ONE
Relief swept over Ezra as he stood in the doorway to his office. In the week he'd been away only one folder and a couple of official looking documents had been placed in the centre of his desk. Besides writing up the report on the assignment he'd undertaken with the Denver Police, it seemed he had very little in the way of catching up to do. Although, to be honest, Ezra's workload wasn't the reason for the overwhelming sense of calm. It was the fact that everything had been exactly as he'd left it a week ago. His desk, chair, filing cabinet, plant and the very few ornaments he had were in exactly the right place. Moving around his desk to sit down, Ezra quickly opened the drawers, again finding everything untouched and in complete order. Dear Lord, that sounded anal even in his own mind. He knew he was fastidious, everyone did, but this is the first time he'd taken to checking that his stationery supply was as neat and tidy. Ezra just felt so unsettled lately, like the world had shifted slightly and hadn't taken him along with it. He couldn't pinpoint anything specific that could possibly be having this effect on him, nothing had happened.
Perhaps it was the fact that he'd spent last week suffocating in a broom closet the Denver Police had the nerve to call an office. Two police officers already occupied the room and when Ezra had been requested to help them with a fraud case, the three men had been forced to share the ridiculously cramped space. And as if that hadn't been bad enough, the office they occupied rivalled Buck's as far as neatness was concerned. Although Ezra had to admit it hadn't been toys that littered the small area, it had been paper. There had been files, transcripts, reports and sheets of data stacked everywhere, some of them toppling over under the weight and left where they'd fallen. And it just kept coming, piles of paper were delivered to the office daily without anyone ever removing what was already in there, so that every day desks, chairs and cabinets had to be rearranged to accommodate the never ending stream. The only way to find the phone was to wade through all the documents towards the ringing sound, and if you needed to make a call it was much easier to use one of the secretaries' phones. Luckily, with Ezra undercover as a dealer in used goods, they'd quickly apprehended the felons who were selling off their employer's stock and furniture under the company name without the company's knowledge or consent.
Ezra wasn't claustrophobic, but by they end of the week he couldn't wait to escape the stifling environment. That had to be it, he hadn't felt comfortable working in those conditions and that unease had lingered after hours. Now that he was back on Team 7's floor where he belonged, Ezra felt completely at ease. His green eyes swept over his surroundings once more, everything was normal again. Right down to the fact that JD was bounding towards his office. "What can I do for you?" Ezra asked when JD finally reached the doorway.
"Welcome back, Ez." JD smiled ingratiatingly before continuing, "Sorry to give this to you on your first day back, but Chris wanted you to look over this." JD handed over the sheets he'd been holding and, before his hands could be idle for too long, picked up the paperweight on Ezra's desk and began fiddling with it.
Ezra quickly scanned what looked to be a list of names, "And what does our illustrious leader require me to do?"
"It's a list of employees that work at ABP Limited," JD replied. "Some of them are involved in a gunrunning gig on the side and Nathan and Josiah are interviewing everyone on that list now trying to figure out which workers are in on it. Chris just wanted to know if you recognised any of the names. Maybe one of them bought or sold a gun while you were undercover on another case."
"That doesn't seem too strenuous for my first day back," Ezra stated. "I think I can handle it."
"Thanks, Ez," JD said as he put down the paperweight and turned to leave.
Ezra reached over and moved the paperweight slightly so that it was positioned in precisely the same place it had been before JD had picked it up. Looking up, Ezra realised that the kid had actually turned back around and was watching him. Realising he'd been caught being pedantic, Ezra gave JD a sheepish grin, "Was there anything else?"
"Yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. There's a meeting in the conference room at three," JD answered.
This time Ezra waited until JD had definitely left before contentedly delving into the work that had been left for him. Glad to be back in his own neat and ordered office.
+ + + + + + +
Chris was the only other person in the conference room when Ezra walked in ten minutes late. Checking his watch, Ezra looked around the room a little disconcerted, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been one of the first people to arrive.
"Doesn't happen very often, does it," Chris vocalised what Ezra was thinking.
Ezra watched Chris shuffle some papers before sliding into a seat next to their leader. "No, and I must say I find our associates' tardiness most disturbing. I believe their attitudes toward their job and their leader is slipping."
Chris smiled, "They were just filling the void while you were away."
"Well, I'm back," Ezra mumbled.
"How did it go at the Denver Police Department?" Chris asked.
"Hot, cramped and dusty," Ezra stated. "And the coffee was horrific. I had to abstain from caffeine for the whole week."
"So you're happy to be back?" Chris' gaze drifted towards the door as he spoke.
Ezra followed Chris' line of sight in time to see Vin stroll into the room and drop into a chair opposite him.
"Of course Ez is glad to be back," Vin looked directly at the undercover agent and nodded in greeting. "He missed us."
"Actually, it was my office I missed," Ezra drawled.
"Why, didn't they give you the Captain's office to use while you were there?" Nathan queried as he walked into the room, Josiah right behind him.
"No," Josiah said, remembering his days on the beat. "They would have forced Ezra to share with at least two or three other officers."
Nathan cocked an eyebrow, "So, I gather you've finally learned the meaning of the word 'share'."
"I was familiar with that particular word before last week," Ezra muttered.
"Just never put it into practice before then," Chris grinned.
"You know, perhaps a permanent position with the Denver Police would be preferable than working with all of you, despite the need to cohabitate," Ezra glared the four men in turn.
"See, I told you we'd be late," JD grumbled as he walked in and sat down.
"Yeah, but I thought for sure we'd get here before Ezra," Buck closed the door behind him before taking a seat.
"What's happening?" JD asked, not wanting to have missed anything.
"Ez is quitting to become a police officer," Vin answered.
JD's face showed his bewilderment as he stared at the undercover agent.
"That decision is still under consideration," Ezra stated. "I've been back five minutes and my sense of benevolence has already come under attack. Either that or my vocabulary."
"We were teasing him because he had to share an office," Nathan filled in when he noticed JD's expression wasn't about to change.
"So you're not really going to leave?" JD needed to make sure, otherwise he'd be the first to apologise even though he hadn't offended the undercover agent in any way.
"Don't worry Kid," Buck smiled. "There's no way Ez would leave us. For all the whingeing, he loves it when we tease him."
"I must vehemently disagree," Ezra stated. "First of all, I don't whinge. And secondly..."
"Okay, that's enough," Chris interrupted. "We can pick on Ezra after the meeting."
Chris scanned the now serious faces at the table and wished he had something more exciting to tell them. He had just wanted the meeting to get on track, he hadn't meant it to sound as though a big case had come up. Coughing slightly, Chris turned to Josiah and Nathan and asked, "How are the interviews going at ABP?"
"Slowly," Josiah responded. "But we do have one or two possible suspects."
"Yeah, some of those employees know more than they're saying," Nathan added.
"Have you had a chance to take a look at that list Ezra?" Chris queried.
"I have," Ezra answered. "However, I'm afraid I didn't recognise any names. Of course, that doesn't mean these miscreants aren't using an alias I'm not familiar with."
"Well, keep at it," Chris said turning back to Nathan and Josiah. "And give Team 3 your report daily. Also, let them know we'll be on standby when they're ready to go in."
Josiah nodded, "Will do."
"Okay, next it's come to the Judge's attention that some restaurants and cafés in the area are selling liquor without a licence. Buck and JD, could you guys go down, check it out and scare the owners into either getting a licence or quit selling alcohol," Chris handed JD the list, then turned to stare at Buck.
Buck was about to protest when we saw the look directed at him and changed his mind, "No problem."
"Lastly, there's a whole warehouse full of weapons and ammunition in one of our storage sheds downtown that are just sitting there. Ezra and Vin, could you guys..."
"No," came the simultaneous interruption from both men.
"Well then, let me rephrase," Chris continued. "Ezra, Vin, you two will be going downtown to categorise and label a warehouse full of weapons, right down to the last individual bullet. And you will have it done by the end of the week."
"Since you put it that way, how could we refuse," Ezra drawled.
"Good," Chris nodded. "That's it for the meeting. Sorry it wasn't anything more interesting."
Everyone stood and began filing out of the room. Ezra carefully placed his seat neatly under the table, then lined the next chair up with his own before reaching for the third.
"Since when do you straighten up the conference room after a meeting?"
Ezra looked up to find Chris watching him with an amused expression on his face.
"Just doing my part," Ezra mumbled before hastily making his exit.
Buck caught the undercover agent by the arm as he rushed past, "So, you really shared an office? I didn't think you knew the meaning of the word."
Ezra bowed his head to hide the grin. He really had missed these guys, but there was no way he'd ever admit it.
+ + + + + + +
Turning the key in the lock, Ezra noted that he felt better than he had in a long while. The unsettled feelings he'd had for weeks seemed to have evaporated over the course of the day. Nothing about work or the office had changed, his teammates certainly hadn't changed. Everything was in order, normal and good. That is, until Ezra stepped into his apartment.
Ezra stood in the doorway, silently surveying the layout of the room. He could see that everything was in it's place, yet it seemed to Ezra that nothing was in it's place. Ezra reached for his gun, the weight and cold steel of the weapon giving him the perception of security, before slowly walking further into his apartment as his eyes darted in every direction trying to look around the corners before he got to them.
Feeling a little foolish for overreacting, Ezra put the gun down and came out of the bedroom back into the main living area. After his initial sweep, Ezra was positive that there was no attacker or burglar in his apartment. And on closer inspection, Ezra noted that nothing was missing. Taking a deep breath, Ezra stayed completely still in an attempt to let the calmness of his discovery flow over him. It never came, so instead the undercover agent moved over to straighten one of the chairs at the dining table. A chair that shouldn't have been pulled out in the first place, Ezra never sat there, in fact he hadn't sat anywhere at his dining table since yesterday afternoon. And wasn't that vase supposed to be in the centre of the stand? Ezra glanced towards the bookshelf, noticing that the spines of the books weren't lined up as they usually were, it was as though someone had pulled a couple of books out, flipped through them, and then hadn't put them back properly. In fact, the whole apartment felt as though someone had been rifling through it, putting everything back where they'd found it after they'd finished, managing only to create the illusion of normalcy when they'd tried to cover their tracks.
Of course, Ezra could have moved the books himself, he had read them and it wasn't like he ever consciously lined the books up when he replaced them. He could have bumped into the chair, and he'd never measured exact centre of the stand where the vase was. Nothing was dramatically out of place and, Ezra reminded himself, nothing had been stolen. Now he felt more than a little foolish, it was obviously his imagination. It had to be, because that's what he'd been telling himself over and over again for the past few weeks. Ezra had become an expert at making up thousands of small, believable excuses for why things were out of sync. It was tiring and Ezra didn't think he'd be able to rationalise anything for much longer, so blaming his imagination was becoming easier by the day.
Still, Ezra decided to dine out tonight, maybe go for a walk, catch a movie. It didn't really matter as long as he didn't return home too soon. Ezra grabbed his keys and headed out the door hoping to escape the creepy sensations that, imagination or not, hovered over his apartment.
+ + + + + + +
"I've already told you, the spare key to your apartment is where it should be and nobody's taken it, ever. Is there anything else?"
"No, thank you for checking anyway," Ezra sighed as he hung up the telephone.
After having stayed out of his apartment until the early hours of the morning, it had occurred to Ezra that perhaps someone from maintenance or management of the apartment building was using the only other key to his place. Writing up reports had preoccupied Ezra for most of the day, but his paranoia had caught up with him late in the afternoon and the undercover agent had given in and called the landlord. Unfortunately, that hadn't appeased the anxiety that was steadily creeping up on Ezra the closer the end of the working day approached.
"Everything alright?" Josiah asked in concern. He couldn't help but notice the worry playing over Ezra's features when he'd walked past the undercover agent's office.
Ezra plastered a small smile on his face as he looked up to meet the older man's gaze, "Fine."
Josiah tilted his head slightly still staring at Ezra. He knew that something was wrong, but he also knew pushing Ezra to reveal anything was impossible and that it would probably be best to give him time. "If you say so," Josiah stated as he began to move on.
"Although," Ezra called and waited for Josiah to step back into his doorway. "Perhaps we could organise to go somewhere for dinner."
"I don't..."
"It's on me," Ezra interrupted quickly. He didn't want to hear that his teammates couldn't or wouldn't join him. Ezra wanted company, he wanted amiable, loud conversation surrounding him, and he wanted as much time to pass before he had to go back to his apartment.
"I was about to say, I don't think anyone would say no," Josiah said noting the slight hint of desperation that had tinged Ezra's voice. "I'll ask the others."
"Ask us what?" Buck wanted to know as he strode up behind Josiah.
"Ezra's offered to take us all out to eat," Josiah supplied.
Buck looked to the undercover agent for confirmation and when Ezra nodded in assent, Buck smiled, "Wow, your second day back and you're actually offering to pay for something. You really must have missed us."
+ + + + + + +
Chris stepped off the elevator and automatically waved in the direction of Vin's office, the sharpshooter always made it into the office before he did. Then hearing movement from another office, Chris looked quizzically at the sharpshooter and mouthed the word "Ezra?"
Vin nodded slightly in affirmation.
Chris continued staring at Vin with the curious expression still set in place. When Vin shrugged indicating that he didn't know any more, Chris made his way to the undercover agent's office.
Chris would have been surprised to see Ezra at work this early under normal circumstances, let alone after Team 7 had spend most of the night eating and drinking at Ezra's favourite restaurant, the lateness of the evening instigated mostly by Ezra. Now that Chris thought about it, Ezra had seemed very reluctant to part with their company, as if he hadn't wanted to go home. He'd even asked them to go onto a bar or nightclub after they'd left the restaurant, however they rest of the team had wanted to get some sleep before another workday. Which is precisely what Chris had thought Ezra would be doing now - sleeping in. Their late night providing a perfect excuse for his tardiness, not that he ever needed one.
"Mornin' Ezra," Chris smiled. "You're in early."
Ezra looked up from the file spread open on his desk, "Yes, although I wasn't the earliest."
"It's pretty hard to beat Vin," Chris commented, watching Ezra carefully and noting the dark circles forming under the glassy, green eyes. It looked as though Ezra hadn't slept at all, and Chris began to wonder if Ezra had gone home at all last night or headed to the bar as he'd suggested after the meal. Realising that Ezra was wearing a different suit today didn't entirely dismiss the possibility of the undercover agent staying out until the early hours of the morning, it just proved that he must have been at his apartment at some point. "You don't look well. Is anything wrong?" Chris asked in concern.
Ezra wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell Chris that things in his apartment kept moving around. That the desk lamp was turned on when he got in last night, that it looked as though someone had rifled through his medicine cabinet, and that he'd noticed his ties were in a different order on tie rack this morning. But then he'd have to mention that nothing was actually taken, that he used the lamp all the time and may have forgotten to switch it off, that he himself rifles through the medicine cabinet when he's looking for something to relieve any pain after an injury or late night, and that he couldn't recall the exact order he kept his ties in. Ezra was sure Chris would think he was losing his mind, and the undercover agent would be inclined to agree with him. Until a crime had actually been committed or he could find some hard evidence, there was no way Ezra was going to admit to their leader that anything was wrong. And nothing was wrong, it was just his own imagination playing tricks on him. Instead Ezra answered, "You don't look as though you've fully awoken yourself."
Chris sighed, he still felt as though something was bothering Ezra but if the undercover agent didn't want to talk about it, then Chris wouldn't push. He hoped Ezra would come to him, or one of his friends, in his own time. "I'm blaming that on you," Chris acknowledged Ezra's statement before continuing, "My door's always open, in case you change your mind and want to tell me what's wrong."
Ezra nodded his thanks as he watched Chris amble towards his own office. He knew Chris would listen to him, as would the other members of Team 7. However Ezra knew his anxiety was unjustified, so how could anyone else come to a different conclusion. No, as tempting as it was to walk through Chris' open door, Ezra decided that he'd prefer to deal with his overactive imagination himself.
+ + + + + + +
Vin lightly rapped on the already open door and waited for the undercover agent to stop typing and focus on him. Instead Ezra continued his task and without looking away from the screen asked, "What can I do for you Mr Tanner?"
Vin noticed the flat, exhausted tone and it worried the sharpshooter that Ezra looked as bad as he sounded. It was becoming obvious to everyone on Team 7 that Ezra wasn't sleeping, in fact he seemed to avoid going home at all costs. However, Vin had also noticed the increased agitation Ezra seemed to be displaying, especially with the objects around the office. Vin had watched Ezra as he returned files, staplers and even pens back to their original place, sometimes before one of the others had finished with it. His teammates thought Ezra was just being his fussy self, but Vin felt an underlying current that disturbed him. If Ezra would just tell someone what was wrong, maybe they could help. But as usual the undercover agent kept it locked up inside, and Vin knew that he'd have to find the perfect time, place and way to broach the subject with Ezra without getting pushed further away. Better still, Vin might find out what's going on by accident and then be able to help Ezra whether the stubborn fool wanted him to or not.
"Well?" Ezra raised an eyebrow as he stopped to look at Vin. He hoped that the sharpshooter wouldn't ask him what was wrong. Ezra knew he hadn't been at his best the past week, but he was handling it. Actually there was nothing to handle, Ezra reminded himself, it was just all his imagination.
"It's Thursday," Vin stated bluntly after being startled out of his reverie.
"I'm aware of that fact," Ezra tilted his head slightly hoping that Vin hadn't disturbed him just to inform him which day of the week it was.
"Chris wants those weapons downtown categorised by the end of the week," Vin continued. "And since tomorrow is the end of the week, I thought I'd pick you up tomorrow morning and we could head straight to the warehouse. That way we'll have the job finished by the end of the day."
"Sounds like a perfectly delightful way to spend a Friday," Ezra drawled.
"Yeah, I know," Vin agreed. "I'll pick you up around eight."
"Ah, perhaps seven would be a better time," Ezra automatically seized on the opportunity to escape the uncomfortable feeling in his apartment as soon as possible. "You know the sooner we get started and all that."
"Okay," Vin stared at Ezra for a moment before heading back to his own office mumbling, "Whatever you want."
+ + + + + + +
The hesitation when opening the door; the relief in the eyes when they registered who it was; and the fact the Ezra wanted to leave right at that moment, didn't go unnoticed by the sharpshooter after he'd knocked on the door at 7 am sharp. Curious as to why Ezra was acting this way, Vin stepped forward instead of backwards and peered over the undercover agent's shoulder into the apartment.
Realising Vin wasn't about to move any time soon, Ezra reluctantly moved aside to allow Vin inside.
"Doin' some redecorating?" Vin asked, thinking that maybe Ezra hadn't wanted anyone to come in before he'd finished.
"What?" Ezra answered with a question of this own.
"Didn't that vase used to be over there?" Vin pointed to the object in question.
"I didn't move it," Ezra mumbled. When he noticed Vin was staring at him waiting, Ezra continued, "For about five weeks now I've noticed things moving around the apartment. Vases and ornaments - small things. Chairs have also been pulled out, books in the wrong order, cupboard doors slightly ajar. However nothing is ever missing, I thought it was just my..."
Ezra's words faded as he watched Vin crouch in front of the door and examine the lock carefully. Vin then stood and scanned the room with the same expression Ezra had seen him use when checking a crime scene or surveying a vantage point. Vin was taking this situation seriously, and Ezra could barely comprehend the immense sense of relief that washed over him. Ezra felt he should have told someone about this sooner, he knew that anyone of his teammates would have reacted the same way Vin was now. The burden Ezra had been carrying around could have been lifted weeks ago, not to mention and end to the sleepless nights.
"When did you notice the vase had moved?" Vin questioned.
"I had thought it was in its original position last night," Ezra answered honestly.
Vin's eyes widened as he started searching the whole apartment. Ezra stayed in the living room and waited patiently. He knew Vin wouldn't find anything, he'd searched the place just before the sharpshooter had arrived. For all the uneasiness Ezra had been feeling and the fact that he hated the thought of someone else going through his home, the fact that Vin was thoroughly searching every room in the apartment didn't bother the undercover agent at all. It wasn't like the sharpshooter hadn't seen his the place before. In fact Vin and the rest of Team 7 were always welcome and although he always complains about the mess they left behind, Ezra was always comfortable with it.
"It's clean," Vin stated what Ezra already knew. "And it doesn't look like anyone's been tampering with the lock. Who else has a key?"
"The manager of the building," Ezra replied. "But I have already checked with him and the key was never moved."
"Do you have another spare?" Vin asked. "You know that you give to someone so that they can get into the place in case of an emergency or something."
"I keep both the original and spare key," Ezra said a little defensively. He didn't want to admit that he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone enough to actually hand over a key to his apartment, hell his life. "Why? I wouldn't assume you would hand over the keys to your apartment to just anybody either.
"Good point," Vin conceded, his eyes sweeping over the living room once more.
"It's a terrible point," Ezra stated. "You keep your door unlocked at all times."
"True," Vin grinned slightly before turning serious. "Still, you should get the lock changed."
"Alright Mr Tanner," Ezra agreed.
"No time like the present," Vin said.
"Don't we have a warehouse full of arms that we are required to catalogue," Ezra drawled.
"It can wait," Vin smiled. "Besides I wouldn't have thought you'd be in a hurry to get to work."
+ + + + + + +
It had been a long day which had seemed to drag out even more due to their tedious task, but Ezra and Vin finally logged everything stored in the warehouse and even dropped by the office to place all the documentation on Chris' desk. Their leader could sort the jumble of papers out, and he wouldn't be able to complain that they hadn't completed their duty in time.
Ezra hoped that Vin had missed the slight hesitation he'd shown as he fitted his new key into the lock. Although, if he had been given the choice between Vin spotting his nervousness or Vin not being there at all, Ezra would definitely have chosen the first option. He had to admit, since talking to the sharpshooter this morning, Ezra had felt a lot better. And now, although he was a little anxious, having Vin at his back seemed to settle Ezra's fears.
As the door swung open, Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing had been moved. Ezra blinked, a little surprised at himself for having known that already. He really wasn't that fussy, and didn't catalogue exactly where he kept everything, but over the past couple of weeks there had always been something shifted and he supposed he'd learnt to notice. Stepping into the room, Ezra noticed that Vin was right behind him. Turning, Ezra smiled, "Everything's fine."
"Are you sure?" Vin asked no one in particular as Ezra had already moved onto the next room. The sharpshooter took the opportunity to scan the room more carefully. Vin didn't know the exact layout of every piece of furniture or ornament in Ezra's apartment, but he had a fair idea, and he had scrutinised the place that morning. Ezra was right, nothing appeared to have been moved, although anything in cupboards or drawers would have to be something that only the undercover agent would know about.
"Everything's fine," Ezra repeated, looking exultant as he came out of one of the rooms.
"I could hang around..." Vin began.
"There's no need," Ezra interrupted, a little disappointed that Vin didn't seem as relieved as he himself felt.
"Someone has been breaking into this place," Vin stated.
"Perhaps," Ezra conceded. "But obviously it was just some miscreants playing some kind of prank. And if you weren't standing here looking so tense, I'd have accused you of the practical joke."
"It's not funny," Vin mumbled.
Ezra sighed, "I'm sorry for overreacting earlier, and that it's made you overprotective. However, I'm fine, my apartment's fine, in fact everything's fine except you." Realising that Vin still wasn't satisfied and a little disgruntled at the uneasiness surrounding the young man, Ezra continued, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make me feel an even bigger fool, and let me relax in my own home. I won't repeat this again Mr Tanner, everything's fine."
"Okay Ez, I'm going," Vin didn't want to be making Ezra uncomfortable, especially since the heaviness seemed to have been lifted from the undercover agent. "If you find anything..."
"I'll know who to call," Ezra grinned as he finally shut the door and looked forward to a wonderful night's sleep.
+ + + + + + +
Vin stood in the foyer waiting for the elevator, wishing the damn thing would hurry up and get here. His impatience increased with every second, and the nagging sensation that something was wrong wasn't helping any. Vin had been feeling uncomfortable about leaving Ezra alone in that apartment, which the sharpshooter hadn't even checked out properly himself before departing. On impulse Vin had turned into a takeout joint on his way home, before turning around and heading back the way he'd come. The food was meant to be the excuse for his return, which was sure to be unwelcome. Those eternally closed steel doors continued to mock him and, needing to feel he was doing something, Vin headed for the stairs instead.
Finally, Ezra's front door was in sight and Vin quickened his pace. As he drew closer, the sharpshooter could see that the door was slightly ajar and he finally slowed, his movements now cautious. Leaving the food outside, Vin gently pushed open the door hoping that Ezra would be glaring at him on the other side. When that wasn't the case, the sharpshooter quickly scanned the room looking for any abnormalities. The biggest and only abnormality being Ezra's body lying broken and bloody towards the back of the room.
Fighting the almost overwhelming urge to run to his friend's side, Vin drew his weapon and stealthily began checking the whole apartment. Vin had to check that the perpetrator wasn't still hiding somewhere as he knew he couldn't afford to be caught by surprise, he wouldn't be able to help Ezra otherwise. After clearing the fire escape, Vin was finally satisfied that the perp had gone. Grabbing his cell phone with his free hand, Vin quickly called it in making sure the operator understood the urgency. Keeping the doorway leading into the closest room and the front door in his circle of vision, Vin dropped to his knees beside the fallen undercover agent.
The most menacing wound Vin could find was the severe blow to the back of Ezra's head. It appeared to Vin that, after knocking Ezra out, the perp had continued beating at his body, the blows raining down irregularly and indiscriminately as if whoever had done this had been in a rage. Vin wouldn't or couldn't release his grip on the gun, so he placed the cell phone on the floor and reached out the shaking hand to check for a pulse. A small shuddering sigh escaped his lips when he felt the weak heartbeat under his fingertips. Not wanting to harm his friend any further, Vin didn't dare move or touch the undercover anymore. Instead, he picked up his phone and hit one button, "Chris, it's Vin...."
+ + + + + + +
"There's room, if you'd like to ride in the rig with your friend."
Vin's eyes flicked from the man lying on the stretcher to the paramedic who was talking to him. Registering what had been offered, Vin automatically stepped forward, before catching himself, "No, I need to.... I have to finish up here."
"Okay," the paramedic said, understanding that the stunned man in front of him needed to be doing something instead of sitting still.
Vin would have loved to have gone with Ezra, in fact it was usually himself or Chris who fought to jump in the back of an ambulance with an injured teammate without having to worry that there weren't enough people to clean up the scene. But no-one else from Team 7 was here, they were all on their way to the hospital as Vin had instructed. So Vin didn't feel as though he had a choice, he had to stay and make sure the police officers that had arrived with the ambulance gathered every piece of evidence they possibly could.
Maybe they could do a good enough job on their own, after all it was what they were trained for. But Vin was the only person here that knew what had been going on for the last couple of weeks, he knew the exact layout of Ezra's apartment, hell he knew the man.
Vin was ready to go over this place with fine toothed comb, and he scrutinised everything down to the finest detail, noting the slightest thing out of place and then direct whichever officer was closest to have it photographed, bagged or written down.
When he got to the still wet blood that was seeping into the carpet, Vin crouched as he stared, mesmerised by the colour and became even more determined to find the bastard that had done this. Standing suddenly, the sharpshooter moved to the nearest closet, noting that there would have been plenty of room for someone to hide in there. Going over the area until he'd picked it clean and had every hair or fibre in a plastic bag, Vin then moved once more towards the stain, continuing on around the apartment, trying to follow what he imagined the perpetrator's course would have been.
Everyone else working in the apartment moved out of Vin's way as he neared them, allowing him room to move and observe, and not wanting to be the person who snapped the ATF agent out of whatever instinct was leading him.
TWO
Vin rushed through the doors into the waiting room, heading straight for the group of five men that had taken over a corner of the room. "How is he?"
"In surgery," Buck answered.
Realising that wasn't really enough information, Nathan elaborated, "He has a concussion from the blow to his head. Some organ damage and internal bleeding, which is what the doctors are working on know. A couple of broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, broken right leg, bruises and abrasions."
"But he's going to be alright?" Vin knew they probably couldn't answer that, but had to ask.
"We'll know more when he's out of surgery," Nathan said.
Chris looked up at the sharpshooter and noted the strain and worry playing across the young man's features, it was the same anxious expression that was reflected on all their faces. "What happened?"
Taking the time to order his thoughts, Vin began, "Ezra'd been worried about an intruder for the past couple of weeks. Things in his apartment had been moving around daily, but nothing was ever missing."
"So that's what's been on his mind," Josiah mumbled quietly.
Vin ignored the interruption and continued, "Ezra, being Ezra, decided it was just his imagination and didn't tell anybody."
"So that's what happened tonight?" Buck asked. "Except Ez surprised him this time?"
"No... Yes.... I'm not sure," Vin shook his head. "I was with him when he first entered the apartment. Nothing had moved or changed. Ez said everything was fine, more than once, and that we had overreacted. I left, decided I was hungry and thought I'd grab some takeout and bring it back to Ez's place seeing as he hadn't eaten either. Twenty minutes later I found him."
"We don't know who did this?" Chris inquired.
Vin just shook his head.
"Do you think whoever it was is going to come after Ezra again?" Chris continued with the questions.
"I don't know," Vin shrugged forlornly. "I don't know whether this guy knows Ezra's been found. I don't know whether or not this guy would wait to see whether Ezra lives. I don't know whether this guy actually intended to kill Ezra or just harm him. I don't know..."
"So let me get this straight, somebody's been breaking into the place for days. Surely someone would have noticed," Buck stated hoping to get Vin off this train of thought.
"The lock hadn't been tampered with," Vin muttered. "Maybe the perp was using a key, that wouldn't look so suspicious."
"Who has a key?" JD wanted to know.
"The manager," Vin answered.
"I don't think the manager of Ezra's apartment building would..." Nathan began.
"No," Vin conceded. "But when we were interviewing him tonight, it wasn't hard to figure out where he kept all the keys and it didn't look that hard to get into. Someone who knew what they were doing could have taken the manager's key, copied it and then returned it without anyone ever knowing."
"That is a possibility," Josiah agreed.
"I should go check out the locksmiths in the area," Vin already began moving towards the door.
"They won't be open now," Buck said.
"Well then, I'll go back to the office and look them up there. That way I can call them first thing in the morning," Vin was still inching his way out of the waiting room.
Chris watched Vin and knew there was no talking him out of it. Moving in his seat, Chris got ready to follow the sharpshooter, when he noticed JD leap out of his seat.
"Wait up Vin," JD called, following Vin out the door. "I'll come with you, maybe I can help."
Chris slumped back into the chair, glad that he hadn't been the only one to notice Vin needed someone with him.
"We don't know whether this son of a bitch will come back to finish what he started," Buck vocalised what Chris was now thinking.
"It seems unlikely," Josiah stated. "I don't think he'd risk coming to the hospital unless he knew for sure whether Ezra was going to make it." He was going to add 'and we don't even know that yet', but thought better of it.
"Still I'd prefer one of us to be at the hospital at all times," Chris decided. "And if something comes up and we all get called out, then we'll organise another agent or cop we know and trust to come in."
The other three men nodded in agreement.
"Good," Chris sighed. "I'll stay tonight."
"I'll keep you company," Buck added.
When it didn't look like either Josiah or Nathan were planning on moving, Chris ordered them home so that they'd be rested for when they relieved himself and Buck in the morning.
+ + + + + + +
"We're looking up locksmiths in Ez's neighbourhood, right," JD confirmed as he and Vin stepped off the elevator onto the darkened floor.
"I can do that," Vin hit the light switch. "Maybe you could look up some of Ezra's old cases. Especially the ones from his FBI days. Narrow it down by only looking for any burglary or assault cases. Anyone who's been paroled within the last year that Ez'd put away."
"No problem," JD nodded. "Do you really think this was about someone with a grudge?"
"I hope so," Vin mumbled as he headed for his own office. Right know he didn't even want to think about how impossible this case would get if it had just been a random stalking.
After two hours Vin finally had most of the information he'd sought. He'd looked up all the locksmiths in the area and written down any places in the vicinity that had been rented in case the perp had stayed close to his mark. Vin had also run the number plates he'd noted of the cars parked around or close to Ezra's building - they had all checked out.
Wondering how the Kid was doing, Vin got up and headed towards JD's office, meeting the man himself halfway. JD handed over the ream of paper he'd been carrying, "I narrowed it down as much as I could, but there's still heaps. I made sure I printed out a brief description of their crimes."
"Thanks," Vin muttered as he snatched the pages and immediately started to read through the information. There was plenty here, probably a whole night's worth, and Vin absently sunk into the nearest chair, his brow furrowed in concentration.
JD watched the sharpshooter for a while wondering whether Vin remembered he was actually still in the room. Going back to his own office, JD took a few minutes to pack everything away, switch his computer off and turn the lights back out.
Vin had actually forgotten about the Kid once he started reading through the data. Knowing he probably wouldn't know the attacker by name, Vin skipped straight down the descriptions of the crimes, trying to find anything familiar. Vin's hand froze as he placed another sheet on the 'possibility' pile.
...objects in the victims homes shifted prior to crime being committed...
Vin's attention had been caught by the bolded line and he tapped his finger against the name written at the top. It couldn't be this easy, the bastard's name couldn't be near the top of the pile JD had handed him.
Curious as to why Vin had stopped all movement, JD looked over the sharpshooter's shoulder, "Daniel Reis. Is the name familiar?"
Vin shook his head, "No, but that's what's been happening at Ez's for the last couple of weeks."
"Reis never assaulted anyone though, he was just convicted for burglary," JD observed.
"Maybe he's changed his MO," Vin stared at the typewritten page hoping that it was this easy and that they at least had a name.
"I could go downstairs, try to pull the file," JD offered, stifling a yawn.
"Tomorrow," Vin noticed how tired the Kid looked, it had been a stressful night for everyone. "The file can wait until morning."
"Okay," JD agreed quickly, heading for the elevator and beyond that home and sleep. "Are you coming?"
"I'll just be a little longer," Vin answered. "But you go, get some shut eye. I'll lock up here."
JD nodded and disappeared behind the elevator doors. Vin sighed, staring at the large pile of paper next to him. Just because Daniel Reis fit into the right category, didn't mean some of the others wouldn't also. Vin shook any thoughts of sleep off and continued reading through the information.
+ + + + + + +
"Hey Vin," Nathan greeted the next morning when he saw the sharpshooter stride through the hospital's doors.
"Hey," Vin returned. "How's Ezra?"
"The surgeon said they were able to stop the bleeding, and that once he wakes up he should be okay," Nathan answered. "But he hasn't woken up yet."
Vin just nodded solemnly at the news.
"The doctor's letting us sit with Ezra, as long as it's not more than two of us at a time," Nathan continued. "Chris and Josiah are with him now. Buck went home, you just missed him."
Vin was just about to answer when Chris, looking incredibly worn out, joined them, "Vin, what's up?"
"I was just at the police station to see whether they had any results back," Vin replied. "I thought I'd drop by here to see how Ezra's doing."
"You can go in if you like," Chris offered.
Vin moved towards the hallway when the vision of Ezra, lying on the floor hurt and bleeding, flashed into his mind. Vin already knew how gruesome and lifeless the undercover agent looked, and didn't really think he wanted to see that particular image again. Stopping suddenly, the sharpshooter mumbled, "Uh, I have to get back to the office."
Chris and Nathan glanced at each other. "Alright," Nathan said as he headed towards Ezra's room. "Maybe next time."
"I'll come with you," Chris began walking towards the exit beside Vin. "I've already spoken to the Judge and he said he'd keep our workload light. But I still need to make sure the office is running."
Vin smiled wryly, "Yeah, the place would fall apart without you Larabee."
"Damn straight," Chris stated, giving the sharpshooter a soft glare. "Did you get anything on the fingerprints?"
Vin shook his head, "Just Ez's and ours."
+ + + + + + +
"You seem pretty set on this Reis guy," Chris observed as they arrived at the office.
"Just a feeling," Vin drawled. "Still have to check everything out."
"What about the vehicles in the area?" Chris asked suddenly. "Have the cops checked those out yet?"
Vin nodded, "And I'd already checked them out last night when I was looking up the locksmiths. They all seemed to check out."
"You planning on doubling up on all the work the police are doing?" Chris queried.
Before Vin could answer the elevator doors opened and JD stepped out, "Hey guys."
JD walked up to the two men, handing Vin a folder, "I was just downstairs and pulled that file on Reis."
Vin grabbed the folder and started looking through it, "Goddammit what is this shit. There's hardly anything in here. And no photo."
"I know," JD shrugged uncomfortably. "It's not completed."
"What the hell do you mean - it's not completed. I can't use this crap," Vin voice was rising in anger.
"Calm down Vin, it's not the Kid's fault," Chris interrupted.
Vin turned to JD, "I wasn't yelling at you. I was just...yelling."
"I know," JD said. "I was pretty pissed when I saw it myself. I'm gonna see if someone started another file. Maybe it's kept somewhere else. Then I'll call the jail, see if they have anything more."
Vin nodded sheepishly, "Thanks, Kid."
"And I can get the mail and any paperwork that's come in today sorted," JD continued. "You look pretty shocking Chris. You should go get some rest. I'll know where to reach you if there's a problem. I saw Buck when he came home, so I'll meet him at the hospital this afternoon to take over from Nathan and Josiah. You can come in then, check up on my work if you want."
Chris' mouth dropped open as he stared at JD. Hearing Vin's soft chuckle, Chris then turned to glare at the sharpshooter. "You know you don't look so hot yourself," he stated. "Are those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?"
Meanwhile, JD had noticed the sheets of suspects he'd printed last night were divided into two distinct piles. "Did you go through all these last night after I left?" the Kid asked pointing the pages.
"Well, I..." Vin wasn't sure which question to answer first, and he really didn't want to answer either of them.
"I want you to go home Vin, get some rest," Chris stated firmly.
"No," Vin shook his head. "I've made appointments to see some of the locksmiths and real estate agents this morning."
"You can slow down you know," Chris said.
"Yeah, we're all gonna help you," JD agreed. "We want to get this guy just as much."
"I'm keeping the appointments," Vin was adamant.
"Okay," Chris sighed, too tired to argue further. "But promise me you'll go home afterwards."
"Yes sir," Vin muttered as he walked into his office.
+ + + + + + +
This time there were only Team 7 members in the waiting room as Vin entered the hospital. As he drew nearer the small group of men, Vin saw that they were eating dinner. He hadn't even noticed how late it was. "Did we scare everyone off?" Vin greeted.
"Sure looks that way," Josiah replied.
"And before you ask," Nathan interjected when he noticed Vin forming the question. "Ezra still hasn't regained consciousness yet."
"But all of us are allowed in to visit him at the same time," Buck's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Because we've been so well behaved."
"Do you want something to eat?" JD offered.
Vin bent down and grabbed a couple of fries, and then reached for some more. He hadn't realised how hungry he was, in fact he couldn't remember when he last ate anything.
"Hey, leave some for me," Chris ordered as he strode into the waiting room from the hallway. He'd noted how ravenously Vin was now eating, and took the opportunity to check over the sharpshooter without the young man noticing.
The whole team looked worn out, Chris included, but at least you could tell they'd gotten some rest. Vin, on the other hand, looked exactly the same as when Chris had first seen him after the assault. Not exactly tired, more like wired, but when the adrenalin wore off Chris had a feeling exhaustion would soon take over. Vin probably knew that too, which is why the sharpshooter wasn't slowing down.
"From what I've heard," Josiah decided to break the silence. "It seems like Daniel Reis is still out best suspect."
"Yeah," JD agreed. "Except we haven't got a proper description, where he's living now or anything. I couldn't find any other file with the FBI, but I did call the prison and they're sending me over everything they can find."
"It's a shame nobody noticed anyone suspicious lingering around Ezra's apartment for the last couple of weeks," Nathan mused.
"What about yesterday?" Buck asked. "How did he get out of the apartment after attacking Ezra?"
"Front door," Vin drawled.
"Or the fire escape," JD suggested. "To avoid being seen."
Vin shook his head, "No, he would have had to make some noise getting down the fire escape. I re-interviewed most of the neighbours and they don't remember hearing anything like that last night."
"When did you talk to these people again?" Chris wanted to know.
Vin shrugged, "Today."
"I told you to go home after you'd spoken to the locksmiths and estate agents you had appointments with," Chris stated.
"I did," Vin indicated his change of clothes.
"For how long?" Chris asked becoming irritated.
"You never said anything about a time frame," Vin said, not liking the change in the conversation. "Anyway, the least obvious thing for this guy to do would be to walk right out Ez's front door, into the elevator, and out of the foyer as if nothing had happened."
"That's true," Josiah agreed.
"Did you pass anyone when you went back to Ez's?" JD inquired.
"Nope," Vin shook his head. "The only people I saw were already inside, lingering. I doubt this guy would have hung around."
"Still," Buck said. "You were only gone twenty minutes. You'd think you would have passed him somewhere around the building."
"Yeah," Vin whispered as he slumped back against a wall.
"It won't stop us from getting this guy," JD stated with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
"Shit no," Buck agreed. "There's not way he's getting away with this."
"I've just remembered... I've got to.... I've got some things to check..." Vin mumbled as he headed towards the door.
"Vin, I thought you and I could sit with Ezra tonight," Chris called, but the sharpshooter was already out the door.
Chris turned to face the rest of his team, his puzzled expression mirrored by all.
"I'll stay here with you," Nathan offered after a moment.
+ + + + + + +
Vin wasn't sure what he hoped to achieve by being here. There were probably a million other things he could be doing to try and track down Ezra's attacker. However, being here seemed the most important place to be at the moment. The sharpshooter was glad that there was just enough illumination to see through the window into the hospital room.
Chris and Nathan were sitting either side of the still form in the bed. Ezra had drips and machines attached to him, his leg was in a cast and elevated, and you could just see the angry bruising around his chest and shoulders - the worst of it being covered by the blanket (thank God). Despite all that the undercover agent looked much better than the last time Vin had seen him, maybe now the sharpshooter could get the image of the bloody, broken heap that had been Ezra out of his mind.
Sighing, Vin rested his head against the glass. His constant concern for Ezra and his determination to catch whoever did this were steadily catching up with Vin, the warring emotions threatening to overwhelm him.
From inside the room, Nathan subtly nodded towards the window, and Chris tilted his head to find out what had attracted the other man's attention.
"Vin?" Chris whispered, still managing to startle the younger man. "What are you doing out in the hall?"
"I took the stairs," Vin stated vaguely.
"What?" Chris closed the door behind him and stepped closer to the sharpshooter.
"The other night," Vin explained. "I was waiting for the elevator up to Ez's floor, but they were taking too long, so I took the stairs instead."
"Where are you going with this?" Chris wanted to know.
"Buck's right, I should have passed the perp somewhere," Vin answered. "If I'd kept on waiting, I would have seen him at the elevators. He was probably coming down as I went upstairs."
"You can't be sure of that," Chris said quietly, the last thing he wanted was for Vin to start feeling guilty.
"Of course, if I'd just stayed at the apartment in the first place," Vin continued. "I just knew something was wrong, it felt strange. But I didn't even check the place out, I just left Ezra there alone."
Too late, Chris realised the sharpshooter had been feeling guilty all along, "You went back Vin. God knows how long Ezra would have been lying there, without medical treatment, if you hadn't acted on your instinct. He could be.... It could have been much worse."
Vin nodded absently, "I just wanna get this guy."
"We will," Chris squeezed Vin's shoulder, urging him toward the door. "Now, go in and sit with Ezra for a while."
As Vin entered the room, Nathan took his leave, giving Vin a small smile as he passed the sharpshooter.
Pulling the chair closer to the bed, Vin sat down and stared and the unharmed face of his teammate, noting how peaceful Ezra looked in his deep sleep. Just by being close to his friend, Vin was able to allow a calmness to wash over him as his inner strength began to resurface. Vin had been right, this was the most important place to be.
+ + + + + + +
Daniel Reis weaved his way around the cars in the hospital parking lot. He knew he really shouldn't be here, it wasn't exactly the smart thing to do. But Daniel had to see what he'd done, and if Standish still provoked that kind of anger. He'd never physically harmed anyone before, well not intentionally anyway. He was a thief, he stole, he didn't beat or kill - until now.
FBI Agent Ezra Standish had certainly pissed Daniel off when his robbery spree had come to an abrupt ending due to the wily agent. None of Reis' breaking and entering skills had diminished in prison, and when he was finally paroled seeking out Standish and teaching him a lesson had been foremost in the felon's mind. It had been so easy, the manager of Ezra's building had been so stupid, finding the right key had been a cinch. Reis knew it must have been getting to the agent, having things move around when he wasn't looking, that tactic had freaked out enough of his victims in the past. Then having it ignored by friends, and even police, when no evidence was found and nothing was ever missing pushed his marks into believing nothing was really wrong. They usually became even more lapse with their security, not wanting to overreact and embarrass themselves, making it easy to take whatever he wanted. What Daniel wanted from Ezra was to regain his confidence in his abilities and methodology, being able to make an FBI Agent think he was losing his mind had been providing these for Reis.
But the son of a bitch had actually had the gall to change the locks. Ezra was becoming more security conscious instead of less. And not being able to just use the key he'd had cut, Reis had actually had to break in. Lying in wait for the agent, Daniel's anger had festered rather than dissipated. It had been working so well, Standish was become a paranoid mess, and then it overnight it had changed. Then, hearing that Ezra had actually told someone who seemed to take Standish seriously, had increased Reis' rage to the point of blindly lashing out.
Now Daniel had to see what he'd done to Standish for himself, register in his mind how terrible this feeling was, and make sure he never let his ire get away from him like that again.
Knowing that Standish was still with the Bureau after having tracked him down to Denver, Reis carefully scanned the room he'd entered. Unfortunately, the only nurse in sight was standing behind the nurse's station, where a young man was hovering. Not liking that the kid would be able to overhear, but not really being able to do anything about it, Daniel strolled towards the nurse to ask for Standish's room number.
+ + + + + + +
"Who were you talkin' to Kid," Vin asked as he returned to the hospital with the file he'd collected from the police, while the rest of Team 7 were all in Ezra's room.
"Gil Parker, he was asking after Ez's room number so I asked if he was a friend. Said he was a neighbour. He has Ezra's spare key and he thought he might like some of his own stuff...." JD's words died on his lips as Vin pulled his gun and ran towards the hallways.
Daniel had almost made it to Standish's room before he noticed the guy running towards him, a weapon clutched in his hands. Dropping the bag, Reis ran for it.
Hearing the commotion, Chris, Buck, Josiah and Nathan all flew out of the hospital room, in time to see Vin tear past them in hot pursuit of someone.
"What's happening?" Buck asked as JD approach.
"I think that's the guy," JD explained hurriedly. "That's Reis."
"Nathan, stay with Ezra," Chris ordered quickly. "Let's go."
Four men leapt over the dropped bag which was full of empty boxes and rags, weaving their way past gurneys, patients and hospital staff, trying to catch up with Vin. Coming to the end of the hall, Chris stopped and looked down the adjoining corridor. Neither man was in sight, "Damn."
"The stairs," Josiah indicated the door to the stairwell.
Flinging open the door, Chris tilted his head, "Up or down?"
Receiving no answer, Chris decided to split them up, "Buck, JD you go up. Josiah and I will go down."
Bursting into the basement, the first thing Chris saw was Vin with his gun trained on a very startled man in front of him. Chris didn't think that Daniel had a weapon of his own, but aimed his own gun on the man while Vin stepped forward to arrest him.
Having established that all was clear upstairs, Buck and JD turned around and headed for the basement. They approached the door carefully, not wanting to surprise anybody who might be ready to shoot at anything that moved. Both JD and Buck only relaxed when they saw a handcuffed Daniel Reis standing between Vin and Chris while Josiah called it in.
JD stared at Daniel as the uniformed police led him to one of the cars, "I didn't think he'd actually show up at the hospital in broad daylight, with all of us there."
"It's okay," Buck placed a hand on the Kid's shoulder. "None of us did."
"How did you know?" JD asked Vin.
"Well, for one thing," Vin replied. "Ez changed the lock to his apartment that morning. I have all the keys, including the spare."
"And the other thing?" Josiah prompted.
Vin was about to say, 'since when did Ezra trust anyone enough to give them a key', but changed his mind, "I already interviewed all the neighbours, and didn't recognise that guy."
"We should go tell Nathan that everything's fine," Chris stated.
"And Ezra," Buck added. "Good news might prompt him to wake up."
Vin watched the patrol car slowly back out, "I should go to the station. Give a statement and everything."
"Go ahead," Chris nodded, understanding that Vin needed to see this through to it's conclusion, even if that meant writing every report in duplicate himself.
+ + + + + + +
"It's okay," Nathan said quietly. "We know about Daniel Reis. In fact, I think he's been caught."
Ezra's bleary eyes turned from Nathan's smile, to the four men entering his room.
"You're awake Ez," JD rushed excitedly towards the bed.
"Great to see ya," Buck's smile reached his eyes for the first time since Friday night.
"You had us worried," Chris' relief could easily be heard in his voice. "How are you feeling?"
Ezra ignored the question and asked his own, "What happened? With Reis, he was at my apartment..."
"We know," Nathan repeated.
"Yes, but who found me?" Ezra continued. "I don't remember getting here. And how did you know it was Reis?"
Noticing how just talking was wearing on Ezra, and the pain that the undercover agent couldn't hide, Chris was quick to answer, "Vin on both counts."
Before he could ask another question, Buck interjected, "Sshh Ez, just relax."
"But.." Ezra began.
Knowing that he wouldn't shut up until he knew, even though he must be hurting with every breath, Buck explained. "Vin came back to your place not half an hour after he left. He found you, and then became like a dog with a bone."
"Yeah," JD agreed. "He wouldn't stop for anything."
"Collected evidence, looked up suspects, checked out any and every lead, interviewed witnesses," Nathan listed.
"We know for sure he harassed your neighbours a couple of times," Josiah added.
Ezra swept his eyes over the room once more, only now noticing the person they were talking about was missing, "Where is Mr Tanner?"
"The police station," Chris answered. "He's still hanging onto the bone."
+ + + + + + +
Ezra sat in a chair on Chris' porch, waiting somewhat impatiently for the two men to hurry up. It's not as if he couldn't pack his clothes on his own, thankfully he was mobile now. And soon he'd be independent again too.
After spending a month in hospital, Ezra had been glad to finally escape. Chris, of course, hadn't allowed him anywhere until the doctor's say so. And their leader had made it clear how pleased he'd been that there was no way Ezra could escape with the cast on.
Chris' ranch had felt like heaven, for about the first two days. Then it became just as stifling as the hospital. Chris had decided he could do most of his work from home, and hovered over the recovering agent constantly. He'd been worse than what Buck was with JD. Even after the cast had been taken off, Ezra had to stay put and not exert himself or endure the wrath of Larabee. The rest of Team 7 hadn't helped any. They always seemed to be spending time at the ranch, and Chris even insisted Ezra have a babysitter when he did have to leave. Every day was filled with trying to convince to everyone that he was fine. Which he was, sure he still needed a cane to walk, but he didn't need constant attention. All six men were determined to see Ezra well, and they wouldn't let up.
What really irked Standish was that fact that the sharpshooter had been just as bad as anyone, maybe even worse. Ezra was used to having an ally in escaping the nurturing instinct that seemed to take over the men when someone was hurt. However, this time Vin decided to side with the rest of them, and had become just as damn annoying. Until the past couple of weeks. Come to think of it Vin had been very lax in his attention to Ezra and hadn't been around nearly as much as he should have been. At least the sharpshooter had come to take him home, the least he could do after shirking his responsibility.
"What are you doing out here?" Chris asked as he and Vin carried Ezra's suitcases out. "Can't wait to get away, I suppose."
"It's been a pleasure Mr Larabee," Ezra drawled. "But no, I can't wait. Some solitude will be most welcome."
"Okay then," Chris smiled. "Be careful, take it easy. And if you need anything, I can come over and help, or you can come back here. Maybe you should stay longer, until your fit for work. You're leg does give you trouble..."
"I'll be fine," Ezra interrupted with a smile of his own, thankful that these people cared so much. "Thank you anyway."
+ + + + + + +
Although he'd been looking forward to going home, now that he was Ezra was beginning to feel apprehensive. He had considered selling the apartment and moving, but hadn't wanted someone like Daniel Reis to win. Besides, Ezra had always liked the place, it had become home. Now that he was almost there, he imaged what a mess it would be in.
Naturally, Ezra hadn't seen the place since the attack. Vin had been the only one to go back and get some of Ezra's clothes, and the sharpshooter hadn't said much about the condition of the place. The police weren't known for cleaning up a crime scene, in fact it hardly ever occurred to them to even call a cleaner. The places usually ended up looking worse than before, especially seeing as how they would have moved and dusted everything for fingerprints. And the stains, Ezra wondered if he could handle seeing his own blood that would have surely dried in his carpet by now.
Realising his thoughts were turning morbid, Ezra turned to Vin, "You haven't been visiting me as much in the last two weeks."
"Got sick of your whingeing," Vin grinned. "Besides, I had some odds and ends to take care of."
Well, that helped. Ezra decided against asking Vin to stay for dinner as he'd planned. Hell, he probably didn't have any food in the apartment anyway.
+ + + + + + +
Standing outside his door once more, Ezra was glad Vin took the initiative and unlocked it. Ezra's eyes widened as he stepped into the room. Everything had been polished, not in exactly the right place, but sparkling. Almost timidly, Ezra flicked his gaze towards where he'd been assaulted. When he didn't spot any dark stain, he looked back. Nothing, it was perfectly unmarked. In fact the whole carpet looked cleaner than usual. Ezra took a deep breath, the place even smelt clean and fresh. The carpets must have been steam cleaned, and recently. More than that, his home felt safe and secure. All the bad feeling had evaporated, and now that it was missing Ezra had realised how prominent it had been before.
Moving towards the kitchen, Ezra opened the refrigerator and noted all the food. Coming back into in the living room, Ezra smiled at the man standing in front of him, "Odds and ends?"
"Yeah well," Vin shrugged. "I also had the locks changed again. Here's your key, the manager's and the spare."
Ezra reached out and took them, "Perhaps you should take one back."
When Vin just stared at him puzzled, Ezra continued, "It might be best of someone else kept the spare key. In case of an emergency. If the front door hadn't been open when..."
"Thanks Ez," Vin interrupted, taking the offered key. The sharpshooter knew how difficult it was for Ezra to show that much trust, and Vin was flattered that he had been the recipient. Realising Ezra needed the sentiment returned, Vin reached into his pocket, "Here, I'd like you to keep the key to my place."
Ezra smiled, this friendship thing was definitely worth it. "I'm honoured Vin, this means..." Staring at the shiny metal object in his hand, Ezra stopped and thought about what he was saying. "Wait a minute, I'm not honoured. You never lock your door."
"Then it won't matter if you lose it," Vin grinned.
"Give me my key back."
The End
