azombiewrites (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azombiewrites) wrote2010-06-26 07:46 pm
azombiewrites) wrote2010-06-26 07:46 pm
The Magnificent Seven Fic - 'A Life Threatened' - 2/3
Title: A Life Threatened
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strong Language.
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: ATF
Main Characters: Ezra, the guys and an OMC.
Summary: After Chris receives a warning that one of his close friends on Team 7 will be killed in an act of revenge against him, he protects those that he thinks are in danger but has he made the wrong decision.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 24,521
Ezra jerked awake when another horn blared within his eardrums, he looked around in confusion and found himself still in the dodge that was now driving through traffic. He also saw that darkness had settled over the city of Denver. He looked sideways at Chris and squinted when a turning car's lights reached through his sunglasses to remind him that his headache was still there.
"What happened?" Ezra muttered as he pushed himself back up into a more comfortable position.
"You fell asleep while I was in the Federal Express office, I didn't want to wake you." Chris slowed down when the car in front of him stopped. "You don't look so good Ezra, tell me what's wrong."
Ezra thought about it for a moment. "I've got a headache."
"Since the fall?" Chris questioned him.
"No, I've had it for a few days, it won't go away." Ezra admitted, he waited for Chris to lose his temper.
"We'll let Nathan know as soon as we get back, we're nearly there." Chris nodded.
"What did you find out?"
"Later Ezra, that way I won't have to repeat myself." He accelerated around the car that had stopped. "Oh and by the way, you're staying at the cess pit tonight, I'm not letting you go home on your own when you’re not feeling well." Chris's tone told him he didn't want an argument.
"Only if Buck changes the sheets first." Ezra smiled.
"Maybe we should stop and buy some fresh ones." Chris suggested.
******
A pair of brown eyes that were shaded by thick grey eyebrows watched from the second floor of the apartment building as the dodge pulled up to the curb that ran alongside the building that housed Wilmington's flat. He followed the stiff movements of Standish and what seemed to be concerned movements from Larabee. He brushed the doubt away from his mind. His target had been chosen and he wasn't going to let the concern that Larabee was showing towards his undercover agent change his mind. The binoculars lifted so he could continue to watch the men in the flat. There wasn't a curtain on the window that overlooked the fire escape. He couldn't see everything through the small opening but he did see the men that walked passed it. Now all he had to do was wait until Larabee and Standish entered so he could make an attempt on his target's life. He wanted Larabee to be there when the one he had chosen died.
******
Chris knocked loudly on the door and waited for the voice to ask who it was, he replied then stepped into the room when the door was opened. Ezra followed him trying hard to hide the smirk from his face, even his headache wasn't going to ruin this moment for him. He stole a glance towards Nathan who was watching him carefully, he allowed the smile to appear and noticed that Nathan seemed to relax, he turned away from him and continued to follow Chris. They walked further into the living room, Ezra stood near the window and waited. He noticed that the room had been cleaned and wondered if Buck and JD had done it under protest or if Josiah and Nathan did it.
"What have you got there Chris?" Buck asked him when he saw the package in his hand.
"Sheets." Chris threw them at him. "You're going to change your bed so Ezra can sleep in it."
"I ain't changing my sheets. They are clean, I only washed them yesterday." Buck growled at Ezra.
"Yes but I'm sure they are permanently stained with your animal magnetism." Ezra replied.
Buck was about to ask him what he was talking about then he realised. He blushed, his cheeks growing red.
"I'll change them."
"I thought Ezra wasn't staying here?" JD asked as he stepped closer to Ezra.
"Ezra's not feeling well. Nathan is going to have a look at him while Buck changes his sheets then he's going to bed." Chris informed everyone.
Ezra stepped away as Nathan moved in on him.
The ugly porcelain horse that sat on the bookcase shattered as the bullet struck it. JD drew his arm up to protect himself from the pieces that flew into his face.
"JD! GET DOWN!" Someone yelled out to him.
Ezra ran for him and as his arms wrapped around the younger man he felt another force hit him. He was thrown sideways and landed heavily, his head hit the floor with enough momentum to make him see white lights behind his eyelids. Two men landed on top of him, the air was forced from his lungs and someone's elbow hit his already injured side.
Buck moved at the same time as Ezra, he grabbed both men and threw them sideways, his own weight landing on top of both of them. He stayed where he was making sure that they couldn't get back up.
"Where did it come from?" Chris yelled.
"Came through the window next to the fire escape." Vin informed him.
"EZRA! Your with me." Chris called to him.
"Can't." Ezra croaked as he weakly tried to push the heavy weights off his body, he couldn't breathe in the position he was in.
Chris didn't hear him, he was already on his way down the stairs to the building's exit but Buck heard him, he ran after Chris.
Chris reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to see what was taking Ezra so long, he frowned when he saw Buck coming down the stairs two at a time.
"Where's Ezra?" Chris asked him, there was no anger in his voice.
"He's down." Buck answered him.
"Shit!"
"Are we going out there or not."
"No!" Chris pushed himself away from the door and back towards the stairs.
"Why not, that guy just tried to kill JD, we can't let him get away." Buck didn't like the idea of the assassin getting away from them.
"JD isn't the only one he's after Buck, I'm not going to give him the opportunity to shoot you instead.
Besides he was probably out the back door of that building before we left your flat." He began to walk up the stairs. "Let's go and see how Ezra's doing."
******
Ezra wasn't doing so good. He felt some of the weight disappear but someone else was still lying on him, the lack of air made it almost impossible for him to tell the offending force to get off so he could breath. He risked opening his eyes and looked up into JD's face, he could see the concern in the large brown eyes but JD didn't realise that he was making him feel worse.
"Get off." Ezra whispered then tried to take in some air, his lungs refused to work and he began to panic.
"Ezra?" Nathan pulled JD off then knelt down beside him, his hands were already probing the southerner's body for any injuries.
"Can't breathe."
"Relax Ezra, just try and breath normally, you just need a few seconds." Nathan loosened Ezra's tie and shirt, he then undid the belt and button of his trousers. "I'm going to pull you over on to your side Ezra, it'll help you breath." Nathan did this as he spoke to his distressed friend. He gently pulled him onto his left side and placed him in a recovery position. "Don't breath too deep Ezra, you could lose consciousness, just try and breath normally."
Ezra relaxed and did as he was told, and after what felt like minutes but in reality were only seconds he felt the oxygen returning to his lungs, the pain returned to his head and side. He grimaced in pain.
"Let's sit you up Ezra." Nathan reached for his shoulders to help him.
"NO!" Ezra protested.
"Ezra don't start on me now, I'm not in the mood for this!" Nathan growled down at him.
"No, it hurts, don't move me, it hurts too much."
"What hurts Ezra?"
"My head." Ezra admitted. "Just give me a minute."
Nathan didn't give him a minute, his used his large hand to turn his head to the side, he felt underneath his skull but felt nothing, and there was no blood or bumps to indicate an injury.
"Josiah, can you help me get him into Buck's room." Nathan moved behind his shoulders and waited for Josiah to lift his feet.
"Just give me a minute Nathan! I can get up on my own." Ezra growled at him. Why wouldn't he listen to him, he told him he was in pain.
"Josiah." Nathan nodded to him.
They picked Ezra up and heard the groan that the movement elicited from him. He was carried into Buck's room then placed gently on the bed. Nathan began to remove Ezra's upper clothing, he wanted to check his side as well. He easily pushed Ezra's protesting hands away and he ignored his requests to leave him alone.
"Nathan wait, please." Ezra moaned, his head had never felt so bad and now the constant movements were making his stomach roll violently. "Nathan."
"Nathan." Chris's firm voice caused the ex-medic to turn around. "Do like he says, wait."
"Chris I need to check his side, he's in a lot of pain." Nathan turned back to Ezra.
"It's not his side Nathan, it's his head." This time Nathan stopped his movements. "He's got a bad headache, and he's had it for a few days."
"I'm going to be sick." Ezra groaned.
"Not in my bed you’re not!" Buck was standing behind Chris but pushed him aside and began rushing around the room looking for something that Ezra could use. He saw the waste paper basket in the corner of the room, he emptied it then ran back to the bed, and he handed the basket to Nathan just in time.
Nathan pulled Ezra up into a sitting position and supported his neck while his stomach emptied itself, it was mostly dry heaving and this made Nathan angry. When Ezra was finished, he pushed the basket towards Buck then laid Ezra back down.
"Ezra. When was the last time you had something to eat?" He tried to keep the anger out of his voice but didn't succeed.
"Breakfast, yesterday." Ezra told him as he kept his eyes hidden behind closed eyelids.
"And how long have you had this headache for?"
"Three or four days." Ezra flinched back from Nathan's angry tone but he still kept his eyes closed.
"Jesus Ezra! What were you thinking? Why didn't you tell me!" Nathan practically yelled at him.
"It's just a headache Nathan." Ezra winced at the loudness of Nathan's voice and tried to raise his hands to his head to protect it against the noisy intrusion but the ex-medics hands intercepted them easily and pulled them back down.
"Something that's just a headache doesn't last three or four days Ezra, especially after a head injury!"
"Nathan calm down." Chris stepped up to him.
"Calm down, he . . . " Nathan looked up at Chris then back down at Ezra. He gave up. He leaned forward and lifted Ezra's eyelids to look at his pupils. "Have you been taking anything for it?"
"Tylenol but there not working." Ezra left his eyes open after Nathan lifted his lids.
"How many have you taken today?" He watched as Ezra frowned in concentration. "Okay let me put it another way. How many do you take at a time?"
"Four."
"He took six earlier." Chris added as he stepped closer to the bed.
"And how many times have you taken some today?" Nathan was shocked by the answer.
"Four."
"Are you trying to kill yourself? Have you been taking that many since your headache started?" He saw the slight nod to indicate that he had. "Ezra you can overdose on those, they can make you ill and do permanent damage to your liver!" He leaned over him. "No more! You understand me Ezra. No more!"
"I'm sorry but I thought they were supposed to help." Ezra muttered.
"They are Ezra but not when you take that many, sometimes the cure can be worse than the cause."
Ezra sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you."
Nathan calmed down. "What about your side?" He pulled open the unbuttoned shirt, it was the only piece of upper clothing left on his body, and Nathan had been interrupted by Chris before he could remove it.
"It hurts." Ezra could feel Nathan's fingers pressing into his side.
"There's still a bit of bruising Ezra, just give it some more time and try not to fall down any more." Nathan smiled at him.
He turned around and pulled Ezra's boots off then pulled the blanket up over him.
"Nathan." Ezra was watching him and waited for him to look back at him. "I'm sorry about what happened at my place, I didn't mean what I said. You were being a friend and I didn't see that."
"That's alright Ezra, I was partly to blame, and I should have given you some more space." He tucked the blanket around the smaller man. "Get some sleep Ezra, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
"In these sheets?" Ezra raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, call it punishment." Nathan sat on the bed and waited, it only took Ezra a few minutes to fall asleep, and it was obvious to Nathan that he hadn't slept much over the last few days either. He got up and followed the others out of the room.
Nathan spoke before they could answer their questions. "He'll be fine, he hasn't been looking after himself, a mixture of not eating, not sleeping and taking too many painkillers finally got to him. I'll make sure he gets a decent meal when he wakes up and let him know what he can use to help with his headaches. His head is still healing so there will be a few more to come." Nathan waved off any other questions by asking one of his own.
"What did you find out at Federal Express?" He turned to Chris.
"You sure he's okay?" Chris refused to be pointed in another direction.
"I'm sure Chris."
The darkly dressed leader sat down on one of the chairs and leaned over, he pulled out the magazine he sat down on and grimaced at Buck who came forward to take it from his hand. "I got a name and address but when I went to check it there was only a parking lot. This guy's good, he's using fake ID to cover his tracks. So we have nothing to go on unless the lab gives us something on the photos which I doubt."
"You think we should find somewhere else to stay now he knows where we are?" Vin asked.
"No, he found you here, he'll find us again." Chris was beginning to get annoyed with Josiah's pacing but tried to ignore him. "Besides if you all move again it will give him another chance."
"Did you get a look at him." JD wanted to know but saw the confused look on Chris's face. "When you went out after him, did you see him?"
"We didn't go after him." Buck informed him. "Chris didn't want to risk me getting shot so the guy got away."
"Josiah why don't you sit down." Chris turned to him.
"Something’s not right." Josiah spoke aloud. He was standing in the position that Ezra had been in and was looking at where JD was and the bookcase. "I've got a feeling, it's nagging the back of my mind but I can't figure out what it is."
"It'll come to you." Nathan told him.
"I want to look at the photos again Chris." Josiah looked over his shoulder at the window then back at the bookcase.
"I'm going to the office in the morning to speak to the Judge, I'll get them then and bring them back for you."
"They won't be finished with them by then Chris, they'll need at least a few days to check them." Vin told him.
"You're forgetting Ezra's southern charm, that's why I sent him down with them." Chris smiled, he knew Mary had a thing about Ezra and would rush any piece of evidence he gave her through the works.
******
Nathan looked up as a tired looking southerner shuffled out of Buck's bedroom and make his way into the kitchen, he got up and poured a cup of hot coffee and used a tea towel to remove the hot meal from the oven. He placed both of them in front of Ezra after he sat down. He waited to see what Ezra was going to do, he put his own hand out to stop him from pushing the plate away.
"Eat it Ezra." Nathan sat down next to him.
Ezra looked down at the steak and vegetables and realised that he did feel hungry. "A bit much for breakfast isn't it?"
"It's not breakfast." Nathan watched as he tested the food then begin to eat it. "How's your head?"
"It hurts."
"It would, you've been through a lot Ezra, and it’s going to take a bit longer before your back to your old self."
Nathan got up and returned before Ezra knew he was even gone. "I got Chris to get these for you, they'll do a better job with your headache than the other ones." Nathan removed one of the pills from the packet and put it next to the cup of coffee. "Take it after you've finished eating."
"Thanks Nathan."
"You're welcome."
"Where is everyone?" He looked up when he heard Nathan's laughter.
"Behind you." Nathan nodded towards the area that wasn't within Ezra's sight.
Ezra turned and looked over his shoulder, he saw the others staring at a wall that housed the group of photos that Chris had received the day before. He hadn't even noticed them when he walked passed them.
"They didn't find anything on the photo's, no prints, nothing that would give us a lead on this guy." Nathan answered before Ezra asked the question. "Ezra?"
"What time is it?" Ezra looked back at Nathan with a confused expression on his face.
"Just after one." Nathan leaned back in his chair. "You have to look after yourself better than you have been Ezra."
"Yeah, if I did I wouldn't have spent all night and half the day in that bed. The things I've heard about happening in that room." Ezra shuddered at the thought.
"You can sleep in clean sheets tonight, Buck will change them later. I want you staying here where I can keep an eye on you, and to make sure you eat."
"Can I at least go home and get some fresh clothes?"
"If Chris says it's okay and if you give me your word that you'll come back." Nathan agreed.
******
Chris stepped up behind Ezra and looked over his shoulder at the photo that showed the confrontation that they'd had. He had been watching Ezra for the last ten minutes and noticed that the southerner's eyes hadn't moved from it.
"You scared the hell out of me that day Ezra, I was too angry to be honest about it, I should have been more honest and told you what I was really thinking." He felt Ezra's green eyes looking at him but he didn't return the stare. "We seem to have given this guy a lot of ammunition to try and prove that we . . . I don't care. Sometimes I think I care too much about all of you." He finally turned sideways. "I don't want to lose any members of my team Ezra and that day I thought I was going to lose you, it wasn't a pleasant feeling." He handed Ezra his car keys. "I want you back within two hours Ezra. And watch your back."
Ezra smiled and gave him his two-finger salute and left the apartment. Chris watched as the door closed behind him. He looked back at the photos and tried to see what it was that was bothering Josiah, the larger man had been looking at them all morning but had been unable to bring to light what was firmly stuck in the dark recess of his mind. He turned when he heard someone behind him.
"Is Ezra okay with everything?" Josiah asked him.
"Yeah, he's fine." Chris assured him. "You still don't have any idea what it is?"
"No." Josiah looked at each photo in turn, he read each caption carefully then reached the last two. "He's going out of his way to show that he didn't think you cared about Ezra. Why would he do that if he wanted to kill someone you cared about."
"That's what I was thinking. Why did he bother mentioning Ezra at all." It was a statement not a question.
"Buck! Have you got a marker pen?" Josiah turned and yelled out.
"You think of something Josiah?" Buck asked as he appeared with a black pen in his hand.
"Almost."
Josiah looked again at the last caption.
BUT I WANT YOU TO SUFFER LIKE I DID LARABEE. ONE WILL DIE AND YOU WILL SUFFER AS I DID!
He stepped forward and changed it.
BUT , I WANT YOU TO SUFFER LIKE I DID LARABEE. ONE WILL DIE AND YOU WILL SUFFER AS I DID!
Josiah underlined BUT on the photo to emphasis the word. It now held a different meaning to him. "Oh God! He's not after one of us, he's after Ezra. Look." Josiah moved to the side. "He used BUT. He's saying through all of these," he waved his arm in front of the other photos, "that you care about all the other guys and in this last one he starts with but. He's saying 'You care about these men, their deaths would upset you, BUT, I want you to suffer like I did. That's why he's made a point of you not caring about Ezra."
He moved to the spot where Ezra was standing the day before and pointed towards the bullet hole. "He was aiming for Ezra, he stepped away remember when Nathan moved towards him, that's why the guy missed."
"He also said here," Chris pointed to another photo, "that he was going to let me decide."
"And you did, by not protecting Ezra like your protecting everyone else, you allowed him to be on his own and that's what he wanted." Josiah told him.
"Shit! JD, Nathan you stay here just in case." Chris ran out of the room with the others following him.
******
Ezra pulled to a stop at the red light, he began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel, and his headache had finally eased because of the stronger painkiller Nathan had given him. He berated himself for not going to him sooner and telling him that something was wrong. He looked into the rear-view mirror just in time to see the car coming up behind him, he couldn't react fast enough, and the car rear-ended him.
"Perfect." Ezra spoke to the empty car. "At least it wasn't the jag."
Ezra opened the door to get out of the car but instead found himself looking into a barrel of a gun.
"Move over! Now!" A husky voice yelled at him. "Move!"
Ezra did as he was told, he turned sideways to shift into the other seat and then fell into a dark void when the gun slammed against the back of his head. He fell across the seat. The man used his muscled strength to push Ezra's unconscious form onto the passenger side. He got into the driver's seat then pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. He handcuffed Ezra's wrists behind him then drove away in the dodge. He left the car he used to ram Larabee's car where it was, he didn't need it anymore. He looked sideways at the slumped form and smiled. He had missed the night before but now he had Standish where he wanted him and he decided he was going to have some fun with him and Larabee before he killed the young Federal Agent.
He was going to make Larabee suffer. A year ago Hank Loyd wasn't concerned about a young agent on his team either, just like Larabee wasn't concerned about Standish, he didn't worry about him, thought that he hadn't been in danger but the young man had lost his life and Loyd had suffered with the guilt of it ever since. Larabee had arranged the operation that had caused the man's death. Now Standish was going to lose his life and Larabee was going to feel the same type of guilt. The guilt of not taking care of one of his own, of allowing him to be on his own when his life might have been in danger, for not protecting him or saving him when he's life was threatened.
******
"He's not answering." Josiah dialled again.
"I do care Josiah!" Chris growled.
"I know Chris and so does Ezra." Josiah hung up again and dialled in Ezra's home number.
"But why Ezra. Why does he want to hurt someone that he thinks I don't care about!" Chris pressed his hand against the horn and pushed down on the accelerator when the car in front moved out of the way.
"We'll find out when we find Ezra." Josiah told him calmly.
Chris slammed on the brakes when he reached Ezra's townhouse, he left Buck's car running and ran up to the entrance. He banged against the door but there wasn't an answer so he used his foot to kick the door open and he ran into the two-bedroom apartment with Josiah, Buck and Vin hot on his heels. They searched everywhere and found nothing.
"Phone JD, see if he's shown up!" Chris growled as he headed back to the car.
Buck used his phone to call JD. "JD is he there . . . . no he isn't here and we didn't see him on the way either . . . . yeah we're on our way back now." He hung up and dialled the local police to have them put out an APB on Chris's dodge.
"What are you feeling now Chris?" Josiah looked sideways at him, he didn't really like the idea of him driving but he wouldn't allow anyone else behind the wheel, even when it wasn't his own car.
"What the hell has that got to do with it!?" Chris snapped at him.
"It has everything to do with it." Josiah told him. "He said he wanted you to suffer the way he did. What are you feeling?"
"I feel guilty Josiah, is that what you want to hear. Ezra might die because I didn't think he was worth protecting, I didn't believe he was in danger!"
"Then that's the way the man who has Ezra felt. Your suffering like he is." Josiah explained. "Does that ring a bell with you, did anything happen in the past where someone you know felt guilty over someone's death?"
Chris knew that Josiah was making sense, he was feeling what the man wanted him to feel, he was now in the same situation that this person had once been. "Not off the top of my head Josiah, I'd have to think about it."
"Then think quickly Chris."
"Buck, can you think of someone." He looked into the rear-view mirror and watched Buck frown in concentration.
"No." Buck slumped back into his seat. Chris wasn't the only one feeling guilty, it had been his idea to do what he thought Ezra would want and that was to be given some space while he was recuperating from his injuries and now someone had selected him to inflict revenge against Chris by killing him because of what they had done. Buck had made Ezra feel alone without realising it and Ezra had suffered emotionally because of it and now he was going to suffer physically. He didn't know what he was going to do if Ezra paid the ultimate price for something that the rest of the team was responsible for.
******
Ezra thought he was in hell, well at least it felt like his head was, he thought that the pain had been worse before but now . . . he stopped thinking, it hurt too much. A blinding light tore through his eyelids into his skull, he groaned at the pain. His own sound caused a noise to register in his mind. Someone was with him, he tried to open his eyes but they didn't want to work.
"Nathan?" He used his voice and listened for one of his friend's comforting reply but what he heard wasn't what he wanted to hear. It caused him to remember what happened and reminded him of the situation he was now in and it wasn't going to be a pleasant one, not only for himself but for his friends. Chris had told him that he did care and he believed him, his friends would now be worrying about him.
"He can't help you, none of them can, not that they want to anyway. They don't care about you." A familiar husky voice spoke to him.
This time Ezra forced his eyes to open, he flinched back when he found himself staring into a pair of brown eyes that were only inches from his own. He blinked to bring the face into focus but he didn't have much success.
"Why me? I thought you were going to kill someone he cared about." Ezra saw what he thought was a camera being held by trembling hands.
"That's what I wanted Larabee to think, but I want him to feel the way I did. He was responsible for the death of someone I didn't care about or protect and now he's going to . . . is feeling the same way I did and still do. He's going to suffer a lot of guilt over your death." The man explained and stepped back.
Ezra grimaced and tried to turn his head away when the camera flashed again. "You made a mistake, he does care, and it won't be guilt that he'll feel."
"And that's why he didn't protect you? Because he cares? He allowed you to be on your own, that's how I got you." Loyd laughed at him. "I'm not wrong, the man doesn't care about you." He took another photo, he just wished he could be there when Larabee go these photos.
"You're wrong." Ezra looked up at him and the light flashed again causing him to see white lights for a few seconds.
"I'm not wrong!" He stepped forward and kicked Ezra's injured side, then kicked him again. The camera clicked so he could capture the pain on Ezra's face.
Ezra curled up into a ball to protect himself but the damage had already been done, his side was on fire, he wasn't sure if his ribs had been re-broken. He tried to relax and take smaller breaths. He could hear the man pacing in front of him.
"He does care." He tensed but he didn't receive any more kicks to his side. "He won't feel what you’re feeling."
"Yes he will!" Loyd stepped out of the small room he had thrown Standish into when he first arrived back at the large empty warehouse, he needed to develop the photos he had just taken so he could send them to Larabee. "He's going to suffer but not before you do!" He slammed the door shut, the door vibrated with his anger, he would take that anger out on his prisoner later when he wanted to take more pictures so Larabee could feel even more guilt.
******
Chris sat in his office going over previous case files, he had been at it all night and after each failure to find the one that would indicate who had taken Ezra, he'd slam it onto the rising pile next to him, the one in front of him was getting lower. He looked up when Buck entered his office with two cups of steaming coffee.
"Any luck?" Buck asked but he knew that he hadn't found anything, if he had, they would know immediately.
"How could I have let this happen Buck?" Chris rubbed his tired eyes. "Why didn't I protect him like the rest of you? What's he going to think of me now? He's going to believe what this guy tells him."
"Ezra agreed with you Chris." He tried to alleviate the guilt that Chris was feeling. "He didn't think that he was in any danger either."
"That's no excuse Buck and you know it. I treated him differently, I've never treated him the same way I'd treat you or Vin. And now Ezra's paying for it!" He opened another file.
"Chris!" JD stepped into the doorway. "Security have another package for you, I'm just going down to get it."
"Bring it into the operations room JD." Chris stood up and followed Buck out of his office, his stomach felt as though it was filled with lead, it continued to sink into despair. Ezra was suffering and it was his fault.
******
When he knew that he was on his own Ezra first tried to free his hands but the handcuffs were tight against his skin, they had also been adjusted so he couldn't separate his hands, which meant he couldn't reach the locks to pick them. He looked around at his prison cell. There was the usual four walls, one of them housed a door but there wasn't any windows. The room was small enough for him to think that it was a large closet, it was dark and suffocating. As if it wasn't hard enough for him to breath now.
He shifted himself closer to the door and laid on his back, he then raised his feet and brought his knees closer to his chest and with all the strength he could muster he kicked the door, it didn't budge. Ezra ignored the pain erupting in his side and tried again, it still didn't move. He forced himself up into a standing position and tried again, he then used his shoulder. He collapsed to the floor, his chest was heaving for breath and this caused his side to hurt even more. He allowed his head to lean against the wall. He knew there wasn't any use in trying to yell out, he wouldn't be within hearing distance of anyone who could help him. His only hope was that the others were looking for him and would find him before this man decided to end his fun and take his life.
Or he could do the same thing he had to do all his life and that was to get himself out of danger. So often, he hadn't had anyone to back him up or protect him, even in the FBI, it had been hard for him, after the rumors of him being on the take started, no one trusted him, and if no one trusted him, they weren't going to risk their lives to protect or help him.
He thought about the men he now worked with, they trusted him with their lives and wouldn't hesitate in risking their own to protect him. Ezra silently prayed that he would get out of this alive but the prayer wasn't for his own selfish reasons, it was for his friends. He knew Chris would now be feeling a lot of guilt over this, and if he cared like he said he did, and he was to die, then Chris wouldn't not be able to cope his death. But it wasn't Chris's fault, it was his own, if he hadn't given them the impression that he wanted to be left alone this wouldn't be happening, they were going to feel guilty over something that he was responsible for. He had to be able to tell Chris that it wasn't his fault. Ezra couldn't help but smile, the others would probably be blaming themselves for the same reasons.
******
Chris took the A4 envelope from JD, his own hands were shaking, and he took a deep breath then turned it over. His fingers slowly pulled the taped flap open and he prayed that the photos were not going to show him that Ezra was dead, he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of what they had done. His long fingers pulled out the photos, they were similar to the others, black and white with a taped caption at the bottom but there wasn't as many. He refused to look at the photo until he pinned it to the board so everyone else could also look at.
"SHIT!" Buck exclaimed as he turned away and ran his hands through his hair. He forced himself around so his eyes could look at the photo, his mind was telling him that it was going to get a lot worse.
It was a full body shot of Ezra, he was lying on his left side, and his hands were held behind his back with a pair of handcuffs. But what scared them the most was the slack face, his eyes were closed.
I HAVE YOUR MAN LARABEE. THE ONE YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT!
"No shit." Chris muttered in answer to the caption.
He pinned another photo to the wall. It was a closer shot of Ezra's head, the features were still slack and his mouth was partially open. The caption asked the same question they were all thinking.
IS HE DEAD?!
Chris put the last photo on the board, his heart sunk into the same despair that his stomach had earlier. It was another close up of Ezra's face and it was contorted in pain. Ezra was suffering and Chris's guilt was growing to match his friends suffering.
NOT YET! BUT HE WILL BE AFTER WE HAVE SOME FUN. DON'T WORRY YOU WON'T MISS OUT ON IT!
"He's taken another blow to the head." Nathan stepped closer and pointed at the second photo to an area on the back of Ezra's head. The hair was matted to his skull and was darker than the rest that covered his scalp.
"That's not good is it Nathan?" Josiah asked.
"Depends on how hard he hit him." Nathan couldn't tear his eyes from the injury on the back of Ezra's skull.
"Can you see anything else?" Josiah moved to his side.
"His hands." he pointed to the first photo. "The handcuffs are too tight, they're cutting into his flesh, and the dark patches around his wrists is blood." Nathan folded his arms. "I can't see any other injuries."
"What about this one?" Chris nodded to the third photo. "He's in a lot of pain."
"I don't know, maybe he just did something to him, it could be anything Chris."
"JD, who delivered the envelope?" Chris turned to him, he hung his head when he saw the pale complexion on the young man's face. "JD?"
"UPS this time." JD was staring at the photos.
"We have to find him before this guy starts having his fun with Ezra." Chris spoke aloud.
"And where the hell are we supposed to start?" Vin questioned him. "We've got nothing to go on."
"I don't know!" Chris yelled at him. "I don't know how to help him!"
"Calm down Chris, we're all feeling just as bad about this as you are." Josiah told him.
"I doubt that very much Josiah, you’re not the one who didn't protect him, it wasn't you who let him go out on his own without anyone to protect him. If Ezra dies it'll be my fault, not yours!"
"Why don't you and Buck go back and continue checking through your files, maybe you'll find something." Josiah suggested.
"Guilty huh?" Chris looked at Josiah. "This guy wants me to feel guilty. And now I am, it's tearing me apart. He felt like that. But who?"
"Hank Loyd." It suddenly hit Buck with such a force that he couldn't say anymore without encouragement.
"Hank Loyd?" Chris's face became white with shock. "Why didn't I think of him! Jesus Christ Buck! I should have known."
"Who's Hank Loyd." Asked Vin.
Chris didn't answer, he was walking around in a very small circle.
"He was an ATF agent and headed Team Four. His team joined Chris's on an operation to take down a gun smuggling ring, things went wrong and one of Loyd's team was killed. He blamed Chris at first but then himself. He suffered so much guilt over the guys death that he had a breakdown, retired from the agency.
"Do you think that he'll actually harm Ezra?" JD asked. "I mean if he was ATF once, he might not carry out his threat."
"No JD, Ezra's a dead man and it's my fault." Chris stood still and looked up at Buck. "He never stopped blaming me, I went to see him in the hospital once and he told me that one day he'd make me feel the same thing that he felt."
Buck nodded. "Loyd never really liked the guy that died, so he allowed him to go into a situation that was risky, thinks that if he had taken better care of him that he wouldn't have died."
"Is that true?" Nathan asked.
"No. It was one of those things that no one could prevent but he still blamed himself, thought he should have protected him more." Chris muttered. "How the hell are we going to find Ezra when we've got nothing."
"We'll find him Chris, we have a name now." Josiah grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's start with the hospital he was in, maybe they have a real address for where he lives, we can go from there."
******
Ezra's head lifted when he heard the noise on the other side of the door, he stood up and leant against the wall beside the door. He waited patiently, the door was pushed open but no one entered.
"Step out where I can see you or I'll start shooting through the wall." Loyd fired his gun high in the wall to emphasis his intentions.
Ezra stepped into view, he wasn't going to get out of here if he was shot before he even attempted to escape.
"Come out. Now!"
Ezra walked out into the open and got his first look at the man who wanted to inflict so much emotional pain on Chris. The man was slightly taller than himself and well muscled. His eyes were brown but his hair and eyebrows were a dark grey. The nose was pinched and the mouth too small.
"See that wall over there and the hook. I want you to walk towards it then face it." He motioned with his gun then followed Ezra to the Eastern wall.
Ezra used his eyes to look around at his environment. The warehouse was large, the windows that lined the upper half of the walls were mostly broken, the floor was a large empty space, and the only furniture was the table that stood near the hook on the wall. Ezra inwardly moaned when he saw the baseball bat, the large hunter's knife and the small black club. This man was going to try to inflict a lot of pain so he could make Chris suffer.
"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Loyd told Ezra. He kept his gun in his right hand and with his left, he clipped another pair of handcuffs on the pair that already bounded Ezra's hands.
Ezra kicked out behind him and smiled when his boot connected with the man's knee, he spun around and kicked him in the jaw. Loyd fell backwards and the gun fell from his hand. Ezra kicked out again, this time his boot hit the side of his head, the man rolled onto his stomach. Loyd kicked out with his own boot and the heel hit Ezra's unprotected injured ribs.
Ezra couldn't stop the cry of pain emanating from his lips, he doubled over and before he knew it, the man was on his feet and strong arms gripped his own, he was slammed against the wall and more pain tore through him. His hands were quickly un-cuffed then a fist hit his side once more causing his knees to buckle, he was spun around and his hands were bound in front of him. The second cuff on the extra pair of handcuffs was pulled up above Ezra's head, the pain erupted in his side as his arms were pulled towards the ceiling, he almost blacked out from the pain, and the cuff was placed over the hook. The hook was positioned in such a way that Ezra wouldn't be able to get the cuff over it. It was high enough to pull his arms until they were practically straight but the length of the link on the handcuffs was too long for him to be able to lift if off even if he stood on his toes.
Loyd stepped back and looked at his prisoner. He wiped his own mouth and saw the blood that covered the back of his hand. He quickly moved forward and backhanded Ezra across the face with his clean hand. He didn't want any marks on him yet.
"BASTARD!" He yelled into his face. "Now I'm really going to enjoy this!" He moved to the table and picked up the camera.
Ezra blinked as the light flashed in his eyes.
"He won't feel guilty." Ezra warned him.
"He will after I'm finished." Loyd smiled and took another photo.
He stepped closer then stopped. "If you kick out at me, I'll cause you more pain."
He grabbed Ezra's jaw and forced his head towards the left. He took another photo. He moved away and picked up the large knife that was on the table. He smiled when he saw the fear flicker through his victim's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to use this yet. It's to remove your jacket and shirt."
Once Loyd removed the upper clothing from Ezra's body, he stepped back and took a full body shot, then a closer one of his injured side. He took a few more photos then moved back to the table, he placed the camera on the table then picked up the small club.
Ezra tensed up when the man turned around. He watched with wide eyes as he came closer to him. Ezra lifted his foot slightly but the man saw it.
"I could break that leg if you want me too. It's up to you." He smiled when Ezra lowered it back to the floor.
His movement was so quick that Ezra didn't even have time to react. The club slammed against the left side of his forehead. Loyd grimaced when the skin didn't break so he hit him again, this time he succeeded. He stepped back to admire his work. Ezra's chin now hung against his chest, the first blow had sent him into oblivion. The handcuffs tore into his skin as his unconscious form tried to pull his hands through the small openings.
Loyd grabbed the camera, he pushed Ezra's head to the side to reveal the new wound, and he took a photo. He wanted Standish awake when he inflicted the next injury so he sat back to wait. The shutter on the camera continued to work as he took more pictures of the slumped form.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Master Fan Fiction List
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strong Language.
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: ATF
Main Characters: Ezra, the guys and an OMC.
Summary: After Chris receives a warning that one of his close friends on Team 7 will be killed in an act of revenge against him, he protects those that he thinks are in danger but has he made the wrong decision.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 24,521
Ezra jerked awake when another horn blared within his eardrums, he looked around in confusion and found himself still in the dodge that was now driving through traffic. He also saw that darkness had settled over the city of Denver. He looked sideways at Chris and squinted when a turning car's lights reached through his sunglasses to remind him that his headache was still there.
"What happened?" Ezra muttered as he pushed himself back up into a more comfortable position.
"You fell asleep while I was in the Federal Express office, I didn't want to wake you." Chris slowed down when the car in front of him stopped. "You don't look so good Ezra, tell me what's wrong."
Ezra thought about it for a moment. "I've got a headache."
"Since the fall?" Chris questioned him.
"No, I've had it for a few days, it won't go away." Ezra admitted, he waited for Chris to lose his temper.
"We'll let Nathan know as soon as we get back, we're nearly there." Chris nodded.
"What did you find out?"
"Later Ezra, that way I won't have to repeat myself." He accelerated around the car that had stopped. "Oh and by the way, you're staying at the cess pit tonight, I'm not letting you go home on your own when you’re not feeling well." Chris's tone told him he didn't want an argument.
"Only if Buck changes the sheets first." Ezra smiled.
"Maybe we should stop and buy some fresh ones." Chris suggested.
******
A pair of brown eyes that were shaded by thick grey eyebrows watched from the second floor of the apartment building as the dodge pulled up to the curb that ran alongside the building that housed Wilmington's flat. He followed the stiff movements of Standish and what seemed to be concerned movements from Larabee. He brushed the doubt away from his mind. His target had been chosen and he wasn't going to let the concern that Larabee was showing towards his undercover agent change his mind. The binoculars lifted so he could continue to watch the men in the flat. There wasn't a curtain on the window that overlooked the fire escape. He couldn't see everything through the small opening but he did see the men that walked passed it. Now all he had to do was wait until Larabee and Standish entered so he could make an attempt on his target's life. He wanted Larabee to be there when the one he had chosen died.
******
Chris knocked loudly on the door and waited for the voice to ask who it was, he replied then stepped into the room when the door was opened. Ezra followed him trying hard to hide the smirk from his face, even his headache wasn't going to ruin this moment for him. He stole a glance towards Nathan who was watching him carefully, he allowed the smile to appear and noticed that Nathan seemed to relax, he turned away from him and continued to follow Chris. They walked further into the living room, Ezra stood near the window and waited. He noticed that the room had been cleaned and wondered if Buck and JD had done it under protest or if Josiah and Nathan did it.
"What have you got there Chris?" Buck asked him when he saw the package in his hand.
"Sheets." Chris threw them at him. "You're going to change your bed so Ezra can sleep in it."
"I ain't changing my sheets. They are clean, I only washed them yesterday." Buck growled at Ezra.
"Yes but I'm sure they are permanently stained with your animal magnetism." Ezra replied.
Buck was about to ask him what he was talking about then he realised. He blushed, his cheeks growing red.
"I'll change them."
"I thought Ezra wasn't staying here?" JD asked as he stepped closer to Ezra.
"Ezra's not feeling well. Nathan is going to have a look at him while Buck changes his sheets then he's going to bed." Chris informed everyone.
Ezra stepped away as Nathan moved in on him.
The ugly porcelain horse that sat on the bookcase shattered as the bullet struck it. JD drew his arm up to protect himself from the pieces that flew into his face.
"JD! GET DOWN!" Someone yelled out to him.
Ezra ran for him and as his arms wrapped around the younger man he felt another force hit him. He was thrown sideways and landed heavily, his head hit the floor with enough momentum to make him see white lights behind his eyelids. Two men landed on top of him, the air was forced from his lungs and someone's elbow hit his already injured side.
Buck moved at the same time as Ezra, he grabbed both men and threw them sideways, his own weight landing on top of both of them. He stayed where he was making sure that they couldn't get back up.
"Where did it come from?" Chris yelled.
"Came through the window next to the fire escape." Vin informed him.
"EZRA! Your with me." Chris called to him.
"Can't." Ezra croaked as he weakly tried to push the heavy weights off his body, he couldn't breathe in the position he was in.
Chris didn't hear him, he was already on his way down the stairs to the building's exit but Buck heard him, he ran after Chris.
Chris reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to see what was taking Ezra so long, he frowned when he saw Buck coming down the stairs two at a time.
"Where's Ezra?" Chris asked him, there was no anger in his voice.
"He's down." Buck answered him.
"Shit!"
"Are we going out there or not."
"No!" Chris pushed himself away from the door and back towards the stairs.
"Why not, that guy just tried to kill JD, we can't let him get away." Buck didn't like the idea of the assassin getting away from them.
"JD isn't the only one he's after Buck, I'm not going to give him the opportunity to shoot you instead.
Besides he was probably out the back door of that building before we left your flat." He began to walk up the stairs. "Let's go and see how Ezra's doing."
******
Ezra wasn't doing so good. He felt some of the weight disappear but someone else was still lying on him, the lack of air made it almost impossible for him to tell the offending force to get off so he could breath. He risked opening his eyes and looked up into JD's face, he could see the concern in the large brown eyes but JD didn't realise that he was making him feel worse.
"Get off." Ezra whispered then tried to take in some air, his lungs refused to work and he began to panic.
"Ezra?" Nathan pulled JD off then knelt down beside him, his hands were already probing the southerner's body for any injuries.
"Can't breathe."
"Relax Ezra, just try and breath normally, you just need a few seconds." Nathan loosened Ezra's tie and shirt, he then undid the belt and button of his trousers. "I'm going to pull you over on to your side Ezra, it'll help you breath." Nathan did this as he spoke to his distressed friend. He gently pulled him onto his left side and placed him in a recovery position. "Don't breath too deep Ezra, you could lose consciousness, just try and breath normally."
Ezra relaxed and did as he was told, and after what felt like minutes but in reality were only seconds he felt the oxygen returning to his lungs, the pain returned to his head and side. He grimaced in pain.
"Let's sit you up Ezra." Nathan reached for his shoulders to help him.
"NO!" Ezra protested.
"Ezra don't start on me now, I'm not in the mood for this!" Nathan growled down at him.
"No, it hurts, don't move me, it hurts too much."
"What hurts Ezra?"
"My head." Ezra admitted. "Just give me a minute."
Nathan didn't give him a minute, his used his large hand to turn his head to the side, he felt underneath his skull but felt nothing, and there was no blood or bumps to indicate an injury.
"Josiah, can you help me get him into Buck's room." Nathan moved behind his shoulders and waited for Josiah to lift his feet.
"Just give me a minute Nathan! I can get up on my own." Ezra growled at him. Why wouldn't he listen to him, he told him he was in pain.
"Josiah." Nathan nodded to him.
They picked Ezra up and heard the groan that the movement elicited from him. He was carried into Buck's room then placed gently on the bed. Nathan began to remove Ezra's upper clothing, he wanted to check his side as well. He easily pushed Ezra's protesting hands away and he ignored his requests to leave him alone.
"Nathan wait, please." Ezra moaned, his head had never felt so bad and now the constant movements were making his stomach roll violently. "Nathan."
"Nathan." Chris's firm voice caused the ex-medic to turn around. "Do like he says, wait."
"Chris I need to check his side, he's in a lot of pain." Nathan turned back to Ezra.
"It's not his side Nathan, it's his head." This time Nathan stopped his movements. "He's got a bad headache, and he's had it for a few days."
"I'm going to be sick." Ezra groaned.
"Not in my bed you’re not!" Buck was standing behind Chris but pushed him aside and began rushing around the room looking for something that Ezra could use. He saw the waste paper basket in the corner of the room, he emptied it then ran back to the bed, and he handed the basket to Nathan just in time.
Nathan pulled Ezra up into a sitting position and supported his neck while his stomach emptied itself, it was mostly dry heaving and this made Nathan angry. When Ezra was finished, he pushed the basket towards Buck then laid Ezra back down.
"Ezra. When was the last time you had something to eat?" He tried to keep the anger out of his voice but didn't succeed.
"Breakfast, yesterday." Ezra told him as he kept his eyes hidden behind closed eyelids.
"And how long have you had this headache for?"
"Three or four days." Ezra flinched back from Nathan's angry tone but he still kept his eyes closed.
"Jesus Ezra! What were you thinking? Why didn't you tell me!" Nathan practically yelled at him.
"It's just a headache Nathan." Ezra winced at the loudness of Nathan's voice and tried to raise his hands to his head to protect it against the noisy intrusion but the ex-medics hands intercepted them easily and pulled them back down.
"Something that's just a headache doesn't last three or four days Ezra, especially after a head injury!"
"Nathan calm down." Chris stepped up to him.
"Calm down, he . . . " Nathan looked up at Chris then back down at Ezra. He gave up. He leaned forward and lifted Ezra's eyelids to look at his pupils. "Have you been taking anything for it?"
"Tylenol but there not working." Ezra left his eyes open after Nathan lifted his lids.
"How many have you taken today?" He watched as Ezra frowned in concentration. "Okay let me put it another way. How many do you take at a time?"
"Four."
"He took six earlier." Chris added as he stepped closer to the bed.
"And how many times have you taken some today?" Nathan was shocked by the answer.
"Four."
"Are you trying to kill yourself? Have you been taking that many since your headache started?" He saw the slight nod to indicate that he had. "Ezra you can overdose on those, they can make you ill and do permanent damage to your liver!" He leaned over him. "No more! You understand me Ezra. No more!"
"I'm sorry but I thought they were supposed to help." Ezra muttered.
"They are Ezra but not when you take that many, sometimes the cure can be worse than the cause."
Ezra sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you."
Nathan calmed down. "What about your side?" He pulled open the unbuttoned shirt, it was the only piece of upper clothing left on his body, and Nathan had been interrupted by Chris before he could remove it.
"It hurts." Ezra could feel Nathan's fingers pressing into his side.
"There's still a bit of bruising Ezra, just give it some more time and try not to fall down any more." Nathan smiled at him.
He turned around and pulled Ezra's boots off then pulled the blanket up over him.
"Nathan." Ezra was watching him and waited for him to look back at him. "I'm sorry about what happened at my place, I didn't mean what I said. You were being a friend and I didn't see that."
"That's alright Ezra, I was partly to blame, and I should have given you some more space." He tucked the blanket around the smaller man. "Get some sleep Ezra, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
"In these sheets?" Ezra raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, call it punishment." Nathan sat on the bed and waited, it only took Ezra a few minutes to fall asleep, and it was obvious to Nathan that he hadn't slept much over the last few days either. He got up and followed the others out of the room.
Nathan spoke before they could answer their questions. "He'll be fine, he hasn't been looking after himself, a mixture of not eating, not sleeping and taking too many painkillers finally got to him. I'll make sure he gets a decent meal when he wakes up and let him know what he can use to help with his headaches. His head is still healing so there will be a few more to come." Nathan waved off any other questions by asking one of his own.
"What did you find out at Federal Express?" He turned to Chris.
"You sure he's okay?" Chris refused to be pointed in another direction.
"I'm sure Chris."
The darkly dressed leader sat down on one of the chairs and leaned over, he pulled out the magazine he sat down on and grimaced at Buck who came forward to take it from his hand. "I got a name and address but when I went to check it there was only a parking lot. This guy's good, he's using fake ID to cover his tracks. So we have nothing to go on unless the lab gives us something on the photos which I doubt."
"You think we should find somewhere else to stay now he knows where we are?" Vin asked.
"No, he found you here, he'll find us again." Chris was beginning to get annoyed with Josiah's pacing but tried to ignore him. "Besides if you all move again it will give him another chance."
"Did you get a look at him." JD wanted to know but saw the confused look on Chris's face. "When you went out after him, did you see him?"
"We didn't go after him." Buck informed him. "Chris didn't want to risk me getting shot so the guy got away."
"Josiah why don't you sit down." Chris turned to him.
"Something’s not right." Josiah spoke aloud. He was standing in the position that Ezra had been in and was looking at where JD was and the bookcase. "I've got a feeling, it's nagging the back of my mind but I can't figure out what it is."
"It'll come to you." Nathan told him.
"I want to look at the photos again Chris." Josiah looked over his shoulder at the window then back at the bookcase.
"I'm going to the office in the morning to speak to the Judge, I'll get them then and bring them back for you."
"They won't be finished with them by then Chris, they'll need at least a few days to check them." Vin told him.
"You're forgetting Ezra's southern charm, that's why I sent him down with them." Chris smiled, he knew Mary had a thing about Ezra and would rush any piece of evidence he gave her through the works.
******
Nathan looked up as a tired looking southerner shuffled out of Buck's bedroom and make his way into the kitchen, he got up and poured a cup of hot coffee and used a tea towel to remove the hot meal from the oven. He placed both of them in front of Ezra after he sat down. He waited to see what Ezra was going to do, he put his own hand out to stop him from pushing the plate away.
"Eat it Ezra." Nathan sat down next to him.
Ezra looked down at the steak and vegetables and realised that he did feel hungry. "A bit much for breakfast isn't it?"
"It's not breakfast." Nathan watched as he tested the food then begin to eat it. "How's your head?"
"It hurts."
"It would, you've been through a lot Ezra, and it’s going to take a bit longer before your back to your old self."
Nathan got up and returned before Ezra knew he was even gone. "I got Chris to get these for you, they'll do a better job with your headache than the other ones." Nathan removed one of the pills from the packet and put it next to the cup of coffee. "Take it after you've finished eating."
"Thanks Nathan."
"You're welcome."
"Where is everyone?" He looked up when he heard Nathan's laughter.
"Behind you." Nathan nodded towards the area that wasn't within Ezra's sight.
Ezra turned and looked over his shoulder, he saw the others staring at a wall that housed the group of photos that Chris had received the day before. He hadn't even noticed them when he walked passed them.
"They didn't find anything on the photo's, no prints, nothing that would give us a lead on this guy." Nathan answered before Ezra asked the question. "Ezra?"
"What time is it?" Ezra looked back at Nathan with a confused expression on his face.
"Just after one." Nathan leaned back in his chair. "You have to look after yourself better than you have been Ezra."
"Yeah, if I did I wouldn't have spent all night and half the day in that bed. The things I've heard about happening in that room." Ezra shuddered at the thought.
"You can sleep in clean sheets tonight, Buck will change them later. I want you staying here where I can keep an eye on you, and to make sure you eat."
"Can I at least go home and get some fresh clothes?"
"If Chris says it's okay and if you give me your word that you'll come back." Nathan agreed.
******
Chris stepped up behind Ezra and looked over his shoulder at the photo that showed the confrontation that they'd had. He had been watching Ezra for the last ten minutes and noticed that the southerner's eyes hadn't moved from it.
"You scared the hell out of me that day Ezra, I was too angry to be honest about it, I should have been more honest and told you what I was really thinking." He felt Ezra's green eyes looking at him but he didn't return the stare. "We seem to have given this guy a lot of ammunition to try and prove that we . . . I don't care. Sometimes I think I care too much about all of you." He finally turned sideways. "I don't want to lose any members of my team Ezra and that day I thought I was going to lose you, it wasn't a pleasant feeling." He handed Ezra his car keys. "I want you back within two hours Ezra. And watch your back."
Ezra smiled and gave him his two-finger salute and left the apartment. Chris watched as the door closed behind him. He looked back at the photos and tried to see what it was that was bothering Josiah, the larger man had been looking at them all morning but had been unable to bring to light what was firmly stuck in the dark recess of his mind. He turned when he heard someone behind him.
"Is Ezra okay with everything?" Josiah asked him.
"Yeah, he's fine." Chris assured him. "You still don't have any idea what it is?"
"No." Josiah looked at each photo in turn, he read each caption carefully then reached the last two. "He's going out of his way to show that he didn't think you cared about Ezra. Why would he do that if he wanted to kill someone you cared about."
"That's what I was thinking. Why did he bother mentioning Ezra at all." It was a statement not a question.
"Buck! Have you got a marker pen?" Josiah turned and yelled out.
"You think of something Josiah?" Buck asked as he appeared with a black pen in his hand.
"Almost."
Josiah looked again at the last caption.
BUT I WANT YOU TO SUFFER LIKE I DID LARABEE. ONE WILL DIE AND YOU WILL SUFFER AS I DID!
He stepped forward and changed it.
BUT , I WANT YOU TO SUFFER LIKE I DID LARABEE. ONE WILL DIE AND YOU WILL SUFFER AS I DID!
Josiah underlined BUT on the photo to emphasis the word. It now held a different meaning to him. "Oh God! He's not after one of us, he's after Ezra. Look." Josiah moved to the side. "He used BUT. He's saying through all of these," he waved his arm in front of the other photos, "that you care about all the other guys and in this last one he starts with but. He's saying 'You care about these men, their deaths would upset you, BUT, I want you to suffer like I did. That's why he's made a point of you not caring about Ezra."
He moved to the spot where Ezra was standing the day before and pointed towards the bullet hole. "He was aiming for Ezra, he stepped away remember when Nathan moved towards him, that's why the guy missed."
"He also said here," Chris pointed to another photo, "that he was going to let me decide."
"And you did, by not protecting Ezra like your protecting everyone else, you allowed him to be on his own and that's what he wanted." Josiah told him.
"Shit! JD, Nathan you stay here just in case." Chris ran out of the room with the others following him.
******
Ezra pulled to a stop at the red light, he began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel, and his headache had finally eased because of the stronger painkiller Nathan had given him. He berated himself for not going to him sooner and telling him that something was wrong. He looked into the rear-view mirror just in time to see the car coming up behind him, he couldn't react fast enough, and the car rear-ended him.
"Perfect." Ezra spoke to the empty car. "At least it wasn't the jag."
Ezra opened the door to get out of the car but instead found himself looking into a barrel of a gun.
"Move over! Now!" A husky voice yelled at him. "Move!"
Ezra did as he was told, he turned sideways to shift into the other seat and then fell into a dark void when the gun slammed against the back of his head. He fell across the seat. The man used his muscled strength to push Ezra's unconscious form onto the passenger side. He got into the driver's seat then pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. He handcuffed Ezra's wrists behind him then drove away in the dodge. He left the car he used to ram Larabee's car where it was, he didn't need it anymore. He looked sideways at the slumped form and smiled. He had missed the night before but now he had Standish where he wanted him and he decided he was going to have some fun with him and Larabee before he killed the young Federal Agent.
He was going to make Larabee suffer. A year ago Hank Loyd wasn't concerned about a young agent on his team either, just like Larabee wasn't concerned about Standish, he didn't worry about him, thought that he hadn't been in danger but the young man had lost his life and Loyd had suffered with the guilt of it ever since. Larabee had arranged the operation that had caused the man's death. Now Standish was going to lose his life and Larabee was going to feel the same type of guilt. The guilt of not taking care of one of his own, of allowing him to be on his own when his life might have been in danger, for not protecting him or saving him when he's life was threatened.
******
"He's not answering." Josiah dialled again.
"I do care Josiah!" Chris growled.
"I know Chris and so does Ezra." Josiah hung up again and dialled in Ezra's home number.
"But why Ezra. Why does he want to hurt someone that he thinks I don't care about!" Chris pressed his hand against the horn and pushed down on the accelerator when the car in front moved out of the way.
"We'll find out when we find Ezra." Josiah told him calmly.
Chris slammed on the brakes when he reached Ezra's townhouse, he left Buck's car running and ran up to the entrance. He banged against the door but there wasn't an answer so he used his foot to kick the door open and he ran into the two-bedroom apartment with Josiah, Buck and Vin hot on his heels. They searched everywhere and found nothing.
"Phone JD, see if he's shown up!" Chris growled as he headed back to the car.
Buck used his phone to call JD. "JD is he there . . . . no he isn't here and we didn't see him on the way either . . . . yeah we're on our way back now." He hung up and dialled the local police to have them put out an APB on Chris's dodge.
"What are you feeling now Chris?" Josiah looked sideways at him, he didn't really like the idea of him driving but he wouldn't allow anyone else behind the wheel, even when it wasn't his own car.
"What the hell has that got to do with it!?" Chris snapped at him.
"It has everything to do with it." Josiah told him. "He said he wanted you to suffer the way he did. What are you feeling?"
"I feel guilty Josiah, is that what you want to hear. Ezra might die because I didn't think he was worth protecting, I didn't believe he was in danger!"
"Then that's the way the man who has Ezra felt. Your suffering like he is." Josiah explained. "Does that ring a bell with you, did anything happen in the past where someone you know felt guilty over someone's death?"
Chris knew that Josiah was making sense, he was feeling what the man wanted him to feel, he was now in the same situation that this person had once been. "Not off the top of my head Josiah, I'd have to think about it."
"Then think quickly Chris."
"Buck, can you think of someone." He looked into the rear-view mirror and watched Buck frown in concentration.
"No." Buck slumped back into his seat. Chris wasn't the only one feeling guilty, it had been his idea to do what he thought Ezra would want and that was to be given some space while he was recuperating from his injuries and now someone had selected him to inflict revenge against Chris by killing him because of what they had done. Buck had made Ezra feel alone without realising it and Ezra had suffered emotionally because of it and now he was going to suffer physically. He didn't know what he was going to do if Ezra paid the ultimate price for something that the rest of the team was responsible for.
******
Ezra thought he was in hell, well at least it felt like his head was, he thought that the pain had been worse before but now . . . he stopped thinking, it hurt too much. A blinding light tore through his eyelids into his skull, he groaned at the pain. His own sound caused a noise to register in his mind. Someone was with him, he tried to open his eyes but they didn't want to work.
"Nathan?" He used his voice and listened for one of his friend's comforting reply but what he heard wasn't what he wanted to hear. It caused him to remember what happened and reminded him of the situation he was now in and it wasn't going to be a pleasant one, not only for himself but for his friends. Chris had told him that he did care and he believed him, his friends would now be worrying about him.
"He can't help you, none of them can, not that they want to anyway. They don't care about you." A familiar husky voice spoke to him.
This time Ezra forced his eyes to open, he flinched back when he found himself staring into a pair of brown eyes that were only inches from his own. He blinked to bring the face into focus but he didn't have much success.
"Why me? I thought you were going to kill someone he cared about." Ezra saw what he thought was a camera being held by trembling hands.
"That's what I wanted Larabee to think, but I want him to feel the way I did. He was responsible for the death of someone I didn't care about or protect and now he's going to . . . is feeling the same way I did and still do. He's going to suffer a lot of guilt over your death." The man explained and stepped back.
Ezra grimaced and tried to turn his head away when the camera flashed again. "You made a mistake, he does care, and it won't be guilt that he'll feel."
"And that's why he didn't protect you? Because he cares? He allowed you to be on your own, that's how I got you." Loyd laughed at him. "I'm not wrong, the man doesn't care about you." He took another photo, he just wished he could be there when Larabee go these photos.
"You're wrong." Ezra looked up at him and the light flashed again causing him to see white lights for a few seconds.
"I'm not wrong!" He stepped forward and kicked Ezra's injured side, then kicked him again. The camera clicked so he could capture the pain on Ezra's face.
Ezra curled up into a ball to protect himself but the damage had already been done, his side was on fire, he wasn't sure if his ribs had been re-broken. He tried to relax and take smaller breaths. He could hear the man pacing in front of him.
"He does care." He tensed but he didn't receive any more kicks to his side. "He won't feel what you’re feeling."
"Yes he will!" Loyd stepped out of the small room he had thrown Standish into when he first arrived back at the large empty warehouse, he needed to develop the photos he had just taken so he could send them to Larabee. "He's going to suffer but not before you do!" He slammed the door shut, the door vibrated with his anger, he would take that anger out on his prisoner later when he wanted to take more pictures so Larabee could feel even more guilt.
******
Chris sat in his office going over previous case files, he had been at it all night and after each failure to find the one that would indicate who had taken Ezra, he'd slam it onto the rising pile next to him, the one in front of him was getting lower. He looked up when Buck entered his office with two cups of steaming coffee.
"Any luck?" Buck asked but he knew that he hadn't found anything, if he had, they would know immediately.
"How could I have let this happen Buck?" Chris rubbed his tired eyes. "Why didn't I protect him like the rest of you? What's he going to think of me now? He's going to believe what this guy tells him."
"Ezra agreed with you Chris." He tried to alleviate the guilt that Chris was feeling. "He didn't think that he was in any danger either."
"That's no excuse Buck and you know it. I treated him differently, I've never treated him the same way I'd treat you or Vin. And now Ezra's paying for it!" He opened another file.
"Chris!" JD stepped into the doorway. "Security have another package for you, I'm just going down to get it."
"Bring it into the operations room JD." Chris stood up and followed Buck out of his office, his stomach felt as though it was filled with lead, it continued to sink into despair. Ezra was suffering and it was his fault.
******
When he knew that he was on his own Ezra first tried to free his hands but the handcuffs were tight against his skin, they had also been adjusted so he couldn't separate his hands, which meant he couldn't reach the locks to pick them. He looked around at his prison cell. There was the usual four walls, one of them housed a door but there wasn't any windows. The room was small enough for him to think that it was a large closet, it was dark and suffocating. As if it wasn't hard enough for him to breath now.
He shifted himself closer to the door and laid on his back, he then raised his feet and brought his knees closer to his chest and with all the strength he could muster he kicked the door, it didn't budge. Ezra ignored the pain erupting in his side and tried again, it still didn't move. He forced himself up into a standing position and tried again, he then used his shoulder. He collapsed to the floor, his chest was heaving for breath and this caused his side to hurt even more. He allowed his head to lean against the wall. He knew there wasn't any use in trying to yell out, he wouldn't be within hearing distance of anyone who could help him. His only hope was that the others were looking for him and would find him before this man decided to end his fun and take his life.
Or he could do the same thing he had to do all his life and that was to get himself out of danger. So often, he hadn't had anyone to back him up or protect him, even in the FBI, it had been hard for him, after the rumors of him being on the take started, no one trusted him, and if no one trusted him, they weren't going to risk their lives to protect or help him.
He thought about the men he now worked with, they trusted him with their lives and wouldn't hesitate in risking their own to protect him. Ezra silently prayed that he would get out of this alive but the prayer wasn't for his own selfish reasons, it was for his friends. He knew Chris would now be feeling a lot of guilt over this, and if he cared like he said he did, and he was to die, then Chris wouldn't not be able to cope his death. But it wasn't Chris's fault, it was his own, if he hadn't given them the impression that he wanted to be left alone this wouldn't be happening, they were going to feel guilty over something that he was responsible for. He had to be able to tell Chris that it wasn't his fault. Ezra couldn't help but smile, the others would probably be blaming themselves for the same reasons.
******
Chris took the A4 envelope from JD, his own hands were shaking, and he took a deep breath then turned it over. His fingers slowly pulled the taped flap open and he prayed that the photos were not going to show him that Ezra was dead, he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of what they had done. His long fingers pulled out the photos, they were similar to the others, black and white with a taped caption at the bottom but there wasn't as many. He refused to look at the photo until he pinned it to the board so everyone else could also look at.
"SHIT!" Buck exclaimed as he turned away and ran his hands through his hair. He forced himself around so his eyes could look at the photo, his mind was telling him that it was going to get a lot worse.
It was a full body shot of Ezra, he was lying on his left side, and his hands were held behind his back with a pair of handcuffs. But what scared them the most was the slack face, his eyes were closed.
I HAVE YOUR MAN LARABEE. THE ONE YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT!
"No shit." Chris muttered in answer to the caption.
He pinned another photo to the wall. It was a closer shot of Ezra's head, the features were still slack and his mouth was partially open. The caption asked the same question they were all thinking.
IS HE DEAD?!
Chris put the last photo on the board, his heart sunk into the same despair that his stomach had earlier. It was another close up of Ezra's face and it was contorted in pain. Ezra was suffering and Chris's guilt was growing to match his friends suffering.
NOT YET! BUT HE WILL BE AFTER WE HAVE SOME FUN. DON'T WORRY YOU WON'T MISS OUT ON IT!
"He's taken another blow to the head." Nathan stepped closer and pointed at the second photo to an area on the back of Ezra's head. The hair was matted to his skull and was darker than the rest that covered his scalp.
"That's not good is it Nathan?" Josiah asked.
"Depends on how hard he hit him." Nathan couldn't tear his eyes from the injury on the back of Ezra's skull.
"Can you see anything else?" Josiah moved to his side.
"His hands." he pointed to the first photo. "The handcuffs are too tight, they're cutting into his flesh, and the dark patches around his wrists is blood." Nathan folded his arms. "I can't see any other injuries."
"What about this one?" Chris nodded to the third photo. "He's in a lot of pain."
"I don't know, maybe he just did something to him, it could be anything Chris."
"JD, who delivered the envelope?" Chris turned to him, he hung his head when he saw the pale complexion on the young man's face. "JD?"
"UPS this time." JD was staring at the photos.
"We have to find him before this guy starts having his fun with Ezra." Chris spoke aloud.
"And where the hell are we supposed to start?" Vin questioned him. "We've got nothing to go on."
"I don't know!" Chris yelled at him. "I don't know how to help him!"
"Calm down Chris, we're all feeling just as bad about this as you are." Josiah told him.
"I doubt that very much Josiah, you’re not the one who didn't protect him, it wasn't you who let him go out on his own without anyone to protect him. If Ezra dies it'll be my fault, not yours!"
"Why don't you and Buck go back and continue checking through your files, maybe you'll find something." Josiah suggested.
"Guilty huh?" Chris looked at Josiah. "This guy wants me to feel guilty. And now I am, it's tearing me apart. He felt like that. But who?"
"Hank Loyd." It suddenly hit Buck with such a force that he couldn't say anymore without encouragement.
"Hank Loyd?" Chris's face became white with shock. "Why didn't I think of him! Jesus Christ Buck! I should have known."
"Who's Hank Loyd." Asked Vin.
Chris didn't answer, he was walking around in a very small circle.
"He was an ATF agent and headed Team Four. His team joined Chris's on an operation to take down a gun smuggling ring, things went wrong and one of Loyd's team was killed. He blamed Chris at first but then himself. He suffered so much guilt over the guys death that he had a breakdown, retired from the agency.
"Do you think that he'll actually harm Ezra?" JD asked. "I mean if he was ATF once, he might not carry out his threat."
"No JD, Ezra's a dead man and it's my fault." Chris stood still and looked up at Buck. "He never stopped blaming me, I went to see him in the hospital once and he told me that one day he'd make me feel the same thing that he felt."
Buck nodded. "Loyd never really liked the guy that died, so he allowed him to go into a situation that was risky, thinks that if he had taken better care of him that he wouldn't have died."
"Is that true?" Nathan asked.
"No. It was one of those things that no one could prevent but he still blamed himself, thought he should have protected him more." Chris muttered. "How the hell are we going to find Ezra when we've got nothing."
"We'll find him Chris, we have a name now." Josiah grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's start with the hospital he was in, maybe they have a real address for where he lives, we can go from there."
******
Ezra's head lifted when he heard the noise on the other side of the door, he stood up and leant against the wall beside the door. He waited patiently, the door was pushed open but no one entered.
"Step out where I can see you or I'll start shooting through the wall." Loyd fired his gun high in the wall to emphasis his intentions.
Ezra stepped into view, he wasn't going to get out of here if he was shot before he even attempted to escape.
"Come out. Now!"
Ezra walked out into the open and got his first look at the man who wanted to inflict so much emotional pain on Chris. The man was slightly taller than himself and well muscled. His eyes were brown but his hair and eyebrows were a dark grey. The nose was pinched and the mouth too small.
"See that wall over there and the hook. I want you to walk towards it then face it." He motioned with his gun then followed Ezra to the Eastern wall.
Ezra used his eyes to look around at his environment. The warehouse was large, the windows that lined the upper half of the walls were mostly broken, the floor was a large empty space, and the only furniture was the table that stood near the hook on the wall. Ezra inwardly moaned when he saw the baseball bat, the large hunter's knife and the small black club. This man was going to try to inflict a lot of pain so he could make Chris suffer.
"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Loyd told Ezra. He kept his gun in his right hand and with his left, he clipped another pair of handcuffs on the pair that already bounded Ezra's hands.
Ezra kicked out behind him and smiled when his boot connected with the man's knee, he spun around and kicked him in the jaw. Loyd fell backwards and the gun fell from his hand. Ezra kicked out again, this time his boot hit the side of his head, the man rolled onto his stomach. Loyd kicked out with his own boot and the heel hit Ezra's unprotected injured ribs.
Ezra couldn't stop the cry of pain emanating from his lips, he doubled over and before he knew it, the man was on his feet and strong arms gripped his own, he was slammed against the wall and more pain tore through him. His hands were quickly un-cuffed then a fist hit his side once more causing his knees to buckle, he was spun around and his hands were bound in front of him. The second cuff on the extra pair of handcuffs was pulled up above Ezra's head, the pain erupted in his side as his arms were pulled towards the ceiling, he almost blacked out from the pain, and the cuff was placed over the hook. The hook was positioned in such a way that Ezra wouldn't be able to get the cuff over it. It was high enough to pull his arms until they were practically straight but the length of the link on the handcuffs was too long for him to be able to lift if off even if he stood on his toes.
Loyd stepped back and looked at his prisoner. He wiped his own mouth and saw the blood that covered the back of his hand. He quickly moved forward and backhanded Ezra across the face with his clean hand. He didn't want any marks on him yet.
"BASTARD!" He yelled into his face. "Now I'm really going to enjoy this!" He moved to the table and picked up the camera.
Ezra blinked as the light flashed in his eyes.
"He won't feel guilty." Ezra warned him.
"He will after I'm finished." Loyd smiled and took another photo.
He stepped closer then stopped. "If you kick out at me, I'll cause you more pain."
He grabbed Ezra's jaw and forced his head towards the left. He took another photo. He moved away and picked up the large knife that was on the table. He smiled when he saw the fear flicker through his victim's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to use this yet. It's to remove your jacket and shirt."
Once Loyd removed the upper clothing from Ezra's body, he stepped back and took a full body shot, then a closer one of his injured side. He took a few more photos then moved back to the table, he placed the camera on the table then picked up the small club.
Ezra tensed up when the man turned around. He watched with wide eyes as he came closer to him. Ezra lifted his foot slightly but the man saw it.
"I could break that leg if you want me too. It's up to you." He smiled when Ezra lowered it back to the floor.
His movement was so quick that Ezra didn't even have time to react. The club slammed against the left side of his forehead. Loyd grimaced when the skin didn't break so he hit him again, this time he succeeded. He stepped back to admire his work. Ezra's chin now hung against his chest, the first blow had sent him into oblivion. The handcuffs tore into his skin as his unconscious form tried to pull his hands through the small openings.
Loyd grabbed the camera, he pushed Ezra's head to the side to reveal the new wound, and he took a photo. He wanted Standish awake when he inflicted the next injury so he sat back to wait. The shutter on the camera continued to work as he took more pictures of the slumped form.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
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