know what he was thinking at that moment. If anyone found out, they would have to die. As the fear left him, sleep began to take control once more.
________________________________________
Chris hung up on Buck after trying to explain Ezra's nightmare, and the ladies man claimed he wouldn't listen. He turned to see how Vin was getting along. The security expert had been trying unsuccessfully to wake the Southerner for the last ten minutes. He was deciding whether or not he should call Dr Jenz and find out if the drugs may be the reason for being unable to wake Ezra. The last thing he wanted to do was to take him back to the hospital. Chris watched as a hand appeared from under the thick blanket to swipe at Vin's form. The hand missed. Chris smiled and folded his arms and leaned against the low desk, it wasn't the drugs, and the man just didn't want to wake up.
Vin's worry eased when Ezra tried to hit him, it would have been only a light tap but that wasn't the point. He shook the shoulder under the blanket, no longer caring if it was going to hurt him. He was beginning to get frustrated about the fact he was spending so much time just trying to wake one man. How could it be so difficult. This time an entire limb appeared and managed to hit Vin across the face.
"Damn it Ezra!"
"Well if you left me alone, it wouldn't happen." Ezra growled and pulled the covers up over his head. He was still tired and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't the next day yet. The sun was barely shining through the windows in the van. Usually he didn't get up before ten, or midday if he had a late night.
"I ain't leaving you alone until you get up."
"Expect to be hit again then Mr Tanner." he snuggled further into his pillow. "I refuse to get up before the sun."
"The sun is up." Vin argued.
"The sun is up when it's above you, from what I can see the sun is still below the tree line."
"How can you see anything from under that blanket?"
"Experience. Maybe you've heard of the term."
That was enough for Vin. He tore the blanket from the tight grip it was being held in. A fist then closed around Ezra's wrist and he was pulled from the bed. The ex-con ended up on the floor with a shocked expression on his face.
"Learn from the experience Ezra." Vin walked away, passed Chris who was wearing an amused expression and out into the fresh air.
"How rude." Ezra muttered then gathered the blanket and began to climb back into bed, he was going to go back to sleep, he had earned it after what he'd been through. Yesterday they were concerned, today they didn't care.
Chris smiled, it was times like this that would make you think Ezra had been with them for several months instead of days. "Ezra!" He had enjoyed the show but he wasn't going to allow Ezra to go back to bed. God help them if it was going to be like this each time they had to get the man out of bed.
"There is way too much noise in this place. Perhaps I should go back to the hotel. You know, the one in Denver."
"Quit your complaining and get up. We've got a lot of work to do today." Chris reminded him.
"I'm not well, perhaps I should stay in bed." Ezra told him.
"Perhaps you should go back to the hospital. You know the one you don't want to stay in."
Ezra looked over his shoulder and glared at the man before him. "That was not kind, not kind at all."
"Ten minutes Ezra, I'll wait for you in the car."
"How is a man supposed to be ready in ten minutes. I don't even have a change of clothing."
"You'll find some in the bathroom, Josiah brought some back with him last night."
"Remind me to thank him." Ezra scowled at Larabee's back.
He didn't like anyone to go through his belongings, not that there was much in his bag. The few things that were there were his personal things and he wanted them to stay that way. He wondered if Josiah had read the latest letter from his mother. God he hoped not, he didn't want the man's pity. Ezra decided to take his time getting ready. He stepped out of the van twenty-five minutes later looking refreshed. Sunglasses hid his eyes while a dark blue shirt covered his wounds. You couldn't tell that anything was wrong with him.
Chris and Vin kept their thoughts to themselves. It wasn't the time or the place for an argument. Chris though, was beginning to think that Ezra was going to more trouble than he was worth. The police officer had told him that Ezra was a slippery bastard, he didn't mention anything about him being stubborn, unsociable, moody, a smartass, or aggravating . . . he stopped thinking about it, if he continued he was going to need a thesaurus and he didn't have one.
"Josiah and Nathan are going to meet us at the hotel restaurant." Chris informed their passenger.
"I'm not really up to breakfast Mr Larabee, I think I'll pass if you don't mind." Ezra watched the trees passing by.
"We're not going there for breakfast Ezra." Chris turned around to face the younger man. "Do you remember anything about the dream you had last night?"
"I had a dream?"
"You don't remember do you?"
"No."
"You said that you hadn't been taken by aliens, it had been the two guys at the restaurant the other day. You said that you were in a basement with stairs."
"I don't remember that. My mind keeps telling me I was abducted by aliens." Ezra frowned. "Headaches. I got a headache when I saw them in the woods."
"When they took you?" Vin looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the confusion written all over Ezra's face.
"No, before then. When I was setting up the equipment. My headache got worse then I saw one. I ran towards it but another appeared. I continued to go after the first one but I tripped over." Ezra looked at Chris. There was a touch of anger in the blue eyes. "I got a headache when I saw them."
"So you don't remember anything about the two men taking you and cutting you up?" Chris demanded of him.
"No."
"Damn it." Chris slammed his fist against the dashboard. "That means you won't be able to identify them."
"We can't arrest them on what Ezra saw in a dream." Vin told him.
"I'm not responsible for my incorrect memory." Ezra tried to assure them. He wasn't going to take the blame for this.
"It's not your fault Ezra. They did something to you, something that made you believe it was aliens and not them that did this to you. But how, that's the question."
"So what are we going to do?" Vin asked him.
"We'll have breakfast after all and see what happens." Chris shrugged. "There isn't much else we can we do right now."
________________________________________
Ezra stepped into the restaurant first. His green eyes quickly glanced over his surroundings. It was empty except for the waitress who had served them when they were first here. He moved to the booth that was closest to the men's room, he had a feeling he was going to need it. Ezra sat down and was then forced to move up when Chris sat down next to him, Vin sat opposite him.
Lucy smiled when she noticed the three men come in. Included in the small group was the man with the green eyes. She straightened her uniform then walked seductively to the table. Thoughts of her husband had been pushed aside by this man. She hadn't thought of anything or anyone since. No man had affected her like this since she met her husband.
"Morning," Lucy smiled at each man then her eyes settled on the handsome stranger, "what can I get you today?"
"Morning Lucy. Coffee all round for now." Vin told her. "We might eat later, not sure if we're staying yet."
Lucy nodded then waited a moment. She turned and left, the disappointment she felt matched her movements. The man hadn't even looked at her. He had been friendly enough the other day, she wasn't sure what had happened.
Five minutes later, she returned with the coffee. The man that made her feel good was rubbing his forehead with his right hand. She saw the small bandage on the back of it. That's what had happened.
"You okay?"
Chris nudged Ezra and when he got his attention, he nodded towards the waitress. "Lucy asked if you were okay."
"Fine, thank you for asking." Ezra smiled up at her.
Lucy smiled in return and began to pour the coffee.
"Lucy, do you remember when we were in the other day?" Chris asked her.
"Sure. Why?"
"Those two guys that were sitting near the entrance. Do you know who they were?"
"Jimmy Morris and Sam Orstein. Moved here about three months ago. Nice guys. Why?"
"Know where they live?"
"Out on Jordan's Road. Big white house at the end of the road. "Why?"
Chris flashed his badge at her. "Don't let them know we've been asking about them. Official business and all that. You think they'll be in today?"
"Should be here in about ten minutes."
"Thanks." Chris smiled then leaned towards her. "If things look like they're going to get nasty, I want you to go into the kitchen and stay there. Understand?"
"Yeah. Nasty? You’re not going to hurt them are you? What did they do?"
"They hurt one of my men." That was Chris' explanation, and it surprised Ezra so much that he wasn't able to hide it.
"Excuse me?" Ezra realised they must be able to see what he was feeling, he quickly changed his expression. The poker face that he wore so often was back in place.
"He hurt one of my men." Chris repeated for Ezra's benefit. "No one does that and gets away with it."
Ezra's shock took any words that he might have voiced from his mind. He just sat there without saying anything. Chris took it as a thank you and that Ezra was agreeing to be part of the team. "Drink your coffee Ezra before you drool into it."
The main entrance was opened. Nathan and Josiah stepped in through the open doorway and smiled a greeting at their fellow teammates. They quickly joined them and asked for more coffee.
"They coming?" Josiah asked as his eyes examined Ezra.
"They'll be here in ten minutes. Got a problem though." Chris glanced at Ezra and saw the guilt flash across his features. "Through no fault of his own, Ezra doesn't remember what happened. He still thinks he was abducted by aliens, even though in the dream he had, it was humans who took him."
Nathan studied Ezra. "Do you remember the dream at all Ezra?"
"No, only what Mr Larabee reminded me of what I said." Ezra admitted.
"But you believe it was aliens even though you dreamt it was humans?"
"Yes." Ezra growled.
"Take it easy Ezra, just trying to work out why your mind's telling you one thing while your awake but something else when your asleep."
"Either way, Orstein and Morris can tell us what happened." Chris informed them.
Fifteen minutes later the two men arrived. If they were surprised to find Ezra and the others in the restaurant, they didn't show it. They sat in their usual booth, placed their order with Lucy then watched the other occupants of the restaurant. Their interest seemed to be in Ezra. Morris spoke to Orstein who smiled then nodded. It was time to have some more fun.
Ezra knew he was being watched by everyone. The men he sat with, Lucy who was behind the counter and the two men near the front entrance. He felt like telling them all to go to hell. He wasn't use to attracting so much attention, normally no one knew he was around. He blended in, became one with the crowd. Not here, he stuck out like a sore thumb and there was nothing he could do about it. A sharp headache began to form within his skull. Ezra grimaced and began to rub his temples. He'd had these headaches when he saw the aliens. Was he going to see them again.
"I'm getting a headache." Ezra announced to the group of men. Why did he just say that? He had no idea.
"I'll get you something for it." Nathan began to get up from his seat.
"No," Ezra waved a hand at him, "I got these before . . . "
"When you saw something?" Chris looked sideways at him.
"Yes."
Chris lowered his head, when he lifted it again, his angry gaze was aimed at the two men that were the cause of what was happening with his new team member. But what could he do now? There was no evidence to arrest them. They would be out of jail in twenty-four hours and what would they do. Take their anger and revenge out on Ezra? Probably. He had to come up with a plan to either get the evidence that was required to take them down, or, catch them in the act and that meant using Ezra as bait. That was going to be a last resort. He didn't want the man hurt anymore, hell this was his first operation and maybe his last. He was going to need to do some fast-talking to get Ezra to stay.
Ezra stared down at his coffee, a large black hand appeared, and it poured sugar into his cup. He scowled at the cup then at Nathan. He hated sugar. The hand began to stir the liquid, a lump was forming. At first Ezra thought, it was the sugar refusing to dissolve. It wasn't. A black form was now floating to the surface. Ezra stared at the object, fascinated by its birth. Small legs began to fight for air, they found a surface they could grip and they began to pull it's body to freedom. A head appeared, the eyes searching for something to aid in its escape. They found Ezra. It attacked what it thought to be the reason for its fight for life. Ezra jumped back, more as a reflex than in fear. His hands grabbed for the spider that was now crawling on his chest up towards his face. It scuttled away from the reaching hand. Ezra felt more movement. There was a second spider on his chest, this one bigger than the first.
"You okay Ezra?" Chris noticed Ezra's quick movements and followed the confused eyes to what he was looking at. He saw nothing. But obviously, Ezra did. "What is it Ezra?"
"Spiders, they're on me." Ezra now counted five, each of them were able to escape his attempts of capturing them.
"I don't see any." Nathan leaned over the table closer to Ezra.
Ezra looked up at Nathan, then Chris. "Aliens, it's the same. They're not real, they can't be."
"What the hell is going on?" Vin had turned in his seat and was now staring at the two men. One of them was concentrating, his eyes never leaving Ezra's face. "Chris?" he nodded towards the young man when he knew he had gotten Chris' attention. "What do you think he's doing?"
"I don't know." Chris decided to ignore them for now and concentrate on Ezra. The man was now staring at Vin.
The spiders had left his body, he didn't know why at first but understood when they begun to crawl across the table towards Vin. He wanted to say something, to warn the man that spiders that couldn't be real were creeping closer to his form. A voice called his name and he slowly turned to look at Chris, he blinked once then his eyes returned to watch what was going to happen. The spiders were now on Vin. He was unaware of their touch. They moved quickly up to his face. Three of them scattered to the back of his skull and began to move freely through the long fine hair. The two remaining tarantulas looked for moist dark places to hide. One darted into the open mouth of Vin Tanner. Ezra's mouth closed in response to the vision. The second one tried to gain entrance to the left ear. Ezra stuck a finger in his own in an attempt to erase the phantom feeling. It was as though he could feel the movements of the spiders that were crawling over Vin's face and hair. Ezra's eyes widened when Vin turned to him and began talking, he could see the dark form moving around within his mouth.
Something else caught Ezra's attention. He knew what it was before he looked. An alien stood close to the two men who were watching him with amusement written all over their faces. The alien seemed to smile at him, he wasn't sure, there had only been a slight twitching of its mouth. It took a step towards him. The room that he had been held in appeared in his mind. The fear began to grow and take control. He tried to concentrate on the thought that Chris had told them that they weren't real, that humans had taken him. But the fear he was feeling was real. Humans wouldn't scare him like this. Maybe Chris was wrong. Maybe they were all playing with his mind. He pushed himself further into the seat when it took a second step. The features change, it was no longer a smile but something more evil. A guttural sound came from the being, sharp teeth appeared where they hadn't been before. Light glistened off a sharp instrument that was being held within its long fingers.
"Aw shit." Ezra muttered as he began to lift his feet.
The creature lunged at him. Ezra ran, he couldn't help it, he'd never faced this sort of thing before. He knew how to fight humans, even had a few dirty tricks up his sleeve. Had to, you needed something when you fought people who were bigger than you. Ezra scrambled to his feet and fell backwards into another booth. He rolled off the table onto the floor and managed to get himself up onto his feet. He began to walk backwards, more aliens faced him now, each of them holding an instrument of death. These were the same ones that had experimented on him. He turned and looked for an escape route. The only thing he saw was the door to the men's room. Had there been a window large enough for him to climb through? He forced his mind to remember. Yes there had been. He made himself walk, if he ran, they would move faster and catch him before he could escape. They followed him, their arms reached out for him. Sounds came from their mouths but he couldn't understand the words they were trying to form.
"Ezra?" Chris had grabbed for him as the smaller man scrambled from the booth. His hands missed the quick movements of the Southerner. "Ezra!"
Vin motioned for Nathan and Josiah to let him out, he had all intentions of distracting the men who were doing this. If Ezra stopped and calmed down then it would be confirmation that the young men were responsible. The only question was; how were they doing it?
Nathan and Josiah joined Chris in his attempts to help Standish. The fear the man was feeling radiated from his eyes. He didn't see them, he was seeing something else, something that terrified him. Jesus, what a way to start your new job. Nathan reached out and grabbed Chris' arm.
"Don't rush him, he might do something we'll all end up regretting."
Chris nodded in agreement. He stood still as did Josiah and Nathan but Ezra kept moving. Each step he took led him closer to the bathroom. Chris was aware of the lack of presence by Vin, he also knew what he would be doing. He took another cautious step towards Ezra when he had reached the door to the men's room. He then ran when Ezra disappeared behind the door.
Vin rushed to the booth that held the two men. The one that was concentrating on Ezra didn't flinch, he continued to do what he was doing; whatever that was. The second man stood up to confront Vin. No words were spoken, each man knew what was about to happen. A physical altercation began. Vin knew he was protecting the other man, he was buying him time. Vin pulled every trick he knew but the guy he was fighting was good. This was going to take a bit longer than he expected.
Ezra allowed the door to close behind him. Now he ran, it was only a few steps but he was no longer willing to take his time. The window was high, he didn't remember that. Shit. He was going to need something to stand on. Green eyes quickly searched the tiled room. A large bin stood by the sink, it was plastic, and it wouldn't hold his weight. Shit. Shit. Shit. The door burst open and a shout of surprise was torn from Ezra's mouth. He etched his way to the corner. There was nowhere to hide, he could no longer escape from his fate. They moved closer to him. Ezra fell to the floor slowly, his back sliding against the wall, his knees creeping closer to his chin.
"No," it was a whispered plea that seemed to do him no good. They still came. The flesh began to melt from the skull of the first alien. "no," he began to peddle his legs in an attempt to get further away from them. Human features began to appear as the flesh melted away. Blond hair, then familiar blue eyes stared down at him. It couldn't be, Chris. No, he was one of them, they had fooled him. The fear gripped his heart like an icicle. Why didn't he listen to his mother, he would be living a comfortable life instead of sitting here in fear as what he had thought never existed came even closer to him.
"Ezra, it's me Chris. Come on, whatever it is that you’re seeing it's not real."
A cold sweat began to soak into his hair, his face had paled considerably, and his shirt was sticking to his back causing the wounds to itch. He was hating every second of this. Even though the faces had changed, the weapons were still there to threaten him.
Ezra made up his mind, he wasn't going to die like this, a frightened animal hiding in a corner. He was going to fight, hurt them as much as he could before they killed him. His eyes shifted when the door opened a second time. Vin walked in, or stumbled was more like it. His face was bloodied. The three aliens quickly moved to the injured man. That was it for Ezra. They could kill him but not the man that had been trying to be his friend. This time it was Ezra's turn to lunge.
Chris took Vin's arm and helped him to the floor. He grimaced at the cuts and bruises.
"He was a better fighter than I thought, but I finally beat him. The other guy was easier." Vin smiled up at his friend and saw the threat over Chris' left shoulder. "Watch it guys." he nodded at Ezra.
Chris turned just as Ezra landed in his back. The smaller man had a tight grip on him and had begun to hit every vulnerable spot he could reach. Josiah grabbed one arm and Nathan the other, together they were able to tear Ezra off Chris' back. But then he began to kick. A heavy boot landed in between Chris' shoulder blades. He was forced forward and he took Vin with him.
"Ezra!" Josiah yelled into his ear.
Ezra didn't listen, he continued to struggle. There were no longer any aliens present but the fear continued to control him. Fear for his own life and Vin's.
"Ezra stop it. It's us, we're not going to hurt you!" Nathan growled at him. He wouldn't have imagined this thin, smaller man held so much strength and so many moves. He knew of two bruises that were already forming on his own legs. Chris and Josiah weren't doing any better. They were all going to be pretty sore after this event.
Chris momentarily forgot about Vin. He pushed him out of his way and stood up. The distance he kept himself in was more for protection than anything else. He waited for his chance, when the opening came he struck out and his fist slammed against Ezra's unprotected jaw. The ex-con collapsed, falling towards Josiah. Nathan let go and allowed the larger man to take the burden.
"What did you do that for?" Vin asked from his position on the floor.
"What else was I supposed to do." Chris growled at him on his way to the door.
Once Chris was back in the restaurant, he searched it for the two men. They were gone. The only person there was Lucy, she was already beginning to clean up the mess. He muttered an obscene curse then went back into the men's room. Ezra was cradled in Josiah's arms as he tried to wake the unconscious man. Nathan was examining Vin. What a mess.
"They're gone." Chris informed them. "We're going after them."
"We can't go after them now. Ezra's unconscious and Vin's in a mess." Nathan told him.
"They have to know that we're onto them, if we don't go now they're going to leave town and we won't be able to find them." Chris growled at him. "We're going now!"
There was no choice. Josiah lifted Ezra into his arms and Nathan helped Vin up onto shaking legs. They followed Chris out into the restaurant where Josiah was questioned by an obviously distraught waitress. Lucy wanted to help. Josiah told her that Ezra would be fine, that they were taking him to the hospital. It wasn't really a lie, they probably would be by the end of the day. Once he reached the car, Nathan helped him to get Ezra into the back seat where Vin was. Josiah struggled over the smaller man so he could sit in the middle, he needed to keep an eye on both team members. Chris pushed the accelerator to the floor before Josiah could even close the car door.
"Jordan Road, house at the end of the street." Chris informed Nathan of their destination.
"You going to call Buck?" Nathan asked Chris as his eyes searched the road map he had gotten out of the glove compartment.
"No, I want him staying where he is just in case they're headed his way."
"Take a left up here," Nathan ordered. "what about the sheriff?"
"What about him?"
The car lurched around the corner, Josiah feared that they were going to tip over, he reached out with both arms to protect the men who sat on either side of him. Vin was able to stop his head from hitting the window. Ezra's slammed against Josiah's shoulder, the sudden movement elicited a moan from the younger man.
"Ezra?"
"Right just up here, it'll come to a t-section, turn right again," he pointed to the turning, "don't you think he should be notified of what we're doing?"
Ezra didn't want to answer, he was confused. His eyes searched his surroundings, he was in the hire car that Chris had been using. Was it a dream? It had to have been. He must of fallen asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant. Nothing had really happened, it had been a nightmare, and it was the only explanation that he would accept. For now anyway, he would go crazy otherwise.
"And what are we going to tell him Nathan, that we're after two men that abducted one of my men, made him see things that don't exist, did the same to three other people, two of whom are now dead."
"Ezra?" Josiah used his shoulder to shove Ezra in an attempt to get a response out of him.
He sighed silently, these men would not leave him alone. "What?"
"You okay?"
"Fine, just had a nightmare that's all."
"Left up here onto Jordan's road, house should be at the end of the street."
"He'll just laugh at us Nathan, then get in my way. I want these guys for what they did to Ezra."
Chris slowed down, the road was short in distance so it wasn't long before the house they were searching for came into sight. The blond leader slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a halt. All occupants were forced forward by the cars sudden lack of momentum. Muttered curses were voiced from the back. Chris ignored them. He had a mission to complete.
"Ezra, Vin, stay here!"
"You will receive no argument from me Mr Larabee." Ezra replied.
Ezra stared at the house, it was like any normal residence. White panelling, a large porch ran from left to right. Huge armchairs sat on either side of the front door. Pot plants could be seen through the railing, some dying while others had already lost the fight to live. The grass on the front lawn was long, large trees gave the porch the shade it required to allow people to spend time there. Ezra was distracted from his view when Chris and the others crossed it as they ran to the front door. They separated before they got there. Nathan and Josiah moved to the left and right. The back door. He flinched when Chris forced the front door open, he'd obviously done it before, and it had only taken one kick.
Ten minutes passed, no sound came from the house. Ezra was beginning to worry about the men who had entered it. Vin was beginning to fidget. The slender man was about to exit the vehicle and go in. Ezra wanted to stop him but both his body and voice refused to aid him in his attempts. The car door slammed shut, he was gone. He continued to watch as Vin moved slowly towards the front door, he looked as though he was going to fall over. Ezra wanted to turn away, he wanted to get out of the car himself and walk away from the entire situation he had been placed in. It wasn't what he wanted.
Voices brought him back from his thoughts. His eyes had seen Chris and the others leave the house but it was his ears that made him aware of them. He could see that Chris was angry, they were also empty handed. Ezra felt as though he hadn't done enough to help them catch the two men that had committed crimes against himself and others. But what could he have done, he didn't remember anything that connected them to the crime. There was nothing he could do.
Ezra got out of the car, he wanted to hear what they were talking about. He leaned against the door he just closed. His eyes followed Chris' pacing, occasionally he glanced at Josiah and saw the determination that was written all over his face. Ezra wanted and needed to know what Chris was angry about, or who he was angry at.
"I want an APB put out on them!" Chris growled at anyone who was listening.
"Why?" Josiah stood still with his hands on his hips, he wasn't going to budge. "You said it yourself Chris, there's no evidence, nothing to connect them to the crime. It's like you said in the car, the police will just laugh at you, if they did manage to arrest them, and the case would get thrown out of court."
"FUCK!"
"Until evidence is found there is nothing we can do." Josiah reminded.
"They hurt one of my men Josiah." Chris turned to him, he didn't know Ezra was listening.
"I know Chris, we all saw what Ezra went through. At the moment there's just nothing we can do about it."
"We can get the evidence we need."
"How?"
"We can search the house . . . "
"And if we find nothing?" Josiah was also following Chris' pacing, they all were. He could see Ezra leaning against the car. He was rubbing his jaw and listening to every word that was being said.
"I can't let them get away with it."
"They're not getting away with it Chris, there's just nothing we can do to stop them. The only chance we had was to catch them in the act, that's not going to happen now. They're gone."
"We don't know that for sure." Nathan suggested.
"Yes we do," Josiah said what they all were thinking, "they weren't stupid, they got past our detectors, were able to draw Ezra out of the van without us knowing it. They knew we were on to them when Vin tried to stop them. They left town, probably when they left the restaurant. I'm sure they've done it before, they know what they're doing."
"I hate it when this fucking happens!"
"We all do Chris."
"Shit!"
"It happens Chris, this isn't the first time we haven't been able to close a case." Vin told him, he was leaning against one of the trees that lived in the front yard. Right now, all he wanted to do was get Chris to calm down and accept the fact that they had given themselves away and the culprits were smart enough to skip town.
"But we had them."
"They're gone Mr Larabee, let them go." Ezra called out to him. He just wanted to get away from this place, sleep in a comfortable bed and forget that it ever happened. He knew that wouldn't happen, maybe he could think of it as a nightmare and leave it at that, like the incident in the restaurant earlier.
"I'm sorry Ezra." Chris walked back to the car and stood next to his newest team member.
"For what Mr Larabee?" Ezra raised an inquiring eyebrow at him, he had no idea why this man would be apologising to him.
"That we couldn't get the bastards that hurt you, put you through so much shit."
"Don't worry about it Mr Larabee, I've been through shit, as you put it, before and the culprits were never apprehended. You just have to realise that justice isn't always available. Not everyone is going to get caught."
"I know," Chris let the confession that gave him a little bit more of Ezra's past slide for now, "it just pisses me off."
"That is why you, Mr Larabee, are prematurely ageing."
"Excuse me?" Chris turned to him.
"You look older than you are."
"I know what it means, I want to know what you meant by it."
"Perhaps we should go back to the hotel, I could do with some more sleep."
"It's the middle of the morning Ezra." Vin told him as he made his way back to the car. He glared at Nathan when the scientist tried to help him.
"As far as I am concerned Mr Tanner, the sun is still not up." Ezra opened the door and slid along the seat.
"You haven't answered my question Ezra." Chris got into the driver's seat and twisted his body so he could look at the younger man who now sat in the back seat.
"And what question was that?"
"Ezra!"
"Leave him be Chris, he's been through a lot the last couple of days." Nathan chastised Chris when he took his position in the passenger's side.
"Didn't you hear what he said to me?" Chris was astonished.
"Yeah, we all did and speaking for myself, I agree with him." Vin leaned back against the seat and used Josiah's large shoulder as a pillow. A day in bed sounded pretty good to him now that he thought about it.
"Agreed." Nathan and Josiah spoke in unison.
"Great, just fucking great. Of all the people, I had to pick to join the team it was a smartass that's going to get the sympathy from the others. Six against one, why me?"
"You're talking out loud again Chris." Vin told him. "You know I warned you about that."
"Shut up Vin."
"Is it always like this Mr Sanchez?" Ezra asked the larger man who sat next to him.
"Afraid so Ezra. They're like children most of the time. Need a man like me to keep them in line."
"I thought you were the mother." Ezra frowned in confusion at him.
"Chris, I think he's going to be worse than Vin and Buck put together." Josiah rubbed his stubble with his fingers. "Do I look like a mother to you?"
"You look like a mother to me." Vin pressed a hand against Josiah's chest. "Your just lacking in some areas."
"Why you little . . . "
"Now, now Mr Sanchez, Mr Tanner is injured and I am suffering from a headache, so if you would, please stop harassing us and let us get some much needed rest."
"What!? I didn't start this, you did." Josiah pointed an accusing finger at Ezra.
"You Mr Sanchez, are mistaken. Mr Larabee started it."
"You wait until we get back to the hotel . . ." Chris began.
"Chris! Josiah!" Nathan spoke with confidence. "Will you please leave them alone."
"Us!?" Chris and Josiah answered.
"Yes you!"
Josiah looked at Vin then at Ezra. He shook his head. If Ezra stayed - which he hoped he would - then they were going to have to keep these two separated, or Chris was going to kill one of them.
________________________________________
Somewhere over Wyoming - Sunday, 2:58pm
Chris sat in his seat watching as Ezra stared out of the airplane window. They had forced him to sit with them again but after take-off, the ex-con had extracted himself from their care to find a seat where he could sit on his own. Chris understood that Ezra had a lot to think about, he still hadn't informed him if he was staying or going. He was worried that his newest recruit wasn't going to stay. Could he blame him? Of course, he couldn't. Ezra was supposed to just watch and learn on his first case, instead he had been thrown into it head first. He had injured himself, through no fault of his own, was abducted and carved up like a piece of beef carcass and suffered hallucinations. Why would the man stay.
The report that he had completed, after discovering that the culprits they so desperately wanted to arrest got away, told a simple tale of alien abduction - unproven of course. End of story. There was nothing else to say. He had forced Vin and Ezra to stay in his room so he could watch them both. He knew Vin was going to be okay. He wasn't so sure about Ezra, the man had had a restless night, the nightmares causing him to wake up in a sweat. Each time Ezra had refused to talk about them or what had happened to him. Even Vin had tried to get him to talk but to no avail.
Chris knew Ezra was trying to deal with it in his own way, on the outside everything seemed to be normal while on the inside he was full of confusion, doubt and fear. Chris did have his hands full with this one but he knew he wasn't going to regret it. Maybe he would come around like Vin had.
He couldn't stand it any longer, Chris got up and took the few steps that were required to take him to Ezra.
"Can I sit down?"
"Can I stop you?"
"No." Chris smiled.
"Then by all means Mr Larabee, sit down." Ezra watched him take a seat then waited to hear what he had to say.
"You doin' okay?"
"Doing fine, and you?"
"Fine. You going to stay?" Chris watched for a reaction, there wasn't one. Ezra did have one of the best poker face's he'd ever come across. There was also no reply to his question. "You angry?"
"About what?"
"That we didn't catch them."
"No, I already told you Mr Larabee that it happens, there's nothing you can do about it."
"It's happened to you before?" Again, there was no answer.
"Do you always look after your men like that?"
"Yeah, but I didn't this time." Chris leaned further back into his chair. "I wasn't able to take care of you."
"But I'm not one of your men."
"While you work on my team you are." Chris assured him.
Ezra looked out at the brilliant blue sky. His mind had been full of confusion. Some of what happened seemed to be real while the rest of it felt like a nightmare. He was finding it hard to separate reality from the dreams. He hadn't thought about whether or not he was going to stay. These men had made him do things that no other person could. He had trusted Larabee and the man came through. He had allowed small pieces of information to be given to them. His own type of humour matched theirs. He found that he, Chris and Vin had something in common; cartoons. He actually liked these people.
"Ezra."
They had wanted to take care of him when he was hurt, to comfort him after he'd woken up from his nightmares. They protected him as best they could from the enemy and felt anger when they had failed. He got a sudden feeling that he belonged with these men. And he did trust his own feelings, they kept him alive.
"Mr Larabee." Ezra's expression was serious when he turned from the window. "I quit."
"If that's what you want Ezra. But just so you know, I enjoyed working with you." Chris shifted in his seat. He wanted to leave it there, to stand up and walk away but he couldn't.
"Perhaps a week’s recuperation, with sick pay of course, is needed before I rejoin the team."
"Huh?"
"You can't expect me to go back to work after what I've been through." Ezra made himself more comfortable. "Not only did I suffer physical injuries at the hands of criminals or aliens, whichever it was, I was also verbally assaulted by my team mates. Mr Jackson caused me undue pain while trying to repair my injuries, you forced me to go to a hospital, which I did not want to do, and I had to be a passenger in that dreadful vehicle Mr Tanner calls a jeep. I was forced to work with hippies," Chris smiled at that one, he knew Ezra was talking about Vin and JD with their shoulder length hair, "not to mention a man who dresses entirely in black, colour blind if you ask me. Why no one has bought him a coloured piece of clothing for Christmas, I do not know." Chris' smiled dropped from his features. "Kicked, literally, out of my bed at an ungodly hour every morning and not to mention the five thousand dollars I lost. That was a lot of money, and it was meant to earn me a lot more. Forced from my home, the fact that it was a hotel isn't the point. And not all in that order."
Chris' mouth was now hanging open.
"Mr Larabee? Are you okay?" Ezra waved a hand in front of the man's face.
"Um, yeah."
"Considering the fact that I faced danger during this first job, I hope I will be receiving danger pay and would the organisation be willing to compensate me for loss of personal effects. My blue shirt was ruined, I can't replace that, well I could but it was expensive and now that I have no money, well, you can see my predicament." Ezra was far from finished. "Do I get a gun? A company car? What about a place to stay? I did have one but I can't go back there, not now and what about clothing, do I have to supply my own when I am required to go undercover . . ."
The Southern accent was beginning to drive Chris insane. He put out a hand and covered Ezra's mouth.
"You finished?" A shake of the head indicated that Ezra wasn't. "Well you are now. Understand." Ezra nodded. Chris removed his hand. "You always talk that much?"
"Only when I have something to say." Ezra smiled at him.
"Is that often?" Chris grimaced, he was hoping the answer was going to be no.
"Yes."
"Damn."
Ezra looked away as the smile filtered across his face.
"How about we get serious for a minute Ezra." Chris shifted sideways so he could look at Ezra. "Do you need to talk about what happened? Because I'm here if you do. You can talk to any of us, we'll all listen. You went through some bad stuff back there. None of it has been explained in a way that satisfies you. You’re always going to have questions about what really happened."
"I know but there isn't really anything I can do about it."
"You can talk to me."
"No, it's like hospitals, I don't talk to people about my problems.. I deal with things better on my own.
Everything seems to be a dream anyway, as long as I think about it like that I'm okay."
"Those dreams are pretty nasty though Ezra."
"I know but they won't last."
"You can stay with me until you find your own place."
"Thanks Chris, I appreciate that."
"Why did you decide to stay?"
"Just had a feeling that I should."
Chris nodded. He wasn't sure what to say next. He turned his head sideways to find the others watching him, he smiled at them and they all seemed to relax. They all wanted Ezra to stay. He was sure the Southerner was going to fit in well with the group.
"So what is it you like about the Angry Beavers?"
Ezra hung his head as a huge smile lit up his face, dimples appeared and his eyes sparkled. He looked up at Chris. "The noises Daggett makes when he's running around and his attitude, he's my hero."
Before both men knew it, Vin was sitting in the third seat. "I like it when he's muscular beaver."
"Toe robot." Ezra nodded in agreement.
"And what is it with that naked episode. What were they hiding anyway?"
"What do you think Vin?" Chris smiled at him.
"Well it's not their genitals." Vin assured him. "They don't have any."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Because if it they did they would dress during the day."
"It's their belly buttons." Ezra told them.
"What?" They both looked at him.
"They're hiding their belly buttons." he repeated.
"They don't have belly buttons." Chris informed him.
"Yes they do!" Vin argued.
"No they don't, if they did you would still see them when they had fur." Chris growled at him.
"So why do they wear pyjamas?" Vin asked the question again.
"And underwear." Ezra added.
"And swimming costumes."
"Who the hell knows, I still can't figure it out." Chris shook his head.
"I know." Ezra lied
"Then tell us." Chris ordered him.
"No."
"You don't know do you." Vin sneered at him.
"Why would I lie about something as serious as this."
"You didn't know at the hospital." Vin smiled smugly.
"I've had time to think about it." Ezra shrugged.
Chris and Vin looked at each other then Ezra. They couldn't read his face, this was going to make their arguments more difficult.
"You know what I want to know?" Ezra leaned towards them.
"What?" they asked together.
"Why doesn't Johnny Bravo get whiplash?"
Yep, Chris thought as he smiled at Vin. Ezra was going to fit in just fine.
The End
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List