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azombiewritesTitle: Lenny Hoskins and Team 7 v's Ezra Standish
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strong Language.
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: ATF
Main Characters: Ezra, the guys and Lenny Hoskins.
Summary: Someone has invited Lenny Hoskins to join the team for a three day weekend holiday.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Notes: Lenny Hoskins is my creation.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 17,585
“You gonna make him stay out there all day?” Vin handed Chris a hot steaming cup of coffee.
“Yep. The man’s being an idiot and I want to know why.” Chris was standing at the window watching the Southerner as he continued to sit where he had fallen. “An idiot. Look at him, he hasn’t even bothered to get up off the ground. He’s just sitting there. What in the hell is wrong with him today.”
“He was fine yesterday, even this morning. It all started in the car on the way up here.”
“You don’t think it was something I said do you?” Chris glanced at Vin.
“It usually is.” the sharp shooter smiled at him to show that he hadn’t meant any harm by the choice of words he had used.
“Why is he going to the effort of pissing me off?”
“All of us actually.”
Chris looked at Vin.
“He tried very hard to get Josiah angry,” Vin added. “and Buck, he kept blaming him for the cd thing.”
“He’s trying to make us angry at him. What for?”
“Beats me.”
“Maybe Lenny knows.” Chris suggested.
“Knows what?” Lenny asked as he stepped up beside Chris. The FBI agent leaned forward and pulled the curtain back, he didn’t care if Ezra saw him watching him. “He still hasn’t gotten up yet. That’s not like him to sit in the dirt.”
“You know what’s going on with him?” Chris took a long sip of his coffee.
“Apart from going to all the trouble of making us angry? No, I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Vin asked them.
“I don’t know yet.” Chris answered.
“Larabee . . . you don’t think it’s something like you said before do you . . . I mean, Ezra having some sort of tumour that’s making him act like this.”
“I think we should talk to Nathan.”
At Chris’ suggestion, the three men took one last glance at Ezra then headed for the kitchen. They crowded the table that Nathan and Josiah were sitting at. Chris pulled his chair out and turned it around and straddled it. Neither man wanted to ask such a serious question so they just sat there, watching Nathan slowly eating his sandwich.
Nathan glanced over the top of the chicken salad roll he was eating and was surprised to see three sets of eyes staring at him. He looked to Josiah for an explanation but the older man just shrugged back at him.
“You want something?” Nathan asked them.
Chris looked at Lenny, who looked at Vin, who looked back at Chris. The leader of Team Seven sighed and glared at Lenny, who glared at Vin, who glared back at Chris.
“What do you want?” Nathan asked again.
Chris growled at Lenny, who growled at Vin, who growled back at Chris. This was going nowhere, he had to try another tactic.
“You ask him!” Chris ordered Lenny.
“You ask him!” Lenny ordered Vin.
“Why don’t you ask him Chris.” Vin suggested to his boss.
“Why do I always have to do it? Why doesn’t Hoskins do it?”
“Why should I start now? You never asked me to ask before.”
“Why should I ask him, you’re the boss.” Vin whined.
“Would someone just ask the damn question!” Josiah growled at the group of men.
“I’m not sure I want to.” Chris said.
“I know I don’t want to.” Vin added before Lenny could say anything.
Lenny looked at Chris who was smiling at him. His eyes then travelled to Vin who was looking way to smug.
“Okay! I’ll ask the damn question!”
“Knew you could do it Lenny.” Chris slapped him on the back. This caused both Nathan and Josiah to frown in confusion at Chris’ behaviour.
“We were wondering . . . “ Lenny started but stopped again.
“Ask him.” Vin nudged him.
“I am!”
“Nathan we were wondering if the reason . . . “ he stopped again. He couldn’t help it, he was too scared that Nathan would say yes.
“Ask him!” Vin pushed him harder.
“I am asking him!”
“No you’re not.” Chris growled at him. “All you’re doing is adding a couple of words each time you try.”
“You ask him then.” Lenny retorted.
“I don’t want to.” Chris replied.
“Well neither do I.”
“You were the one who volunteered to ask him.” Chris reminded him.
“I didn’t volunteer, I had no choice. You’re too much of a coward to ask him.” Lenny accused him.
“Can you blame me.”
“No.”
“Then ask him.” Chris continued to urge him.
“We were wondering if the reason Ezra was acting so strangely was because of some sort of tumour in his head.”
Nathan frowned in understanding. He knew why they were having so much trouble asking him such a question and his answer wasn’t going to help.
“It’s possible. Tumours on certain places of the brain can cause a change in a person’s behaviour.”
Three men groaned as one.
“But I don’t think that’s what’s wrong with Ezra. There would be other symptoms and he looks and acts quite healthy to me.”
“Then why is he doing it?” Lenny slapped his forehead in frustration. “There has to be a reason for it.”
“Has he ever acted this way before?” Josiah aimed the question at the man who had known Ezra the longest.
“No,” Lenny shook his head. “I have no idea why he’s acting the way he is. He’s never acted this way before now.”
“I agree,” Chris nodded, “well at least, over the nine months we’ve known him. There’s been no abnormal behaviour what so ever from him.”
“Ezra hasn’t been on a difficult case has he?” Lenny frowned at Chris.
“No, the last case was a week ago and he only went under for a few days. It was a simple bust with no complications.” Chris explained.
“Burnout?” Josiah suggested
“No,” Nathan told him, “there would be other symptoms like there are with a tumour.”
“We’re just going to have to play it out then and see what he’s up to.” Chris told them.
“Or wait for any symptoms to show up,” Lenny nodded, “at least then we’ll know what’s going on and we’ll be able to do something about it.”
“So, we’re in agreement then?” Chris asked Lenny.
“Yeah, I don’t see what else we can do.” Lenny agreed.
“Are we going to leave him out there or bring him in.” Vin was watching Chris.
“What do you think Lenny?”
“Bring him in. We can’t watch him out there. He could be doing anything.” Lenny glanced at Chris and both men jumped out of their chairs and ran to the front door with the others following them.
Five men stood on the veranda and stared at the area Ezra had been sitting. He was no longer there, neither was his bag.
“Where the hell did he go?” Lenny jogged down the steps and searched the immediate area with his eyes.
“Vin, go check the barn. Josiah, check the cars, Nathan go check the boat house.” Chris ordered them.
“Where are you going to look?” Nathan asked him.
“The house!” Chris and Lenny answered together.
________________________________________
Ezra had decided that he’d spent long enough on the ground. His friends were no doubt inside trying to work out what was wrong with him. Was it something physical or was he just being an idiot. Ezra knew it was neither of those two choices. He just wanted his friends in Denver to get along with his Atlanta friend. He wanted to invite Lenny up here on other occasions and know that it wasn’t going to end in a fistfight. He was tired of the small group of men putting Lenny down. Ezra knew that their intention wasn’t to hurt but the words did. The last thing he wanted to do was choose between them. He’d finally found men he could trust and be friends with, he wasn’t going to lose them now.
He stood up, brushed the dirt off his trousers, picked up his bag and headed to the door at the side of the house that led into the large kitchen. His movements became quiet when he heard voices coming from inside. They were talking about him; not arguing. Ezra smiled, this is the way it should be all the time. What was that? Chris had actually asked Lenny what he thought. This was amazing. If he had known it would be this easy, he would have done it earlier.
Suddenly the men got up and ran from the kitchen into the living room. Ezra raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He stepped into the kitchen and his mouth watered when he smelt the coffee. His first mission was to pour himself a cup, his second mission was to finish the sandwich that had been left on the table. When the first mission was completed, he moved to the table to make the second one a success.
The coffee was good and so was the sandwich. He could tell that Josiah made the coffee and the chicken salad was Nathan’s. The ex-medic knew how to make a salad sandwich. Ezra should know, Nathan had made plenty of them for him when he was recovering from an injury.
He was just about to put the last bit of food in his mouth when Chris and Lenny showed up. They moved to the table and sat on either side of him.
“That wasn’t your sandwich.” Chris informed him.
“Yes it was, I wouldn’t be eating it if it wasn’t.” Ezra filled his mouth with the last of the sandwich.
“You know it wasn’t yours Ezra.” Lenny argued with him.
Ezra continued to chew his food with his mouth closed, just like his mother had taught him.
“I’m not going to argue with you over a sandwich Ezra, it’s not important.” Chris sighed and rubbed his face. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on?”
“There is nothing going on Mr Larabee, everything is perfectly fine.” Ezra smiled then took a drink from his cup. “Who made the coffee?”
“Josiah.” Lenny answered him.
“Very nice. I haven’t had any caffeine since we left the office.”
“Is that what it is?” Chris leaned forward and placed his forearms on the table. “All this crap because you haven’t had any coffee for seven hours.”
“What crap? There hasn’t been any crap. The only problem here is your bad mood Mr Larabee. A person can’t say anything without you going off at the deep end. You have no sense of humour. Either of you.”
“My mood has nothing to do it!” Chris yelled at him.
“There you go again Chris, you’re mood is dictating this conversation.”
“I’m not . . . “
“Chris.” Lenny gripped Chris’ arm and gave it an encouraging squeeze.
Ezra saw the gesture and almost chocked on his coffee. It was only a lifetime of training to hide his emotions that stopped him.
“Why don’t we let him sleep on it and see what his mind is like in the morning.”
“You really think that’s going to make a difference?”
“No, but if I continue to listen to this pile of shit he’s dishing out, I’m going to hit him.” Lenny admitted.
“I’m just glad I already had that chance.” Chris smiled at Lenny.
“Then you’re one up on me. Maybe I should just hit him now and make it even between us.”
“Go ahead.” Chris pushed his chair back to give Lenny some room.
“You think I should?” Lenny was actually shaking with excitement.
“I don’t see why not.” Chris shrugged and glanced at Ezra. He saw the slight hint of amusement in the green eyes that were watching Lenny. “He’s laughing at you Lenny, he doesn’t think you’ll do it.”
What! How in the hell did he see that. I must be slipping.
“Are you laughing at me Ezra?” Lenny glared at his young friend.
“Why would I laugh at you Lenny. I just finished saying that you don’t have a sense of humour.”
Ezra didn’t know what hit him. One second he was smiling at the man, he considered a brother, then before he could react, Lenny’s fist him in the same area that Chris had hit him that morning. He felt himself free falling for a few seconds then his body hit the cold tiled floor of the kitchen. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!” Ezra rolled onto his left side and used his right hand to hold his jaw. If things kept going like this, he was going to end up with a broken jaw. He looked up in time to see Chris and Lenny give each other a high-five. The pain he was feeling now was well worth it. The two men at the table weren’t even aware of the fact that they were being nice to each other. They were acting as friends would. “Son-of-a-bitch! You hit me!”
“It felt good too.” Lenny got up and walked away from Ezra.
Chris couldn’t help but smile at the expression Ezra was wearing. He stood up and took the few steps needed to reach Ezra. He crouched down. “You sure you don’t want to tell us what’s wrong.”
“There is nothing wrong . . . well except for . . . ,“ Ezra gripped his jaw harder. “you two idiots. What do you have to keep hitting me for? I didn’t do anything to either of you.”
“You pissed us off Ezra. As far as I’m concerned, it’s enough.”
“Bastard.” Ezra mumbled.
“I’m sorry?” Chris leaned closer to Ezra.
“I said,” Ezra sat up suddenly and used all his strength to hit Chris across the jaw. The force of the blow sent Chris sliding against the floor. He stopped when his back hit the fridge door. “Bastard!”
“You hit me.” Chris growled at him. “And you hit me a lot harder than I hit you.”
“Serves yourself right for being such an irritating Bastard. You’ve been pissing me off all day, all of you have. What is wrong with you guys!” Ezra was standing now. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into coming on this trip Chris, I really don’t.” he was shaking his head in mock disappointment.
“Nathan is going to check you over.”
“I’m not the one lying on the floor Mr Larabee.”
“NATHAN!” Chris pushed himself up off the floor and stormed towards Ezra. He grabbed the Southerner’s arm painfully and pulled him into the living room and threw him down onto the couch. “NATHAN!”
“Do you really have to yell Mr Larabee, I mean, it’s not like Nathan’s deaf. I’m sure he can hear you quite well. Maybe he just doesn’t want to answer you.”
“Shut up Ezra.”
“What’s going on.” Lenny had run back into the room, he was followed by Nathan, Vin and Josiah.
“Where’s Buck and JD anyway?” Ezra searched the room. “Did you chase them away Chris. You didn’t show them your ladies underwear did you?”
Chris ignored him. “He hit me.”
“Don’t you mean, I hit him.” Lenny corrected him.
“No, he,” Chris pointed at Ezra then at the side of his jaw, “hit me!”
“Ezra hit you?” Lenny was shocked. “Ezra, what did you hit him for?”
“He called me a Bastard.” Ezra shrugged.
“I did not!” Chris protested.
“You’re lying again aren’t you.” Lenny sat down on the couch with Ezra. “Why?”
“I’m not lying.”
“Nathan!” Chris glared at the ex-medic. “I want you to check him over, make sure there isn’t anything physically wrong with him.”
“Sure.”
“Can we do it in private please Nathan?” Ezra smiled at him.
“Why?”
“I don’t really feel comfortable undressing in front of a man who wears women’s underwear.”
“Who wears women’s underwear?” Nathan wasn’t sure if this was a lie; he could have been talking about Hoskins.
“Chris.” Ezra pointed at his boss.
“I’m not going to react Ezra.” Chris folded his arms.
“Let’s go Ezra, my stuff is in the spare room.”
Ezra stood up to follow Nathan but before he started walking, he gave the men who were smiling at him the finger. He smiled when Chris grabbed Lenny’s arm to stop him from doing anything. The undercover agent more or less bounced into the spare room.
“So what’s really going on Ezra?” Nathan closed the door and leaned against it.
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” Ezra sat on the bed and began to take his jacket off.
Nathan moved forward and watched the younger man as he began to unbutton his shirt. “Well first of all, you’ve never done this before without an argument. That in itself tells me that there is something wrong.”
“You should know, you’re the one that claims he’s a doctor.” Ezra removed his shirt, placed it carefully on the bed and laid his hands in his lap.
“I’ve never claimed to be a doctor Ezra.” Nathan stayed where he was as he continued to watch the man before him.
“Maybe not, but you certainly act like one. You seem to think you can save the world.”
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“For me to examine you.”
“Ready when you are Mr Jackson-who-thinks-he’s-a-doctor.”
“I don’t know why you’re doing this Ezra, but I hope you have a good reason for it.” Nathan grabbed his bag off the table and began to examine his patient. Patient? What a load of crap. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Ezra Standish. The man was just being a pain in the ass like he always was. Except he was acting even worse than he usually did.
Nathan checked Ezra’s blood pressure and pulse. He checked his ears, eyes and throat. He made him cough and stick his tongue out. He put a cold stethoscope on his chest and back to check his breathing.
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Nathan stated.
“I know that, I don’t know why you even bothered going ahead with it.”
“I did it because the others are worried about you.”
“And you’re not?”
“No, I know you’re just doing something stupid.” the ex-medic packed his bag and put it back on the table.
“You’re being an idiotic asshole that doesn’t know when to stop pushing people.”
“You do know that both Chris and Lenny hit me, don’t you.”
“I’m sure they had good reason to.”
Ezra took his shirt and put it back on. He took his time doing up the buttons. “I don’t think that Josiah was very happy about Buck throwing his cd away.”
“You threw it away, not Buck, and you know that.”
“No I don’t know that.”
“You better know what you’re doing Ezra and I hope you don’t push us too far.”
“I’m not doing anything Nathan and no one is being pushed. People are just abusing me for some reason and I have no idea what that reason is.”
“You pissed them off Ezra.”
“I certainly did not! You’re lying through your teeth Nathan.”
Nathan shrugged. “Whatever you say Ezra, whatever you say.”
“I didn’t say anything Nathan.” Ezra smiled at him.
“You won’t get a reaction from me Ezra. I’m not going to get angry at you and hit you like Chris and Lenny have. I won’t do that.”
Ezra stood up. He had no understanding as to why he wanted to say it, only that he had an urge to and he desperately wanted Lenny to be accepted by these men. The Southerner stood up slowly and stepped towards Nathan.
“Not even if I call you a nigger.” Ezra snarled the last word.
Nathan hit him. No one, not even a friend was going to call him a nigger.
“You lied to me again Nathan, you said you wouldn’t react.” Ezra lay on the floor, his hand holding the right side of his face.
“You Ezra Standish are a Bastard, born and bred!” Nathan spat out the words the stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“That went well.”
Ezra got himself off the floor, took his jacket and left the room. When he walked into the large living room, he saw the others talking to each other. He coughed. They turned around, looked at him, glared at him, snarled at him, and then turned away from him. Ezra decided it was time for a walk.
“I’ve decided to go for a walk. You know how much I enjoy the outdoors. Thought I would take in some of this wonderful weather while one of you cook dinner. I’ll be back in an hour, when the sun goes down. I expect my food to be on the table when I get back.” he gave them a two-finger salute then walked out the front door.
Chris glanced at Ezra as the Southerner passed him and couldn’t help but notice the reddish mark on the right cheek.
“Did you hit him Nathan?” Chris raised an eyebrow.
“Bastard called me a nigger.” Nathan spoke quietly.
“What?”
Everyone stood with their mouths open. They couldn’t believe what Nathan had just told them.
“He called me a nigger.”
“There has to be something wrong with him.” Buck told them. “Ezra wouldn’t say that for any reason at all.”
“I didn’t do or say anything to provoke him Buck!”
“I know that Nathan, I’m just saying, Ezra wouldn’t . . . that’s not like Ezra.”
“When he comes back, we tie him to a chair and find out what’s going on.” Chris decided.
Lenny nodded in agreement then moved to the open doorway. He placed his hands on his hips and watched Ezra’s retreating back. Something was going on, and he wished he knew what.
________________________________________
Ezra Standish, a man on a mission, stepped into the kitchen exactly one hour later. The large kitchen table was bare. What did he expect? That they would cook dinner and have it waiting for him. A noise behind him caused him to turn around. Chris Larabee was standing a few feet away from him. In Larabee’s hand was a roll of tape. His face wore a confident smile. Ezra knew the man was up to something. He opened his mouth to make a comment but a nod from Chris stopped him.
“Get him!” Chris ordered his men.
Ezra’s first thought was to fight but when he saw six men swarm towards him, he decided that it was better if he ran. But where was he going to run. Nathan and Josiah were coming up from behind. Buck and Vin took the left and right side. JD joined Chris to come in from the front. Where was Lenny? Ezra saw him just before he was tackled to the ground. His friend of ten years, was standing next to a chair, he was also wearing the same smug smile that Chris Larabee had been wearing.
His back slammed against the floor when his friends forced him to lose his balance. He was then pulled to his feet and dragged towards the waiting chair and Lenny Hoskins. They pushed him into the chair and while they held his limbs, Lenny began to tape his arms and legs to the heavy chair. It only took a few minutes before they were sure they had Ezra securely taped to the chair. He wasn’t going anywhere. They would have used their handcuffs but knew he was capable of escaping from them within seconds. Rope hadn’t even been a choice, they didn’t want to hurt him, and they only wanted to know what was going on.
Ezra glared at Lenny first, then turned his stare to each of the men that surrounded him. He hadn’t expected this. He had underestimated them.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Why didn’t we think of that?” Vin asked them.
“What? You need to go to the toilet?” Buck smiled at Vin.
“Not me! Him!” Vin pointed at Ezra.
“You’re the one with the incontinence problem.” Ezra smiled at Vin.
“Shut up.”
“Okay.” Ezra shrugged.
“I mean shut up about that incontinence thing!” Vin practically yelled at him.
Ezra watched as Chris walked into the kitchen, grabbed one of the chairs, bring it back and sit it in front of him.
“Something I can do for you Mr Larabee?”
“You can tell me why you’ve been acting like an asshole?”
“I’ve been doing no such thing!”
“You’re staying in that chair until you give me an answer Ezra.”
“Lenny, are you going to allow them to do this to me?”
Please say yes. Please tell me that you agree with what they’re doing. Please tell me that you are working together. Please tell me that you and Chris are helping each other. Please Lenny, please don’t allow what I’m doing to be a wasted effort.
“Yes I am Ezra. I . . . we want to know why you’re doing this to us and yourself.”
Thank you Lenny, thank you.
“So you agree with them tying me to a chair?”
“Yes.”
Ezra smiled inside. It was working, his plan was working. Now, if he could only manage to put up with this for a few hours; once he was sure that things were going to be okay, he would be able to tell them about his plan. They may not talk to him for a few days, maybe a week or two, or possibly a month. It didn’t matter, it will all be worth it.
“You agree with them questioning me for a crime that I have not committed.”
“You’re as guilty as the day you stole that car for me.” Lenny grinned and nodded at Chris.
“You stole a car?” JD asked him.
“It was in the line of duty.” Ezra retorted.
“Why Ezra?” Chris continued with his questions.
“Because Mr Hoskins there asked me to.”
Lenny grimaced at the use of his last name.
“Not that you idiot!”
“Then what, are you referring to?”
“The way you’ve been acting!” Chris growled.
“How have I been acting?” Ezra raised an eyebrow at Chris.
“I can’t do this.” Chris threw his hands in the air and stood up. “I can’t do it, I’m going to end up killing him.”
“I’ll have a go.” Lenny moved forward and took Chris’ place. He watched Ezra for at least five minutes before he spoke. He noticed that Ezra wouldn’t look back at him. “Ezra.”
“Yes Lenny.”
“I’ve known you for nearly eleven years now and I have never seen or heard you act this way before.”
“Have you been with me twenty four hours a day during that nearly eleven years?”
“No, but . . . “
“Then how would you know?”
“I know, because, I know you. I know how you think and how you feel. You’re doing this for a reason and I just haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Did anyone make dinner?” Ezra glanced at Josiah. “I’m hungry, I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
“We haven’t made dinner yet Ezra.” Josiah informed him.
“Oh, that’s a shame. I assume then, that you’re going to try and starve the information out of me.”
“You know we wouldn’t do that Ezra.” Lenny patted the Southerner’s knee.
“You’re going to drown me then?”
“Drown you?” Lenny frowned.
“I need to go to the toilet.” Ezra stated simply.
Lenny turned in his chair to silently ask Chris a question. Chris shook his head.
“No.” Lenny told him.
Ezra pulled at the tape that held his arms to the chair. Lenny had done a good job. He was most definitely stuck.
“Why did you call Nathan a nigger?” Josiah asked the question.
Ezra would have jumped in surprise if it hadn’t been for the tape holding him down. His eyes drifted to Josiah who was wearing a look of disapproval, then to Nathan who’s face held a hint of disgust. He had gone too far with that one word. He would do anything to take it back. Nathan hadn’t deserved that, he could have gotten him angry some other way. For now, he was going to have to deny it. Later when they knew, he would grovel on his hands and knees for Nathan’s forgiveness.
“I didn’t.” Ezra lied.
“Yes you did Ezra.” Nathan told him.
“You Mr Jackson are a liar.” Ezra growled at him.
“Ezra!” Lenny got his young friend’s attention.
“Yes Lenny.”
“Why are you doing this to your friends, to me?”
“I’m not doing anything Lenny, I keep telling you that. These men are lying.”
“Ezra, why?”
“Lenny, I’m not doing anything.”
“Does someone else want to have a go?” Lenny stood up and walked away.
He was beginning to get worried. Maybe it was something physical. Ezra wasn’t like this, he would never treat a friend this way, and he would never treat him this way.
“I will.” Josiah stepped forward and took Lenny’s place.
“Are you feeling okay Ezra?” Josiah leaned forward and ran his fingers along the bruising that was breaking out on Ezra’s jaw and cheek. The younger man flinched away from him but he knew Ezra couldn’t go far. His hand moved to Ezra’s forehead and he felt for a fever.
“I’m fine!” Ezra pulled his head away but the large hand stayed where it was. “Josiah, get off me.”
“If that’s what you want.” Josiah hesitated for a few seconds then removed his hand.
“Got a headache?”
“No.”
“Feeling sick at all?”
“No.” Ezra frowned at him. “Isn’t this usually Dr Jackson’s job.”
“Nathan isn’t a doctor.”
“Mr Jackson thinks he is. He even carries a bag.” Ezra smiled and nodded.
“He isn’t.” Josiah narrowed his eyes. “Did somebody hit you on the head or anything like that?”
“Did you know that Coca Cola started out as being green. Can you imagine that. Drinking something that’s green.” Ezra shook himself. “And how would someone know that a Polar Bear is left handed.”
“That’s some useless information you have there Ezra.”
“I have a lot more. Do you want to hear some?”
“Yes I would.”
Ezra hid his surprise. More useless information. He was going to have to wrack his brain now. What can he say? What on earth could he say?
“I need to go to the bathroom.” it was the only thing he could think of.
“Go and get a bucket or even yet a plastic bottle for him to piss in.” Chris ordered someone, anyone.
“I will not urinate in a bucket.” Ezra would rather hold it in than humiliate himself.
“Why can’t you just say, ‘piss in a bucket’ like everyone else.” Buck was shaking his head.
“Because unlike some,” Ezra glared at Vin, “I have an education.”
Whoops, did he really do that?
Vin glared at him then walked away.
Yes, it seems I did. Sorry Vin.
Ezra raised an eyebrow when Lenny grabbed Vin’s arm. He pulled him closer and whispered something into the sharp shooter’s ear. Ezra was shocked to the core when Vin laughed then turned to smile at Ezra.
“What did you just say to him?” he had to know.
“I told him about that test you failed at the academy.”
“What test? I didn’t fail a test? You know my SAT scores. How could I fail a test?”
“You, you little prick, failed a test and you know it.”
“I did not!” now Ezra was getting angry.
“You failed the psych test!” Lenny yelled back at him.
Everyone looked at Lenny then Ezra who was sitting with his mouth wide open. “I . . . I . . . I . . . it was a stupid test.”
“If he failed the test, how come he’s FBI?”
“He made them give him the test a second time. He claimed that he was trying to prove that he would make a good undercover agent the first time around.”
“It’s true, I would.”
“They thought he was an idiot.” Lenny chuckled and elbowed Vin in the ribs. “I still have a copy of it and their report. I’ll send it to you when I get back to Atlanta and then you can read about a person who claims they have an education.”
“No you won’t!” Ezra yelled.
“Tell me what you’re up to and I’ll change my mind.”
“Lenny,” Chris smiled at him, “I want to read the report and test.”
“Sorry Ezra, it’s seems I no longer have a choice. I’m going to have to send it to these guys.”
“Over my dead body.” Ezra was actually beginning to turn red. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It was all going wrong.
“Did you believe him?” JD asked Lenny.
“Did you know that JD still sleeps with a teddy bear?” Ezra tried to change the conversation.
“No,” Lenny ignored Ezra and answered JD, “and I still don’t. You see, well, Ezra here isn’t too good with people. That’s something you already know. So he acted his normal self during the test. He made himself look like an idiot. It took him a few days to realise what he’d done wrong. Then it took him five minutes to convince them to allow him to take the test again.”
“Five minutes?” Vin was still standing close to Lenny.
“He threatened them. He had certain information that would get them thrown out of the FBI, so he claimed anyway. I still don’t know what that information was.” Lenny shrugged.
“I did not threaten them, I simply convinced them that it was in their best interests if I sat the test a second
time.”
“In other words you blackmailed them.” Lenny ended the conversation by turning his back to Ezra, and starting up a conversation with Vin Tanner.
Josiah had continued to watch Ezra but he was unable to see anything in the man’s features that could tell him what was going on with the Southerner.
“Ezra.”
The undercover agent turned to face Josiah and raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes Josiah?”
“Has something happened? Something we should know about?”
“Only that you gentlemen are pissing me off.”
“There!” Buck pointed at Ezra. “You can say pissing.”
Ezra rolled his eyes at the ladies man. “You are an uncouth idiot Mr Wilmington.”
Buck growled in response.
“Do you want to hit him?” Chris asked Buck.
“Can I?”
Ezra didn’t want to be hit a fourth time. “You would hit a man that was tied to a chair. That’s the coward’s way.”
“He’s got a point Chris.” Buck was disappointed, he really did want to hit the bastard though.
“Ezra.” Josiah got the younger man’s attention again.
“Yes Josiah, the man who thinks he’s my father but would never be.” Ezra saw the sadness hit Josiah like a bolt of lightning. He didn’t regret the words, but he did regret the pain he had just caused. But this man would never be his father and Josiah needed to know that.
“Did something happen during the last case?”
“No.”
“Is it something to do with your mother? Did she say something or do something to you?”
“You know,” Ezra changed his mind, he wasn’t going to bring his mother into this, “never mind.”
“Never mind what?” Josiah leaned forward.
“Never mind what I said.”
Ezra didn’t like this. Things were being turned around. The plan was working too well. Maybe it was time to end it. His green eyes surveyed the room. It seemed that Vin and Chris were okay with Lenny, but he had to make sure that Buck, JD and Josiah were also. No, he was going to have to keep this going a bit longer.
“But I do mind.”
“Did you know that they raise square watermelons in Japan. Apparently they stack better than the original shape.”
“Useless information.” Josiah nodded.
“You said you wanted to hear more.”
“Yes I did.” Again, Josiah nodded.
“So JD,” Ezra called to him, “have you learnt yet that you can’t hide broccoli in a glass of milk.”
“I don’t . . . “ JD crossed his arms and pouted.
“Leave him alone.” Buck warned Ezra.
“You’re not his father Buck, he’s quite capable of looking after himself.”
“I know he can . . . “
“Then stop treating him like a twelve year old idiot!”
“Ezra!”
Ezra blinked in surprise when he felt Josiah’s open palm hit his right cheek. It was the same cheek that Nathan had hit. Tears of pain sprung to his eyes and he saw the sudden remorse on Josiah’s face.
“That’s enough Ezra. I won’t have you talking to my friends like that.”
“There you go again Josiah. Acting as though you’re my father.” Ezra spat out the blood that had filled up his mouth. He contemplated spitting at Josiah but knew that it would be too much. “My mother would make a better parent than you ever would.”
Aw hell! And those words weren’t too much. They weren’t going to forgive him for this. They may gain Lenny as a new friend but they were going to lose another. He was going to have to think before he spoke from now on.
“God Damnit Ezra!” Lenny yelled at him. “What in the hell are you doing? You have no right to talk to any of these men like that! They’re trying to help you!”
“Tying me to a chair, questioning me like a mere criminal is not trying to help me. Oh! And don’t forget the physical abuse that I’m receiving.”
“You deserved it!” Josiah growled at him.
Ezra smiled at Josiah then turned his face away from him. He heard the chair scrape along the floor then there was nothing but silence. Ezra hung his head and closed his eyes. The thought of whether or not this was really worth it crossed his mind. The plan had been to make them angry, not to hurt them and that’s what he was doing. He was pushing them away from him and it was going to be hard to close the distance that was now separating them. He wasn’t very good at this friendship thing. Maybe he should have asked one of the others to help him. How could he though when none of them liked Lenny. They wouldn’t have helped him, they would have talked him out of it, or worse, tell the others of his plan.
No one took Josiah’s place. He had done this the wrong way. By the second day of the three-day weekend they were supposed to be laughing together, fishing together, playing football together and teaching Lenny how to ride a horse and he, Ezra Standish, was still going to be tied to this chair. Nope, this was not working the way it was supposed to.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” Ezra tried again.
“Buck, untie him.” Chris wouldn’t look at his undercover agent.
“You want me to go with him?”
“No, I don’t care what he’s up to anymore. Whatever it is, it isn’t worth this. He shouldn’t be treating us like this.”
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
I think that maybe I’ve gone way too far with this. Maybe? You think!
Buck grabbed a knife from the kitchen. He used it to cut the tape from Ezra’s limbs. Ezra sat in the chair for a few minutes before he got up and walked up the hall to the bathroom. He kept his gaze directed to the floor. They weren’t looking at him, he knew that, he just didn’t need to see it. They also probably thought he was an idiot.
He closed and locked the door behind him and moved to the only empty corner of the room. He leaned his back against the wall and allowed himself to slide down to the floor. His knees were pulled up until they were pressing against his chest and laid his head down on his knees. He needed time to think of a way to turn this around back into his favour.
________________________________________
“Lenny.” Chris nodded to the FBI agent to follow him into the kitchen.
Hoskins, who was still staring at the point in the hallway where Ezra disappeared, hesitated then turned to find out what Chris wanted. When he saw the ATF agent nod in the direction of the kitchen, he nodded in return and followed him.
Chris poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Lenny. “So, what do you think is going on with him?”
“I don’t know Chris. I have no idea.” Lenny had returned his gaze back to the hallway. “I wish he’d just tell us what it is.”
“You know Ezra, it’s hard to get him to talk about anything.” Lenny kept his back to Chris.
“I thought that he would talk to you, I thought that he talked to you about everything.” Chris hadn’t mean any offence by what he had said and Lenny hadn’t taken any.
“He does, always, but not today. Chris,” he finally turned around, “I’m worried about him. Something has to be wrong. He wouldn’t just do this, it isn’t like him.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you guys didn’t, you know . . . “
“Not that I know of. Things were fine up until the drive up here.” Chris frowned. “You don’t think it was because I hit him do you?”
“No, he would only be angry at you, and he wouldn’t call Nathan a nigger because you hit him.”
“You’re right there.”
“Then why is he doing it?”
“Lenny, truthfully, who’s idea was it for you to come on this trip?”
“It was Ezra’s. He phoned me last week and invited me to spend the three days with him.”
“Why is he claiming that it was your idea?”
“You think that has something to do with it?”
“Could be.” Chris’ mind was beginning to tick over. “When did he tell you about this trip?”
“This morning on the way to your office.”
“He invited you to stay the weekend with him, even when he knew that I had arranged this weekend trip. Which means that he wanted you to come with us? He planned the whole thing.”
“But why treat everyone the way he has been. There’s no reason for that.”
“I know.” Chris agreed.
“Maybe we should let him sleep on it. See what he has to say in the morning.” Lenny suggested.
“Why not. I can’t think of anything else to do.”
“You up for some dinner, or would a sandwich do you?” Lenny moved to the kitchen counter and removed the bread from the breadbox.
“Sandwich.” Chris smiled. “I’ll give you a hand, the others will want something as well.”
________________________________________
Josiah moved quietly to the bathroom door and leaned his left ear against it. There was no noise coming from the other side of the door. He lightly tapped on the door to try and get the occupant’s attention. He knew that Ezra hadn’t meant what he said. He himself had reacted in the heat of the moment. Josiah knocked louder.
“Ezra?”
“Go away Josiah.”
“Are you going to let me in so we can talk?”
“No, I am incapable of holding a normal conversation with another human being. That test I failed said so.”
Did I just say that?
“That’s not true Ezra, a test can’t tell you what kind of person you are.” Josiah didn’t want to talk through the door so he tried to open it, only to find it locked. “Ezra.”
“Go away Josiah.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.” Josiah sat down on the floor. Ezra was stubborn, this meant he was going to be sitting here for a while.
“I’m tired Josiah, I would like to get some sleep.”
“You’re in the bathroom Ezra.” Josiah chuckled.
Ezra laid his head back until it rested against the wall. “I knew that.”
“Come out and talk to me . . . to us Ezra.”
“No, just go away Josiah.” Ezra needed to think, to see if he could come up with a way to get himself out of the hole he had dug himself into.
“I told you I’m not going anywhere.”
Ezra nodded but said nothing.
Ten minutes later Josiah was asked to move away from the door by Lenny Hoskins. Josiah didn’t hesitate, he took the offered sandwich and walked away.
“Ezra I’m not messing around anymore! Let me in now!” Lenny spoke through the door just like Josiah had done.
Ezra obeyed his friend and unlocked the door. He didn’t open it though, instead he slowly moved back to his position on the floor. The door opened but he didn’t look up.
“You want something to eat? Chris and I made some sandwiches.”
“You and Chris made sandwiches?” Ezra looked up at him.
“Yeah.”
“Together?”
“Yeah, you want one.
“No thank you.”
“Ezra, what’s wrong?”
Ezra refused to answer him. Lenny would think that he was being an idiot. The fact that it was true didn’t mean that Lenny could think or say it.
“Come on Ezra, you know you can tell me anything.”
Ezra shook his head. No, he didn’t want it confirmed that he was an idiot.
“Why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
“They are?”
“Like I’m going to tell you.” Ezra snorted.
Did he just snort. Oh lord this was getting worse than it should have been.
“You tell me everything else. Why not this?”
The younger man shook his head again.
“They’re all sitting out there in the kitchen Ezra. They’re worried about you. Like me, they think you’re being an idiot.”
There it was. Confirmation that he was being an idiot. He wasn’t an idiot, his SAT scores say he’s not an idiot.
“I, Ezra Standish, am not an idiot.”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to.” Ezra shrugged.
“Well, I think you’re an idiot, the six men out there think that you’re an idiot.”
“You are wrong. If I was an idiot, would I be sitting on a cold bathroom floor defending myself against the accusation that I’m an idiot.”
“I think you just admitted that you’re an idiot Ezra.”
“Fine! I’ll tell them. But if they don’t talk to me for a month, it’s going to be your fault.”
“Sure Ezra, whatever makes you feel better.”
Ezra allowed Lenny to help him up and followed him through the house into the kitchen.
“Guys,” Lenny stood next to Ezra in case he needed some sort of physical persuasion to talk. “Ezra here wants to explain what’s been going on.”
“We’re ready when you are Ezra.” Chris informed him.
“You gentlemen, if that’s what you are . . . “
“Ezra.” Lenny growled a warning at him.
“I’m telling them in my own time and my own way.” Ezra retorted. “You gentlemen, if that’s what you are, have a way of talking about Lenny that hurts me.”
“What?” Chris was dumbfounded.
“Whenever I mention Lenny’s name, you start putting him down. You talk about him like he’s a piece of shit and not a human being who is like a brother to me. You act like four year olds . . . “
“Ezra we . . . “ Vin started.
“Shut up! I haven’t finished yet.”
“Okay.” Vin shrunk back into his chair.
“You put him down, you call him names, you . . . you . . . you . . . and I’m right there in the room. I don’t like it and I’ve had enough of it!”
“Doesn’t explain why you’re acting like an idiot.” Chris glanced at Lenny to see his reaction but there wasn’t any.
“Have you been angry with Lenny today?” Ezra asked the group of men.
They all looked at each other then at Ezra.
“Exactly . . . you don’t know what I’m talking about do you?”
“No.” Lenny answered for the group of men.
“Chris didn’t throw you out of the car with me. You stayed in the car. Did you react when he hit me?”
Lenny shook his head and smiled. He was beginning to understand where Ezra was headed with his explanation. The man really was an idiot.
“You agreed with each other. Both of you got together to try and figure out what I was doing. You even discussed who was going to be the mum and who was going to be the dad.”
“Excuse me?” Vin winked at Chris.
“Did you, or did you not, give Lenny a high five when he hit me?”
“Uh yeah, I did.” Chris shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“Lenny, you stopped Vin and cheered him up by telling him that outrageous lie about that test.”
“It wasn’t a lie.”
“Yes it was and you damn well know it.”
“We’ll find out when Lenny sends us the report.” Vin told him.
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up!”
“Yeah you did.” Vin shrunk even further into his chair; if that was possible.
“You haven’t shown an angry bone in your bodies towards each other. Chris and Lenny made sandwiches together for Christ sake. You’ve been acting like friends and not men who hate each other.”
“He’s got a point there.” Josiah nodded.
“So!” Ezra pointed a finger at the men and also glared at them. “This is how it’s going to be from now on. There will be no anger directed at each other. You will never put Lenny down again, whether it be in front of me or not. On occasion, you will invite Lenny to join us on these long weekends and at Christmas. And most of all, none one is going to hit me again!” Ezra stopped talking but his chest continued to heave in anger. “DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!”
“Yeah, sure.” Chris shrugged.
“No problem here.” Vin agreed, even though he’d been told to shut up twice.
“Okay by me.” Buck said and nodded to JD who nodded back in agreement.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?” Nathan stood up and moved to confront Ezra.
“Me?” Ezra raised an eyebrow at the larger man.
“Yeah, you.”
“Vin, apologise to Nathan.” Chris ordered him.
“For what?”
“For calling him a nigger.”
“I didn’t . . . I would never . . . Ezra . . . God Damnit it.” Vin pouted, he hadn’t even had the chance to hit Ezra. “Nathan, I’m sorry for calling you that name.”
Nathan continued to look at Ezra.
“I am so very sorry Nathan.” Ezra whispered to him. “I will do anything to take it back.”
Nathan nodded and smiled. “That’s okay Vin, you can pay for your mistake at a later date.”
“And my cd and the father comment?” Josiah decided it was his turn.
“Buck will buy you a new cd when we get back.” Chris told him.
“I will not!”
"After all, Buck did throw it out the window.”
“Chris! What the hell are you doing?” Buck demanded to know.
“JD, tell Josiah you didn’t mean it when you said Maude would make a better mother.”
JD looked at Buck, then Vin, then Chris. His boss was serious.
“I’m sorry Josiah.”
Josiah was also watching Ezra. He smiled in return when Ezra mouthed that he was sorry.
“I think I would enjoy Lenny’s company. After all there are a lot of things about Ezra that he can tell us.” Josiah winked at Ezra.
“That won’t happen!” Ezra growled.
“Oh I think it will Ezra.” Lenny slapped him on the back.
Ezra glared at Lenny.
“Doesn’t really explain why you were pissing us off.” Chris sat back in his chair.
“What are you? An imbecile?” Ezra could see that he wasn’t going to get an answer. “By making you angry at me, there was no time for you to be angry at each.” He raised his shoulders and arms up in the air. His body language saying; ‘are you an idiot or what, can’t you figure it out for yourself. Do I have to tell you everything’.
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Chris told him.
“I am not! It was a brilliant plan and may I add that it worked.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Chris told him a second time.
“Why do you keep saying that?” this is what he had been afraid of. He knew he was an idiot. They weren’t supposed to know he was an idiot. Somehow, they had caught on to his con.
“You had this whole thing planned from the beginning didn’t you?” Vin asked him.
“Yes I did.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Vin repeated what Chris had said.
Before Ezra had a chance to answer, Josiah called him.
“Ezra.” Josiah wanted the younger man to look at him. “You’re pretty proud of yourself aren’t you.”
“For the most part, yes I am. Except for what I said to you and Nathan, but you have to realise what I was trying to do. Nathan was being stubborn, he wouldn’t get angry with me. Can you believe it. This is a man who wakes up in the morning and says to himself, I’m going to spend the day being angry at Ezra. Now, he hasn’t got an angry bone in his body.” Ezra rubbed the side of his face. “Well, he did for a moment because of what I said.” Ezra turned to Lenny. “He hit me pretty hard Lenny.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Josiah told him.
Ezra growled, if one more person said that, he would, he was going to, they would end up . . . well, and he just would.
“Does this mean that my music isn’t stupid?” JD asked Ezra.
“No,” Buck slapped JD across the back of the head, “the music you listen to is stupid.”
“I thought you were on my side.” JD whined at Buck.
“Ezra!” Buck forced the man to look up at him. “You’re an idiot.”
“What did I do to make everyone call me an idiot!”
I thought I was going to do something to the next person who called me an idiot.
“You said my conversations were stupid and boring.”
“He said that?” Chris frowned at Buck.
“Yes he did.” Buck crossed his arms.
“He’s right.” Chris informed Buck.
“What?”
“Buck all you talk about is women. Women, women, women.” Chris continued. “Have you ever thought that maybe we want to hear about something else.”
“There’s nothing wrong with talking about women.” Buck growled at him then leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “There was this red head that . . . “
“Shut up Buck!”
Eight men spoke at once.
“My music isn’t stupid.” JD stood up. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“JD, your music is banned from vehicles, stake outs and the office for a month.”
“Chris! That’s not fair.” JD protested. “I didn’t do anything. Ezra you’re an idiot!”
“And you,” Chris stood up and stormed towards Ezra, “are an idiot.”
“Oh for pete’s sake, will you please stop calling me an idiot.” Ezra threw his hands in the air.
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Lenny told him.
Aren’t you going to hit him. Hit Lenny? No fucking way!
“So now what?” Chris stared at Ezra.
“Don’t look at me. I’m an idiot remember.”
“Lenny?” Chris turned his stare to the man that he knew was somehow going to become a friend. Not a close friend, but a friend anyway.
“Well, me, I think we should tie the shit head to a chair and go and get a cold beer.”
“Sounds good to me.” Chris nodded to the rest of his men.
“That doesn’t sound like a very good idea to me.” Ezra protested when Chris and Lenny grabbed an arm each.
“We don’t listen to idiots!” JD yelled when he ran past them so he could grab the tape.
“Now gentlemen,” Ezra, say something, anything, just get yourself out of this. “And that’s what you are,”
They forced him back into the chair.
“gentlemen through and through, and very understanding,”
It wasn’t going to work. JD was already taping his arms to the chair.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
They weren’t listening to him. JD was now taping his legs to the chair.
“I really do need to go to the bathroom guys . . . guys.”
They were walking away now.
“Guys, you don’t want to do this. You know I’ll retaliate!”
The front door was opened.
“Lenny!”
Seven men stepped through the door out into the night.
“You can’t leave me here like this!”
The door was closed.
“They’ll be back in a minute. I know they will. They won’t leave me sitting here all night. Not when they know I need to go to the bathroom. They’ll come back. I’m not an idiot. I’m not an idiot who is in dire need of going to the bathroom but can’t because he’s taped to a chair in the middle of the living room. They’ll come back any minute now.”
He heard a two cars start then pull away.
“They’re just trying to scare me. They’ll be back in a minute.”
He could hear nothing.
“GUYS! COME ON GUYS! I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!”
Still silence.
“I hate those idiots! I don’t know why I allowed them to talk me into coming on this trip in the first place. Never again. GUYS!”
The End
Part One | Part Two
Master Fan Fiction List
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strong Language.
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: ATF
Main Characters: Ezra, the guys and Lenny Hoskins.
Summary: Someone has invited Lenny Hoskins to join the team for a three day weekend holiday.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Notes: Lenny Hoskins is my creation.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 17,585
“You gonna make him stay out there all day?” Vin handed Chris a hot steaming cup of coffee.
“Yep. The man’s being an idiot and I want to know why.” Chris was standing at the window watching the Southerner as he continued to sit where he had fallen. “An idiot. Look at him, he hasn’t even bothered to get up off the ground. He’s just sitting there. What in the hell is wrong with him today.”
“He was fine yesterday, even this morning. It all started in the car on the way up here.”
“You don’t think it was something I said do you?” Chris glanced at Vin.
“It usually is.” the sharp shooter smiled at him to show that he hadn’t meant any harm by the choice of words he had used.
“Why is he going to the effort of pissing me off?”
“All of us actually.”
Chris looked at Vin.
“He tried very hard to get Josiah angry,” Vin added. “and Buck, he kept blaming him for the cd thing.”
“He’s trying to make us angry at him. What for?”
“Beats me.”
“Maybe Lenny knows.” Chris suggested.
“Knows what?” Lenny asked as he stepped up beside Chris. The FBI agent leaned forward and pulled the curtain back, he didn’t care if Ezra saw him watching him. “He still hasn’t gotten up yet. That’s not like him to sit in the dirt.”
“You know what’s going on with him?” Chris took a long sip of his coffee.
“Apart from going to all the trouble of making us angry? No, I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Vin asked them.
“I don’t know yet.” Chris answered.
“Larabee . . . you don’t think it’s something like you said before do you . . . I mean, Ezra having some sort of tumour that’s making him act like this.”
“I think we should talk to Nathan.”
At Chris’ suggestion, the three men took one last glance at Ezra then headed for the kitchen. They crowded the table that Nathan and Josiah were sitting at. Chris pulled his chair out and turned it around and straddled it. Neither man wanted to ask such a serious question so they just sat there, watching Nathan slowly eating his sandwich.
Nathan glanced over the top of the chicken salad roll he was eating and was surprised to see three sets of eyes staring at him. He looked to Josiah for an explanation but the older man just shrugged back at him.
“You want something?” Nathan asked them.
Chris looked at Lenny, who looked at Vin, who looked back at Chris. The leader of Team Seven sighed and glared at Lenny, who glared at Vin, who glared back at Chris.
“What do you want?” Nathan asked again.
Chris growled at Lenny, who growled at Vin, who growled back at Chris. This was going nowhere, he had to try another tactic.
“You ask him!” Chris ordered Lenny.
“You ask him!” Lenny ordered Vin.
“Why don’t you ask him Chris.” Vin suggested to his boss.
“Why do I always have to do it? Why doesn’t Hoskins do it?”
“Why should I start now? You never asked me to ask before.”
“Why should I ask him, you’re the boss.” Vin whined.
“Would someone just ask the damn question!” Josiah growled at the group of men.
“I’m not sure I want to.” Chris said.
“I know I don’t want to.” Vin added before Lenny could say anything.
Lenny looked at Chris who was smiling at him. His eyes then travelled to Vin who was looking way to smug.
“Okay! I’ll ask the damn question!”
“Knew you could do it Lenny.” Chris slapped him on the back. This caused both Nathan and Josiah to frown in confusion at Chris’ behaviour.
“We were wondering . . . “ Lenny started but stopped again.
“Ask him.” Vin nudged him.
“I am!”
“Nathan we were wondering if the reason . . . “ he stopped again. He couldn’t help it, he was too scared that Nathan would say yes.
“Ask him!” Vin pushed him harder.
“I am asking him!”
“No you’re not.” Chris growled at him. “All you’re doing is adding a couple of words each time you try.”
“You ask him then.” Lenny retorted.
“I don’t want to.” Chris replied.
“Well neither do I.”
“You were the one who volunteered to ask him.” Chris reminded him.
“I didn’t volunteer, I had no choice. You’re too much of a coward to ask him.” Lenny accused him.
“Can you blame me.”
“No.”
“Then ask him.” Chris continued to urge him.
“We were wondering if the reason Ezra was acting so strangely was because of some sort of tumour in his head.”
Nathan frowned in understanding. He knew why they were having so much trouble asking him such a question and his answer wasn’t going to help.
“It’s possible. Tumours on certain places of the brain can cause a change in a person’s behaviour.”
Three men groaned as one.
“But I don’t think that’s what’s wrong with Ezra. There would be other symptoms and he looks and acts quite healthy to me.”
“Then why is he doing it?” Lenny slapped his forehead in frustration. “There has to be a reason for it.”
“Has he ever acted this way before?” Josiah aimed the question at the man who had known Ezra the longest.
“No,” Lenny shook his head. “I have no idea why he’s acting the way he is. He’s never acted this way before now.”
“I agree,” Chris nodded, “well at least, over the nine months we’ve known him. There’s been no abnormal behaviour what so ever from him.”
“Ezra hasn’t been on a difficult case has he?” Lenny frowned at Chris.
“No, the last case was a week ago and he only went under for a few days. It was a simple bust with no complications.” Chris explained.
“Burnout?” Josiah suggested
“No,” Nathan told him, “there would be other symptoms like there are with a tumour.”
“We’re just going to have to play it out then and see what he’s up to.” Chris told them.
“Or wait for any symptoms to show up,” Lenny nodded, “at least then we’ll know what’s going on and we’ll be able to do something about it.”
“So, we’re in agreement then?” Chris asked Lenny.
“Yeah, I don’t see what else we can do.” Lenny agreed.
“Are we going to leave him out there or bring him in.” Vin was watching Chris.
“What do you think Lenny?”
“Bring him in. We can’t watch him out there. He could be doing anything.” Lenny glanced at Chris and both men jumped out of their chairs and ran to the front door with the others following them.
Five men stood on the veranda and stared at the area Ezra had been sitting. He was no longer there, neither was his bag.
“Where the hell did he go?” Lenny jogged down the steps and searched the immediate area with his eyes.
“Vin, go check the barn. Josiah, check the cars, Nathan go check the boat house.” Chris ordered them.
“Where are you going to look?” Nathan asked him.
“The house!” Chris and Lenny answered together.
________________________________________
Ezra had decided that he’d spent long enough on the ground. His friends were no doubt inside trying to work out what was wrong with him. Was it something physical or was he just being an idiot. Ezra knew it was neither of those two choices. He just wanted his friends in Denver to get along with his Atlanta friend. He wanted to invite Lenny up here on other occasions and know that it wasn’t going to end in a fistfight. He was tired of the small group of men putting Lenny down. Ezra knew that their intention wasn’t to hurt but the words did. The last thing he wanted to do was choose between them. He’d finally found men he could trust and be friends with, he wasn’t going to lose them now.
He stood up, brushed the dirt off his trousers, picked up his bag and headed to the door at the side of the house that led into the large kitchen. His movements became quiet when he heard voices coming from inside. They were talking about him; not arguing. Ezra smiled, this is the way it should be all the time. What was that? Chris had actually asked Lenny what he thought. This was amazing. If he had known it would be this easy, he would have done it earlier.
Suddenly the men got up and ran from the kitchen into the living room. Ezra raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He stepped into the kitchen and his mouth watered when he smelt the coffee. His first mission was to pour himself a cup, his second mission was to finish the sandwich that had been left on the table. When the first mission was completed, he moved to the table to make the second one a success.
The coffee was good and so was the sandwich. He could tell that Josiah made the coffee and the chicken salad was Nathan’s. The ex-medic knew how to make a salad sandwich. Ezra should know, Nathan had made plenty of them for him when he was recovering from an injury.
He was just about to put the last bit of food in his mouth when Chris and Lenny showed up. They moved to the table and sat on either side of him.
“That wasn’t your sandwich.” Chris informed him.
“Yes it was, I wouldn’t be eating it if it wasn’t.” Ezra filled his mouth with the last of the sandwich.
“You know it wasn’t yours Ezra.” Lenny argued with him.
Ezra continued to chew his food with his mouth closed, just like his mother had taught him.
“I’m not going to argue with you over a sandwich Ezra, it’s not important.” Chris sighed and rubbed his face. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on?”
“There is nothing going on Mr Larabee, everything is perfectly fine.” Ezra smiled then took a drink from his cup. “Who made the coffee?”
“Josiah.” Lenny answered him.
“Very nice. I haven’t had any caffeine since we left the office.”
“Is that what it is?” Chris leaned forward and placed his forearms on the table. “All this crap because you haven’t had any coffee for seven hours.”
“What crap? There hasn’t been any crap. The only problem here is your bad mood Mr Larabee. A person can’t say anything without you going off at the deep end. You have no sense of humour. Either of you.”
“My mood has nothing to do it!” Chris yelled at him.
“There you go again Chris, you’re mood is dictating this conversation.”
“I’m not . . . “
“Chris.” Lenny gripped Chris’ arm and gave it an encouraging squeeze.
Ezra saw the gesture and almost chocked on his coffee. It was only a lifetime of training to hide his emotions that stopped him.
“Why don’t we let him sleep on it and see what his mind is like in the morning.”
“You really think that’s going to make a difference?”
“No, but if I continue to listen to this pile of shit he’s dishing out, I’m going to hit him.” Lenny admitted.
“I’m just glad I already had that chance.” Chris smiled at Lenny.
“Then you’re one up on me. Maybe I should just hit him now and make it even between us.”
“Go ahead.” Chris pushed his chair back to give Lenny some room.
“You think I should?” Lenny was actually shaking with excitement.
“I don’t see why not.” Chris shrugged and glanced at Ezra. He saw the slight hint of amusement in the green eyes that were watching Lenny. “He’s laughing at you Lenny, he doesn’t think you’ll do it.”
What! How in the hell did he see that. I must be slipping.
“Are you laughing at me Ezra?” Lenny glared at his young friend.
“Why would I laugh at you Lenny. I just finished saying that you don’t have a sense of humour.”
Ezra didn’t know what hit him. One second he was smiling at the man, he considered a brother, then before he could react, Lenny’s fist him in the same area that Chris had hit him that morning. He felt himself free falling for a few seconds then his body hit the cold tiled floor of the kitchen. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!” Ezra rolled onto his left side and used his right hand to hold his jaw. If things kept going like this, he was going to end up with a broken jaw. He looked up in time to see Chris and Lenny give each other a high-five. The pain he was feeling now was well worth it. The two men at the table weren’t even aware of the fact that they were being nice to each other. They were acting as friends would. “Son-of-a-bitch! You hit me!”
“It felt good too.” Lenny got up and walked away from Ezra.
Chris couldn’t help but smile at the expression Ezra was wearing. He stood up and took the few steps needed to reach Ezra. He crouched down. “You sure you don’t want to tell us what’s wrong.”
“There is nothing wrong . . . well except for . . . ,“ Ezra gripped his jaw harder. “you two idiots. What do you have to keep hitting me for? I didn’t do anything to either of you.”
“You pissed us off Ezra. As far as I’m concerned, it’s enough.”
“Bastard.” Ezra mumbled.
“I’m sorry?” Chris leaned closer to Ezra.
“I said,” Ezra sat up suddenly and used all his strength to hit Chris across the jaw. The force of the blow sent Chris sliding against the floor. He stopped when his back hit the fridge door. “Bastard!”
“You hit me.” Chris growled at him. “And you hit me a lot harder than I hit you.”
“Serves yourself right for being such an irritating Bastard. You’ve been pissing me off all day, all of you have. What is wrong with you guys!” Ezra was standing now. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into coming on this trip Chris, I really don’t.” he was shaking his head in mock disappointment.
“Nathan is going to check you over.”
“I’m not the one lying on the floor Mr Larabee.”
“NATHAN!” Chris pushed himself up off the floor and stormed towards Ezra. He grabbed the Southerner’s arm painfully and pulled him into the living room and threw him down onto the couch. “NATHAN!”
“Do you really have to yell Mr Larabee, I mean, it’s not like Nathan’s deaf. I’m sure he can hear you quite well. Maybe he just doesn’t want to answer you.”
“Shut up Ezra.”
“What’s going on.” Lenny had run back into the room, he was followed by Nathan, Vin and Josiah.
“Where’s Buck and JD anyway?” Ezra searched the room. “Did you chase them away Chris. You didn’t show them your ladies underwear did you?”
Chris ignored him. “He hit me.”
“Don’t you mean, I hit him.” Lenny corrected him.
“No, he,” Chris pointed at Ezra then at the side of his jaw, “hit me!”
“Ezra hit you?” Lenny was shocked. “Ezra, what did you hit him for?”
“He called me a Bastard.” Ezra shrugged.
“I did not!” Chris protested.
“You’re lying again aren’t you.” Lenny sat down on the couch with Ezra. “Why?”
“I’m not lying.”
“Nathan!” Chris glared at the ex-medic. “I want you to check him over, make sure there isn’t anything physically wrong with him.”
“Sure.”
“Can we do it in private please Nathan?” Ezra smiled at him.
“Why?”
“I don’t really feel comfortable undressing in front of a man who wears women’s underwear.”
“Who wears women’s underwear?” Nathan wasn’t sure if this was a lie; he could have been talking about Hoskins.
“Chris.” Ezra pointed at his boss.
“I’m not going to react Ezra.” Chris folded his arms.
“Let’s go Ezra, my stuff is in the spare room.”
Ezra stood up to follow Nathan but before he started walking, he gave the men who were smiling at him the finger. He smiled when Chris grabbed Lenny’s arm to stop him from doing anything. The undercover agent more or less bounced into the spare room.
“So what’s really going on Ezra?” Nathan closed the door and leaned against it.
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” Ezra sat on the bed and began to take his jacket off.
Nathan moved forward and watched the younger man as he began to unbutton his shirt. “Well first of all, you’ve never done this before without an argument. That in itself tells me that there is something wrong.”
“You should know, you’re the one that claims he’s a doctor.” Ezra removed his shirt, placed it carefully on the bed and laid his hands in his lap.
“I’ve never claimed to be a doctor Ezra.” Nathan stayed where he was as he continued to watch the man before him.
“Maybe not, but you certainly act like one. You seem to think you can save the world.”
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“For me to examine you.”
“Ready when you are Mr Jackson-who-thinks-he’s-a-doctor.”
“I don’t know why you’re doing this Ezra, but I hope you have a good reason for it.” Nathan grabbed his bag off the table and began to examine his patient. Patient? What a load of crap. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Ezra Standish. The man was just being a pain in the ass like he always was. Except he was acting even worse than he usually did.
Nathan checked Ezra’s blood pressure and pulse. He checked his ears, eyes and throat. He made him cough and stick his tongue out. He put a cold stethoscope on his chest and back to check his breathing.
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Nathan stated.
“I know that, I don’t know why you even bothered going ahead with it.”
“I did it because the others are worried about you.”
“And you’re not?”
“No, I know you’re just doing something stupid.” the ex-medic packed his bag and put it back on the table.
“You’re being an idiotic asshole that doesn’t know when to stop pushing people.”
“You do know that both Chris and Lenny hit me, don’t you.”
“I’m sure they had good reason to.”
Ezra took his shirt and put it back on. He took his time doing up the buttons. “I don’t think that Josiah was very happy about Buck throwing his cd away.”
“You threw it away, not Buck, and you know that.”
“No I don’t know that.”
“You better know what you’re doing Ezra and I hope you don’t push us too far.”
“I’m not doing anything Nathan and no one is being pushed. People are just abusing me for some reason and I have no idea what that reason is.”
“You pissed them off Ezra.”
“I certainly did not! You’re lying through your teeth Nathan.”
Nathan shrugged. “Whatever you say Ezra, whatever you say.”
“I didn’t say anything Nathan.” Ezra smiled at him.
“You won’t get a reaction from me Ezra. I’m not going to get angry at you and hit you like Chris and Lenny have. I won’t do that.”
Ezra stood up. He had no understanding as to why he wanted to say it, only that he had an urge to and he desperately wanted Lenny to be accepted by these men. The Southerner stood up slowly and stepped towards Nathan.
“Not even if I call you a nigger.” Ezra snarled the last word.
Nathan hit him. No one, not even a friend was going to call him a nigger.
“You lied to me again Nathan, you said you wouldn’t react.” Ezra lay on the floor, his hand holding the right side of his face.
“You Ezra Standish are a Bastard, born and bred!” Nathan spat out the words the stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“That went well.”
Ezra got himself off the floor, took his jacket and left the room. When he walked into the large living room, he saw the others talking to each other. He coughed. They turned around, looked at him, glared at him, snarled at him, and then turned away from him. Ezra decided it was time for a walk.
“I’ve decided to go for a walk. You know how much I enjoy the outdoors. Thought I would take in some of this wonderful weather while one of you cook dinner. I’ll be back in an hour, when the sun goes down. I expect my food to be on the table when I get back.” he gave them a two-finger salute then walked out the front door.
Chris glanced at Ezra as the Southerner passed him and couldn’t help but notice the reddish mark on the right cheek.
“Did you hit him Nathan?” Chris raised an eyebrow.
“Bastard called me a nigger.” Nathan spoke quietly.
“What?”
Everyone stood with their mouths open. They couldn’t believe what Nathan had just told them.
“He called me a nigger.”
“There has to be something wrong with him.” Buck told them. “Ezra wouldn’t say that for any reason at all.”
“I didn’t do or say anything to provoke him Buck!”
“I know that Nathan, I’m just saying, Ezra wouldn’t . . . that’s not like Ezra.”
“When he comes back, we tie him to a chair and find out what’s going on.” Chris decided.
Lenny nodded in agreement then moved to the open doorway. He placed his hands on his hips and watched Ezra’s retreating back. Something was going on, and he wished he knew what.
________________________________________
Ezra Standish, a man on a mission, stepped into the kitchen exactly one hour later. The large kitchen table was bare. What did he expect? That they would cook dinner and have it waiting for him. A noise behind him caused him to turn around. Chris Larabee was standing a few feet away from him. In Larabee’s hand was a roll of tape. His face wore a confident smile. Ezra knew the man was up to something. He opened his mouth to make a comment but a nod from Chris stopped him.
“Get him!” Chris ordered his men.
Ezra’s first thought was to fight but when he saw six men swarm towards him, he decided that it was better if he ran. But where was he going to run. Nathan and Josiah were coming up from behind. Buck and Vin took the left and right side. JD joined Chris to come in from the front. Where was Lenny? Ezra saw him just before he was tackled to the ground. His friend of ten years, was standing next to a chair, he was also wearing the same smug smile that Chris Larabee had been wearing.
His back slammed against the floor when his friends forced him to lose his balance. He was then pulled to his feet and dragged towards the waiting chair and Lenny Hoskins. They pushed him into the chair and while they held his limbs, Lenny began to tape his arms and legs to the heavy chair. It only took a few minutes before they were sure they had Ezra securely taped to the chair. He wasn’t going anywhere. They would have used their handcuffs but knew he was capable of escaping from them within seconds. Rope hadn’t even been a choice, they didn’t want to hurt him, and they only wanted to know what was going on.
Ezra glared at Lenny first, then turned his stare to each of the men that surrounded him. He hadn’t expected this. He had underestimated them.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Why didn’t we think of that?” Vin asked them.
“What? You need to go to the toilet?” Buck smiled at Vin.
“Not me! Him!” Vin pointed at Ezra.
“You’re the one with the incontinence problem.” Ezra smiled at Vin.
“Shut up.”
“Okay.” Ezra shrugged.
“I mean shut up about that incontinence thing!” Vin practically yelled at him.
Ezra watched as Chris walked into the kitchen, grabbed one of the chairs, bring it back and sit it in front of him.
“Something I can do for you Mr Larabee?”
“You can tell me why you’ve been acting like an asshole?”
“I’ve been doing no such thing!”
“You’re staying in that chair until you give me an answer Ezra.”
“Lenny, are you going to allow them to do this to me?”
Please say yes. Please tell me that you agree with what they’re doing. Please tell me that you are working together. Please tell me that you and Chris are helping each other. Please Lenny, please don’t allow what I’m doing to be a wasted effort.
“Yes I am Ezra. I . . . we want to know why you’re doing this to us and yourself.”
Thank you Lenny, thank you.
“So you agree with them tying me to a chair?”
“Yes.”
Ezra smiled inside. It was working, his plan was working. Now, if he could only manage to put up with this for a few hours; once he was sure that things were going to be okay, he would be able to tell them about his plan. They may not talk to him for a few days, maybe a week or two, or possibly a month. It didn’t matter, it will all be worth it.
“You agree with them questioning me for a crime that I have not committed.”
“You’re as guilty as the day you stole that car for me.” Lenny grinned and nodded at Chris.
“You stole a car?” JD asked him.
“It was in the line of duty.” Ezra retorted.
“Why Ezra?” Chris continued with his questions.
“Because Mr Hoskins there asked me to.”
Lenny grimaced at the use of his last name.
“Not that you idiot!”
“Then what, are you referring to?”
“The way you’ve been acting!” Chris growled.
“How have I been acting?” Ezra raised an eyebrow at Chris.
“I can’t do this.” Chris threw his hands in the air and stood up. “I can’t do it, I’m going to end up killing him.”
“I’ll have a go.” Lenny moved forward and took Chris’ place. He watched Ezra for at least five minutes before he spoke. He noticed that Ezra wouldn’t look back at him. “Ezra.”
“Yes Lenny.”
“I’ve known you for nearly eleven years now and I have never seen or heard you act this way before.”
“Have you been with me twenty four hours a day during that nearly eleven years?”
“No, but . . . “
“Then how would you know?”
“I know, because, I know you. I know how you think and how you feel. You’re doing this for a reason and I just haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Did anyone make dinner?” Ezra glanced at Josiah. “I’m hungry, I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
“We haven’t made dinner yet Ezra.” Josiah informed him.
“Oh, that’s a shame. I assume then, that you’re going to try and starve the information out of me.”
“You know we wouldn’t do that Ezra.” Lenny patted the Southerner’s knee.
“You’re going to drown me then?”
“Drown you?” Lenny frowned.
“I need to go to the toilet.” Ezra stated simply.
Lenny turned in his chair to silently ask Chris a question. Chris shook his head.
“No.” Lenny told him.
Ezra pulled at the tape that held his arms to the chair. Lenny had done a good job. He was most definitely stuck.
“Why did you call Nathan a nigger?” Josiah asked the question.
Ezra would have jumped in surprise if it hadn’t been for the tape holding him down. His eyes drifted to Josiah who was wearing a look of disapproval, then to Nathan who’s face held a hint of disgust. He had gone too far with that one word. He would do anything to take it back. Nathan hadn’t deserved that, he could have gotten him angry some other way. For now, he was going to have to deny it. Later when they knew, he would grovel on his hands and knees for Nathan’s forgiveness.
“I didn’t.” Ezra lied.
“Yes you did Ezra.” Nathan told him.
“You Mr Jackson are a liar.” Ezra growled at him.
“Ezra!” Lenny got his young friend’s attention.
“Yes Lenny.”
“Why are you doing this to your friends, to me?”
“I’m not doing anything Lenny, I keep telling you that. These men are lying.”
“Ezra, why?”
“Lenny, I’m not doing anything.”
“Does someone else want to have a go?” Lenny stood up and walked away.
He was beginning to get worried. Maybe it was something physical. Ezra wasn’t like this, he would never treat a friend this way, and he would never treat him this way.
“I will.” Josiah stepped forward and took Lenny’s place.
“Are you feeling okay Ezra?” Josiah leaned forward and ran his fingers along the bruising that was breaking out on Ezra’s jaw and cheek. The younger man flinched away from him but he knew Ezra couldn’t go far. His hand moved to Ezra’s forehead and he felt for a fever.
“I’m fine!” Ezra pulled his head away but the large hand stayed where it was. “Josiah, get off me.”
“If that’s what you want.” Josiah hesitated for a few seconds then removed his hand.
“Got a headache?”
“No.”
“Feeling sick at all?”
“No.” Ezra frowned at him. “Isn’t this usually Dr Jackson’s job.”
“Nathan isn’t a doctor.”
“Mr Jackson thinks he is. He even carries a bag.” Ezra smiled and nodded.
“He isn’t.” Josiah narrowed his eyes. “Did somebody hit you on the head or anything like that?”
“Did you know that Coca Cola started out as being green. Can you imagine that. Drinking something that’s green.” Ezra shook himself. “And how would someone know that a Polar Bear is left handed.”
“That’s some useless information you have there Ezra.”
“I have a lot more. Do you want to hear some?”
“Yes I would.”
Ezra hid his surprise. More useless information. He was going to have to wrack his brain now. What can he say? What on earth could he say?
“I need to go to the bathroom.” it was the only thing he could think of.
“Go and get a bucket or even yet a plastic bottle for him to piss in.” Chris ordered someone, anyone.
“I will not urinate in a bucket.” Ezra would rather hold it in than humiliate himself.
“Why can’t you just say, ‘piss in a bucket’ like everyone else.” Buck was shaking his head.
“Because unlike some,” Ezra glared at Vin, “I have an education.”
Whoops, did he really do that?
Vin glared at him then walked away.
Yes, it seems I did. Sorry Vin.
Ezra raised an eyebrow when Lenny grabbed Vin’s arm. He pulled him closer and whispered something into the sharp shooter’s ear. Ezra was shocked to the core when Vin laughed then turned to smile at Ezra.
“What did you just say to him?” he had to know.
“I told him about that test you failed at the academy.”
“What test? I didn’t fail a test? You know my SAT scores. How could I fail a test?”
“You, you little prick, failed a test and you know it.”
“I did not!” now Ezra was getting angry.
“You failed the psych test!” Lenny yelled back at him.
Everyone looked at Lenny then Ezra who was sitting with his mouth wide open. “I . . . I . . . I . . . it was a stupid test.”
“If he failed the test, how come he’s FBI?”
“He made them give him the test a second time. He claimed that he was trying to prove that he would make a good undercover agent the first time around.”
“It’s true, I would.”
“They thought he was an idiot.” Lenny chuckled and elbowed Vin in the ribs. “I still have a copy of it and their report. I’ll send it to you when I get back to Atlanta and then you can read about a person who claims they have an education.”
“No you won’t!” Ezra yelled.
“Tell me what you’re up to and I’ll change my mind.”
“Lenny,” Chris smiled at him, “I want to read the report and test.”
“Sorry Ezra, it’s seems I no longer have a choice. I’m going to have to send it to these guys.”
“Over my dead body.” Ezra was actually beginning to turn red. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It was all going wrong.
“Did you believe him?” JD asked Lenny.
“Did you know that JD still sleeps with a teddy bear?” Ezra tried to change the conversation.
“No,” Lenny ignored Ezra and answered JD, “and I still don’t. You see, well, Ezra here isn’t too good with people. That’s something you already know. So he acted his normal self during the test. He made himself look like an idiot. It took him a few days to realise what he’d done wrong. Then it took him five minutes to convince them to allow him to take the test again.”
“Five minutes?” Vin was still standing close to Lenny.
“He threatened them. He had certain information that would get them thrown out of the FBI, so he claimed anyway. I still don’t know what that information was.” Lenny shrugged.
“I did not threaten them, I simply convinced them that it was in their best interests if I sat the test a second
time.”
“In other words you blackmailed them.” Lenny ended the conversation by turning his back to Ezra, and starting up a conversation with Vin Tanner.
Josiah had continued to watch Ezra but he was unable to see anything in the man’s features that could tell him what was going on with the Southerner.
“Ezra.”
The undercover agent turned to face Josiah and raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes Josiah?”
“Has something happened? Something we should know about?”
“Only that you gentlemen are pissing me off.”
“There!” Buck pointed at Ezra. “You can say pissing.”
Ezra rolled his eyes at the ladies man. “You are an uncouth idiot Mr Wilmington.”
Buck growled in response.
“Do you want to hit him?” Chris asked Buck.
“Can I?”
Ezra didn’t want to be hit a fourth time. “You would hit a man that was tied to a chair. That’s the coward’s way.”
“He’s got a point Chris.” Buck was disappointed, he really did want to hit the bastard though.
“Ezra.” Josiah got the younger man’s attention again.
“Yes Josiah, the man who thinks he’s my father but would never be.” Ezra saw the sadness hit Josiah like a bolt of lightning. He didn’t regret the words, but he did regret the pain he had just caused. But this man would never be his father and Josiah needed to know that.
“Did something happen during the last case?”
“No.”
“Is it something to do with your mother? Did she say something or do something to you?”
“You know,” Ezra changed his mind, he wasn’t going to bring his mother into this, “never mind.”
“Never mind what?” Josiah leaned forward.
“Never mind what I said.”
Ezra didn’t like this. Things were being turned around. The plan was working too well. Maybe it was time to end it. His green eyes surveyed the room. It seemed that Vin and Chris were okay with Lenny, but he had to make sure that Buck, JD and Josiah were also. No, he was going to have to keep this going a bit longer.
“But I do mind.”
“Did you know that they raise square watermelons in Japan. Apparently they stack better than the original shape.”
“Useless information.” Josiah nodded.
“You said you wanted to hear more.”
“Yes I did.” Again, Josiah nodded.
“So JD,” Ezra called to him, “have you learnt yet that you can’t hide broccoli in a glass of milk.”
“I don’t . . . “ JD crossed his arms and pouted.
“Leave him alone.” Buck warned Ezra.
“You’re not his father Buck, he’s quite capable of looking after himself.”
“I know he can . . . “
“Then stop treating him like a twelve year old idiot!”
“Ezra!”
Ezra blinked in surprise when he felt Josiah’s open palm hit his right cheek. It was the same cheek that Nathan had hit. Tears of pain sprung to his eyes and he saw the sudden remorse on Josiah’s face.
“That’s enough Ezra. I won’t have you talking to my friends like that.”
“There you go again Josiah. Acting as though you’re my father.” Ezra spat out the blood that had filled up his mouth. He contemplated spitting at Josiah but knew that it would be too much. “My mother would make a better parent than you ever would.”
Aw hell! And those words weren’t too much. They weren’t going to forgive him for this. They may gain Lenny as a new friend but they were going to lose another. He was going to have to think before he spoke from now on.
“God Damnit Ezra!” Lenny yelled at him. “What in the hell are you doing? You have no right to talk to any of these men like that! They’re trying to help you!”
“Tying me to a chair, questioning me like a mere criminal is not trying to help me. Oh! And don’t forget the physical abuse that I’m receiving.”
“You deserved it!” Josiah growled at him.
Ezra smiled at Josiah then turned his face away from him. He heard the chair scrape along the floor then there was nothing but silence. Ezra hung his head and closed his eyes. The thought of whether or not this was really worth it crossed his mind. The plan had been to make them angry, not to hurt them and that’s what he was doing. He was pushing them away from him and it was going to be hard to close the distance that was now separating them. He wasn’t very good at this friendship thing. Maybe he should have asked one of the others to help him. How could he though when none of them liked Lenny. They wouldn’t have helped him, they would have talked him out of it, or worse, tell the others of his plan.
No one took Josiah’s place. He had done this the wrong way. By the second day of the three-day weekend they were supposed to be laughing together, fishing together, playing football together and teaching Lenny how to ride a horse and he, Ezra Standish, was still going to be tied to this chair. Nope, this was not working the way it was supposed to.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” Ezra tried again.
“Buck, untie him.” Chris wouldn’t look at his undercover agent.
“You want me to go with him?”
“No, I don’t care what he’s up to anymore. Whatever it is, it isn’t worth this. He shouldn’t be treating us like this.”
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
I think that maybe I’ve gone way too far with this. Maybe? You think!
Buck grabbed a knife from the kitchen. He used it to cut the tape from Ezra’s limbs. Ezra sat in the chair for a few minutes before he got up and walked up the hall to the bathroom. He kept his gaze directed to the floor. They weren’t looking at him, he knew that, he just didn’t need to see it. They also probably thought he was an idiot.
He closed and locked the door behind him and moved to the only empty corner of the room. He leaned his back against the wall and allowed himself to slide down to the floor. His knees were pulled up until they were pressing against his chest and laid his head down on his knees. He needed time to think of a way to turn this around back into his favour.
________________________________________
“Lenny.” Chris nodded to the FBI agent to follow him into the kitchen.
Hoskins, who was still staring at the point in the hallway where Ezra disappeared, hesitated then turned to find out what Chris wanted. When he saw the ATF agent nod in the direction of the kitchen, he nodded in return and followed him.
Chris poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Lenny. “So, what do you think is going on with him?”
“I don’t know Chris. I have no idea.” Lenny had returned his gaze back to the hallway. “I wish he’d just tell us what it is.”
“You know Ezra, it’s hard to get him to talk about anything.” Lenny kept his back to Chris.
“I thought that he would talk to you, I thought that he talked to you about everything.” Chris hadn’t mean any offence by what he had said and Lenny hadn’t taken any.
“He does, always, but not today. Chris,” he finally turned around, “I’m worried about him. Something has to be wrong. He wouldn’t just do this, it isn’t like him.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you guys didn’t, you know . . . “
“Not that I know of. Things were fine up until the drive up here.” Chris frowned. “You don’t think it was because I hit him do you?”
“No, he would only be angry at you, and he wouldn’t call Nathan a nigger because you hit him.”
“You’re right there.”
“Then why is he doing it?”
“Lenny, truthfully, who’s idea was it for you to come on this trip?”
“It was Ezra’s. He phoned me last week and invited me to spend the three days with him.”
“Why is he claiming that it was your idea?”
“You think that has something to do with it?”
“Could be.” Chris’ mind was beginning to tick over. “When did he tell you about this trip?”
“This morning on the way to your office.”
“He invited you to stay the weekend with him, even when he knew that I had arranged this weekend trip. Which means that he wanted you to come with us? He planned the whole thing.”
“But why treat everyone the way he has been. There’s no reason for that.”
“I know.” Chris agreed.
“Maybe we should let him sleep on it. See what he has to say in the morning.” Lenny suggested.
“Why not. I can’t think of anything else to do.”
“You up for some dinner, or would a sandwich do you?” Lenny moved to the kitchen counter and removed the bread from the breadbox.
“Sandwich.” Chris smiled. “I’ll give you a hand, the others will want something as well.”
________________________________________
Josiah moved quietly to the bathroom door and leaned his left ear against it. There was no noise coming from the other side of the door. He lightly tapped on the door to try and get the occupant’s attention. He knew that Ezra hadn’t meant what he said. He himself had reacted in the heat of the moment. Josiah knocked louder.
“Ezra?”
“Go away Josiah.”
“Are you going to let me in so we can talk?”
“No, I am incapable of holding a normal conversation with another human being. That test I failed said so.”
Did I just say that?
“That’s not true Ezra, a test can’t tell you what kind of person you are.” Josiah didn’t want to talk through the door so he tried to open it, only to find it locked. “Ezra.”
“Go away Josiah.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.” Josiah sat down on the floor. Ezra was stubborn, this meant he was going to be sitting here for a while.
“I’m tired Josiah, I would like to get some sleep.”
“You’re in the bathroom Ezra.” Josiah chuckled.
Ezra laid his head back until it rested against the wall. “I knew that.”
“Come out and talk to me . . . to us Ezra.”
“No, just go away Josiah.” Ezra needed to think, to see if he could come up with a way to get himself out of the hole he had dug himself into.
“I told you I’m not going anywhere.”
Ezra nodded but said nothing.
Ten minutes later Josiah was asked to move away from the door by Lenny Hoskins. Josiah didn’t hesitate, he took the offered sandwich and walked away.
“Ezra I’m not messing around anymore! Let me in now!” Lenny spoke through the door just like Josiah had done.
Ezra obeyed his friend and unlocked the door. He didn’t open it though, instead he slowly moved back to his position on the floor. The door opened but he didn’t look up.
“You want something to eat? Chris and I made some sandwiches.”
“You and Chris made sandwiches?” Ezra looked up at him.
“Yeah.”
“Together?”
“Yeah, you want one.
“No thank you.”
“Ezra, what’s wrong?”
Ezra refused to answer him. Lenny would think that he was being an idiot. The fact that it was true didn’t mean that Lenny could think or say it.
“Come on Ezra, you know you can tell me anything.”
Ezra shook his head. No, he didn’t want it confirmed that he was an idiot.
“Why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
“They are?”
“Like I’m going to tell you.” Ezra snorted.
Did he just snort. Oh lord this was getting worse than it should have been.
“You tell me everything else. Why not this?”
The younger man shook his head again.
“They’re all sitting out there in the kitchen Ezra. They’re worried about you. Like me, they think you’re being an idiot.”
There it was. Confirmation that he was being an idiot. He wasn’t an idiot, his SAT scores say he’s not an idiot.
“I, Ezra Standish, am not an idiot.”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to.” Ezra shrugged.
“Well, I think you’re an idiot, the six men out there think that you’re an idiot.”
“You are wrong. If I was an idiot, would I be sitting on a cold bathroom floor defending myself against the accusation that I’m an idiot.”
“I think you just admitted that you’re an idiot Ezra.”
“Fine! I’ll tell them. But if they don’t talk to me for a month, it’s going to be your fault.”
“Sure Ezra, whatever makes you feel better.”
Ezra allowed Lenny to help him up and followed him through the house into the kitchen.
“Guys,” Lenny stood next to Ezra in case he needed some sort of physical persuasion to talk. “Ezra here wants to explain what’s been going on.”
“We’re ready when you are Ezra.” Chris informed him.
“You gentlemen, if that’s what you are . . . “
“Ezra.” Lenny growled a warning at him.
“I’m telling them in my own time and my own way.” Ezra retorted. “You gentlemen, if that’s what you are, have a way of talking about Lenny that hurts me.”
“What?” Chris was dumbfounded.
“Whenever I mention Lenny’s name, you start putting him down. You talk about him like he’s a piece of shit and not a human being who is like a brother to me. You act like four year olds . . . “
“Ezra we . . . “ Vin started.
“Shut up! I haven’t finished yet.”
“Okay.” Vin shrunk back into his chair.
“You put him down, you call him names, you . . . you . . . you . . . and I’m right there in the room. I don’t like it and I’ve had enough of it!”
“Doesn’t explain why you’re acting like an idiot.” Chris glanced at Lenny to see his reaction but there wasn’t any.
“Have you been angry with Lenny today?” Ezra asked the group of men.
They all looked at each other then at Ezra.
“Exactly . . . you don’t know what I’m talking about do you?”
“No.” Lenny answered for the group of men.
“Chris didn’t throw you out of the car with me. You stayed in the car. Did you react when he hit me?”
Lenny shook his head and smiled. He was beginning to understand where Ezra was headed with his explanation. The man really was an idiot.
“You agreed with each other. Both of you got together to try and figure out what I was doing. You even discussed who was going to be the mum and who was going to be the dad.”
“Excuse me?” Vin winked at Chris.
“Did you, or did you not, give Lenny a high five when he hit me?”
“Uh yeah, I did.” Chris shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“Lenny, you stopped Vin and cheered him up by telling him that outrageous lie about that test.”
“It wasn’t a lie.”
“Yes it was and you damn well know it.”
“We’ll find out when Lenny sends us the report.” Vin told him.
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up!”
“Yeah you did.” Vin shrunk even further into his chair; if that was possible.
“You haven’t shown an angry bone in your bodies towards each other. Chris and Lenny made sandwiches together for Christ sake. You’ve been acting like friends and not men who hate each other.”
“He’s got a point there.” Josiah nodded.
“So!” Ezra pointed a finger at the men and also glared at them. “This is how it’s going to be from now on. There will be no anger directed at each other. You will never put Lenny down again, whether it be in front of me or not. On occasion, you will invite Lenny to join us on these long weekends and at Christmas. And most of all, none one is going to hit me again!” Ezra stopped talking but his chest continued to heave in anger. “DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!”
“Yeah, sure.” Chris shrugged.
“No problem here.” Vin agreed, even though he’d been told to shut up twice.
“Okay by me.” Buck said and nodded to JD who nodded back in agreement.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?” Nathan stood up and moved to confront Ezra.
“Me?” Ezra raised an eyebrow at the larger man.
“Yeah, you.”
“Vin, apologise to Nathan.” Chris ordered him.
“For what?”
“For calling him a nigger.”
“I didn’t . . . I would never . . . Ezra . . . God Damnit it.” Vin pouted, he hadn’t even had the chance to hit Ezra. “Nathan, I’m sorry for calling you that name.”
Nathan continued to look at Ezra.
“I am so very sorry Nathan.” Ezra whispered to him. “I will do anything to take it back.”
Nathan nodded and smiled. “That’s okay Vin, you can pay for your mistake at a later date.”
“And my cd and the father comment?” Josiah decided it was his turn.
“Buck will buy you a new cd when we get back.” Chris told him.
“I will not!”
"After all, Buck did throw it out the window.”
“Chris! What the hell are you doing?” Buck demanded to know.
“JD, tell Josiah you didn’t mean it when you said Maude would make a better mother.”
JD looked at Buck, then Vin, then Chris. His boss was serious.
“I’m sorry Josiah.”
Josiah was also watching Ezra. He smiled in return when Ezra mouthed that he was sorry.
“I think I would enjoy Lenny’s company. After all there are a lot of things about Ezra that he can tell us.” Josiah winked at Ezra.
“That won’t happen!” Ezra growled.
“Oh I think it will Ezra.” Lenny slapped him on the back.
Ezra glared at Lenny.
“Doesn’t really explain why you were pissing us off.” Chris sat back in his chair.
“What are you? An imbecile?” Ezra could see that he wasn’t going to get an answer. “By making you angry at me, there was no time for you to be angry at each.” He raised his shoulders and arms up in the air. His body language saying; ‘are you an idiot or what, can’t you figure it out for yourself. Do I have to tell you everything’.
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Chris told him.
“I am not! It was a brilliant plan and may I add that it worked.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Chris told him a second time.
“Why do you keep saying that?” this is what he had been afraid of. He knew he was an idiot. They weren’t supposed to know he was an idiot. Somehow, they had caught on to his con.
“You had this whole thing planned from the beginning didn’t you?” Vin asked him.
“Yes I did.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Vin repeated what Chris had said.
Before Ezra had a chance to answer, Josiah called him.
“Ezra.” Josiah wanted the younger man to look at him. “You’re pretty proud of yourself aren’t you.”
“For the most part, yes I am. Except for what I said to you and Nathan, but you have to realise what I was trying to do. Nathan was being stubborn, he wouldn’t get angry with me. Can you believe it. This is a man who wakes up in the morning and says to himself, I’m going to spend the day being angry at Ezra. Now, he hasn’t got an angry bone in his body.” Ezra rubbed the side of his face. “Well, he did for a moment because of what I said.” Ezra turned to Lenny. “He hit me pretty hard Lenny.”
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Josiah told him.
Ezra growled, if one more person said that, he would, he was going to, they would end up . . . well, and he just would.
“Does this mean that my music isn’t stupid?” JD asked Ezra.
“No,” Buck slapped JD across the back of the head, “the music you listen to is stupid.”
“I thought you were on my side.” JD whined at Buck.
“Ezra!” Buck forced the man to look up at him. “You’re an idiot.”
“What did I do to make everyone call me an idiot!”
I thought I was going to do something to the next person who called me an idiot.
“You said my conversations were stupid and boring.”
“He said that?” Chris frowned at Buck.
“Yes he did.” Buck crossed his arms.
“He’s right.” Chris informed Buck.
“What?”
“Buck all you talk about is women. Women, women, women.” Chris continued. “Have you ever thought that maybe we want to hear about something else.”
“There’s nothing wrong with talking about women.” Buck growled at him then leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “There was this red head that . . . “
“Shut up Buck!”
Eight men spoke at once.
“My music isn’t stupid.” JD stood up. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“JD, your music is banned from vehicles, stake outs and the office for a month.”
“Chris! That’s not fair.” JD protested. “I didn’t do anything. Ezra you’re an idiot!”
“And you,” Chris stood up and stormed towards Ezra, “are an idiot.”
“Oh for pete’s sake, will you please stop calling me an idiot.” Ezra threw his hands in the air.
“You’re an idiot Ezra.” Lenny told him.
Aren’t you going to hit him. Hit Lenny? No fucking way!
“So now what?” Chris stared at Ezra.
“Don’t look at me. I’m an idiot remember.”
“Lenny?” Chris turned his stare to the man that he knew was somehow going to become a friend. Not a close friend, but a friend anyway.
“Well, me, I think we should tie the shit head to a chair and go and get a cold beer.”
“Sounds good to me.” Chris nodded to the rest of his men.
“That doesn’t sound like a very good idea to me.” Ezra protested when Chris and Lenny grabbed an arm each.
“We don’t listen to idiots!” JD yelled when he ran past them so he could grab the tape.
“Now gentlemen,” Ezra, say something, anything, just get yourself out of this. “And that’s what you are,”
They forced him back into the chair.
“gentlemen through and through, and very understanding,”
It wasn’t going to work. JD was already taping his arms to the chair.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
They weren’t listening to him. JD was now taping his legs to the chair.
“I really do need to go to the bathroom guys . . . guys.”
They were walking away now.
“Guys, you don’t want to do this. You know I’ll retaliate!”
The front door was opened.
“Lenny!”
Seven men stepped through the door out into the night.
“You can’t leave me here like this!”
The door was closed.
“They’ll be back in a minute. I know they will. They won’t leave me sitting here all night. Not when they know I need to go to the bathroom. They’ll come back. I’m not an idiot. I’m not an idiot who is in dire need of going to the bathroom but can’t because he’s taped to a chair in the middle of the living room. They’ll come back any minute now.”
He heard a two cars start then pull away.
“They’re just trying to scare me. They’ll be back in a minute.”
He could hear nothing.
“GUYS! COME ON GUYS! I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!”
Still silence.
“I hate those idiots! I don’t know why I allowed them to talk me into coming on this trip in the first place. Never again. GUYS!”
The End
Part One | Part Two
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