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Derailed |
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Jimmy Lee had just seen the damaged track ahead as he heard the door to the engine open. He didn't turn, figuring that it had to be Rathson. All he could do was engage the braking system to the fullest and hope they would slow enough that they might have a slim chance of survival. When the door slammed shut again he didn't even notice. As the churned up section of track drew closed he simply closed his eyes and continued to brake.Ezra had just finished defusing another bomb when he felt the jolt as Jimmy Lee slammed on the brakes. He knew from the overheard conversation that the train was going to be derailed and, not sure whether or not he had found and defused all the explosives, he made the only decision he could. He ran to the nearest door, slid it opened and jumped, tucking and hoping like hell that he would roll rather than land with a splat.
Bobby Rathson cursed as he pounded on the door that led to the front of the train. After he'd seen Winston bail out he had paused and wondered suddenly how his plan could have gone so disastrously wrong. Then he realized how. The man he had left in the next car and his team. He turned and headed back, hoping that he would have enough time to gut the blond leader of that team. When he reached the door and tried to open it nothing happened; it wouldn't budge. What little had been left of Rathson's sanity disappeared in the bloodcurdling roar he let out. Then the train jolted as Jimmy started hitting the brakes.
As they ran back out of the engine Chris turned to Vin, looking at his partner who suddenly grabbed him and started pulling him to the far end of the car. There were a number of 'caged' off areas there that contained various supplies. The one that Vin pulled open contained the rolled up packing mats that were used to store some of the more delicate items that were shipped. The locker was fairly full of the rolled mats and Vin frantically pulled out a number that were in the middle of the unit making a small space that he entered. He pulled Chris in after and reached around him to slam the door shut. They were tightly packed amidst the piles of rolled mats and Chris smiled as he embraced his lover. "Ever resourceful..." he mumbled and then the world turned upside down.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As he sailed through the air Ezra began to have doubts about his plan for survival. Then he hit the ground, which turned out to be a huge bank of blackberry bushes. As he crashed through the twisted vines that were armed with a multitude of spikes and whipping ends he felt his suit literally shread to pieces. The fine fabric made a whirring noise as it pulled away from the silky lining. While he cursed the loss of the suit, it wasn't one of his favorites and the bushes were, in fact doing and admirable job of breaking his fall. He finally came to a stop, still entwined with the edges of the 'jungle' and lay there for a bit taking inventory and was pleased to note that while much of his suit was missing, all of his 'parts' seemed to be present and more or less intact. Aside from some rather splendidly annoying scratches.
He turned, as the screeching of the brakes intensified and then stopped as the wheels left the tracks.
Jimmy Lee never opened his eyes again. As the train ran off the end of the tracks the engine barreled onward, ploughing into the embankment and then somersaulting up and over.
The second car was pulled partway up as the engine cartwheeled, forcing the coupling to snap, the car was thrown to the side as the following cars accordioned themselves into each other. The shrieking of tearing metal vied with the crashes and thumps of colliding cars. As it rolled twice then slammed into the embankment on the other side of the tracks.
The noise seemed to go on forever, but was actually over in a matter of moments.
Ezra watched, horrified, yet fascinated. He waited, thinking that the explosives might not need a detonator given the amount of banging around they were getting, and then there was the possibility that he hadn't found all of them.
The silence after the train finally stopped was eerie. The only movement was the cloud of dust that rose above the wreckage.
Ezra sat, stunned for a moment more before attempting to stand. He knew that Chris was somewhere in that wreckage, along with Vin's body. He hoped, as he fought the clinging vines attemping to keep him where he was that he wouldn't be looking for the bodies of two men.
By the time he had persuaded the bushes that he was in charge and free to leave he could hear the sounds of the rescue crews approaching.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As he limped towards the train Ezra heard his name called. He turned to see Josiah, Buck and the rest heading towards him. He stopped and waited for the other four men to catch up.
"Ezra," Buck called as the drew near, "do you know where Chris and Vin are? Did they get off the train with you?"
"No and no, I'm afraid, gentlemen." Ezra answered, as he realized that they didn't know what had happened on the train. They didn't know that Vin was dead long before the train had derailed.
"They were up at the front." He paused, trying to get control of his emotions. On the train he hadn't had the time to really let the fact sink in. "They shot Vin," he stated, fighting to maintain his composure. "I don't know if they killed Chris too..."
Buck turned to the undercover man then, "Why weren't you there to back them up?"
Ezra knew Buck well enough to know that it wasn't personal, that he was concerned for his friends. "I was disarming the bombs. We couldn't move on Rathson while he had the remote if they had their detonators."
"Enough!" Josiah declared, "Our friends are there somewhere and we will find them, this can wait."
"You're right, Josiah," Buck exhaled, "And I'm sorry Ez, I'm just worried, lets go get them." He used "them" even though, if Ezra was correct, Vin was dead. Chris and Vin were a pair now, he wasn't ready to think about Chris alone.
Not again.
Vin came to with a jolt, finding himself nose to nose with a large gray pillow. What the heck was it, a sleeping bag? No... He frowned and was trying to figure out what it was and, more importantly where he was when the surface he was lying on moved.
He started, pulling back to find himself nose to nose with Chris. It was the bloody scrape on Larabee's forehead that triggered his memory.
"Aw, hell!" he muttered, shifting slightly so he could better see his partner, who was, he guessed, by the soft moan and twitching body parts, in the process of waking up.
"Hey there, big fella," he teased as the confused green eyes opened, "come here often?"
Larabee just groaned, then realizing that they had actually lived through the crash, tightening his hold on the slender man laying atop him.
"Vin..." He turned his head slightly, looking into his lover's eyes. "God, I thought you were dead."
"Hell, Larabee, I thought we were both goners when I saw those tracks, or should I say didn't see those tracks..."
They smiled then and kissed gently, glad just to be alive and together. The small caged area they were in was tilted to the point that they were very nearly upside down. After pushing several of the rolled up mats aside, they surveyed as much of their surroundings as they could. What they could see of the rest of the car was total devastation. The walls were crumpled, furniture and supplies splintered and crushed almost beyond recognition.
"I don't know how you knew about this..." Larabee paused to indicate their 'nest' "but I have the feeling that if we had been out there we'd be dead."
"Yeah, I noticed one when I was hiding a couple of the guys I knocked out back in the luggage car. It was full of suitcases, I stuffed those guys in it and piled a bunch of stuff on top so that no one would find them..." He paused, tilting his head in thought, "wonder if they're still there?"
"Good chance, and you probably saved their lives too." Larabee grinned at Vin's frown. "What?"
"Do ya think that Ez got off..." He wiggled a bit, testing to see if they would be able to get out of the "cage" without assistance. Realizing that the door was somewhere underneath them he shook his head. "Looks like we're stuck here til help comes."
While he was concerned about the missing undercover man, Chris wasn't really too worried. "Ezra seems to be pretty good at taking care of himself. He'll probably be more worried about whether he damaged his suit than anything else."
"Yeah," Vin agreed, "not much we can do about it for now anyway, but I'm guessing that he got those bombs disarmed or we wouldn't be here to worry about him."
He reached up then to check the scrape on Chris's head, brushing back the hair that had fallen forward over it. It was a shallow scrape and had already stopped bleeding. He looked to see if he could spot any other injuries, but they were sandwiched in so tightly that he couldn't see much beyond Larabee's head and shoulders.
"The rest of you okay?" he asked.
"Think so, just a few bruises, you?"
"Same here," Vin agreed, leaving out that the bruise on his chest where the bullet had hit the vest was hurting almost more than he could stand. Each breath aggravating the injury.
Chris knew from firsthand experience how much a close range gunshot to a kevlar vest could hurt and was pretty sure that Vin would have some broken ribs and some spectacular bruising at the least.
"Yeah," he agreed in his most cynical tone, "and your chest doesn't feel like Peso kicked you?"
"Mmm, could be it's a mite sore," Vin managed, more or less straightfaced.
They decided, in lieu of any other options to simply rest and cuddle until someone came to let them out. Within a few minutes both men fell asleep. It had been a very long 24 hours.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
The rescue crews were reluctant to let "civilians" help with the search of the train, but after a heated discussion with Buck and a slightly calmer one with Josiah they decided that ATF agents might not be considered "civilians" under the circumstances. They were allowed to help with the rescue efforts.
After being informed about the explosives on board, a bomb squad was contacted and was on its way. The crews had already marked three sites for the squad to clean up.
The crew was checking one of the cars toward the middle of the train, or at least at what appeared to have been the middle, when they found two men tied up and gagged in with some of the luggage. They were both awake and upon removal of the gags were complaining bitterly about their plight. That is until one of the rescuers pointed out that if they had been loose on the train they would most likely have been dead.
They were handcuffed and escorted away by local authorities for safekeeping, soon to join up with the other men arrested when the train had been stopped earlier.
It had been early morning when the train had crashed and noon had passed before the crews were able to get into the cars closer to the front of the train.
They entered what remained of one car that appeared to be the first car behind the engine to find the severely mangled body of Bobby Rathson. As Ezra approached he asked to enter. If this was the car Bobby was in, this was where Chris and Vin should be.
The crew tried to persuade him not to enter, telling him that the rest of the car was too thoroughly mangled to even consider finding anyone alive. But Ezra and Buck both insisted upon entering.
The first thing they saw were Rathson's remains. Although partially covered by the crew, the blood and other gore was spread to far to simply cover up with a blanket. Buck paled as he saw how thoroughly the man had been crushed and, looking back at the twisted remains of the rest of the car, turned and lost the little bit of food he'd eaten that morning.
"Oh, God, Chris." He blinked back tears, but before he could turn to leave he heard Ezra's remark.
"This is not the front car." he stated with absolute authority, "I was in here. This is the second car. Chris and Vin were in the next car forward."
The crew chief turned to him, explaining that the engine was just up ahead and there were no other cars between the two, that this had to be the first car behind it.
Buck looked at his teammate, "Are you sure Ezra?" he asked, afraid to believe that perhaps the body of his oldest friend was not, in fact inside this twisted remains of a railcar.
"I am absolutely certain." Ezra declared. "They are in another car, if this isn't the one..." He turned to survey the remaining cars, noticing that while most were jack-knifed together, there was one that was flipped over resting against the other embankment, "There," he pointed, "that has to be the one!"
The crew chief looked at the car shook his head. "That has to be one of the back cars," but then paused as he remembered another crash several years prior, "unless..."
"Unless what!" Buck turned to the man with the hope that he had held at bay for several hours glowing in his eyes.
"It's possible that when the engine flipped it lifted the second car up and if the coupler failed at just the right moment it 'could' have fallen sideways and landed over there."
By the time he finished his sentence he was talking to himself, the ATF men were gone, climbing towards the car that lay upside down against the far embankment.
The harsh rasping noise was the first thing Chris heard as he woke up. Vin! Larabee opened his eyes to find his partner gasping for breath.
"Vin..." Chris reached up, brushing the damp hair back so he could better see his partner, "what's wrong?"
The blue eyes that opened were full of pain and there was a hint of panic that, hard as he tried, the younger man could no longer surpress.
"Think I might got a problem pard..." he managed to rasp out.
"Your chest?"
A nod.
"Think you got a hole in your lung?"
Another nod.
"Shit!"
A rueful half smile this time.
"We've got to get you out of here."
This time he got no reply.
Moving as gently as possible in an effort to avoid jarring Vin, Chris started shoving more of the rolled up mats out of the way, not wanting to believe that the cage that had save their lives during the crash might now cause Vin to suffocate while they waited to get out. Vin simply laid his head down and did his best to stay calm and breathe. Neither man was having a lot of luck.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
As Buck and Ezra ran towards the flipped car they were joined by JD, Josiah and Nathan, who just finished searching a nearby car when they spotted their friends' mad dash towards the as yet unchecked car.
Buck arrived first and reached up to the top edge of the door. It was now on the bottom, but it was still nearly six feet off the ground. He gripped the edge and pulled himself up and over.
"Chris!" he called out, hoping desperately to hear a reply.
JD and Nathan arrived just as Ezra was attempting to follow. Josiah had detoured to the side to retrieve a crate that lay a few feet away.
"Nathan," Josiah called to the medic, "come help me get this over there."
Turning to see what the profiler was attempting to do, Nathan ran over and grabbed the other end of the crate and they dragged the heavy wooden box close enough that they could use it to better reach the door. Buck had called out as he entered because that was all he could do at the moment. The contents of the car were strewn across the car and piled up in front of the door. He grabbed the nearest thing he could get a hold of and pushed it out the door into JD's hands.
"We can't get in until we move some of this stuff." He reached back for the next item and then he heard it. The answer to his call, and to all his hopes and prayers.
"Buck..." Chris's voice called from somewhere inside the car, "is that you?" he paused, waiting until Buck replied.
"Yeah, it's me and the rest of the guys, hang on, we'll get you out." "Hurry!" Chris called back, sounding almost frantic. "Vin's hurt!" "He's alive!" Buck called out to the others. "They're both alive! Get a medic and some help to get this stuff moved!"
Within minutes there was a crowd of emergency workers struggling with the twisted remains that blocked the doors. Ezra and several others had moved around to the other end of the car and were attempting to pry that door open. Though unblocked as far as they could see, the frame was twisted and they had been unable to get either of the sliding doors open as yet.
Inside the storage cage, Chris was trying to keep Vin awake and alert, fearing that if he lapsed into unconsciousness he would lose the battle for breath. As the crews got nearer to his position Nathan called out and asked him what the situation was.
"I think his rib is broken and has punctured his lung. How he can barely get any air at all." Chris reported, slightly calmer now that help was almost there but still fearful that they might get there too late.
"Sounds like there is air in his chest cavity that is pushing against his lungs. That's why he can't breath," Nathan called back.
"What can I do?" Chris yelled back. "It's getting harder for him. I don't know how long he can hang on..."
"As soon as we get there I can put in a line that will let out the trapped air. It will get better almost as soon as I do."
"Hurry, Nathan, please..."
The sounds of crates and boxes being dragged and scrap metal scraping as the men desperately worked to clear the path continued. Soon they had broken through to the end of the car where the caged area was and Nathan ran up to the bars.
"How's he doing, Chris?" the medic asked as he peered into the tightly packed cell the men were still trapped within.
"I don't know, Nathan, I think he's barely breathing, or maybe not at all!" he suddenly realized as he watched his partner grow paler, his lips beginning to turn blue.
"Oh, God, Nathan," Chris cried out, "I don't think he's breathing!"
Nathan reached in and realized that Chris was right.
"Chris, I can't do this from out here, not without your help..."
"Just tell me what to do." Chris looked at his friend's face. "Whatever it is Nathan, I'll do it."
By that time the rest of the men had gathered outside of the storage cage and watched in horror and a kind of grim fascination as Chris pierced Vin's chest with the large needle that Nathan provided and inserted a tube that would allow the trapped air to escape. Within a few moments of the tube's insertion the still pale man gasped and took a deep breath, coughing as the air entered his oxygen starved lungs.
Chris took a deep relieved breath as the blue eyes fluttered and then cracked open.
"Hey, pard..." Vin rasped in a drawl so soft he could barely hear it, "how can a fella get a nap around here with all the thumping going on?"
A collective sigh ran through the gathered men as their sharpshooter looked around to see his team.
"Some guys'll do just about anything to get an extra week off," he stated, looking at Buck before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.
It took another two hours to get the cage opened and the men moved out to the clearing where the medivac chopper waited. Nathan flew in with the two men after trying unsuccessfully to get Ezra to come along. The scrapes and scratched he had received as he fell into the blackberries needed to be cleaned and dressed, but the agent had one more urgent job to do before he would leave the area.
He had been limping around the crash site partially because he had lost one of his shoes in the brambles, and despite the loss of the suit, he refused to leave without first finding his shoe.
"These are custom made Brionis, I will not leave one of them out here in the elements," Ezra complained loudly as his teammates teased him. "It's bad enough that the suit is ruined, I've barely had these shoes for six months..."
With that he limped back towards the mass of viscously armed bushes.
Buck, JD and Josiah watched him go, then, taking pity, they headed after him.
"Wait, Ez," JD called as they trotted up behind him, "we'll help ya. We are a team, after all."
They kept Vin overnight for observation in the Salt Lake Hospital then released him with a promise to "take it easy" for a couple weeks.
Chris just stood by the bed and tried not to laugh as he witnessed Vin quietly pulling the wool over the nice Morman doctor's eyes and silently vowed to ensure that the recuperating man would actually follow the instructions the hospital was sending home with him. Well, not home exactly. Since the team was already half way to the cabin they had rented a couple of SUV's and were even now waiting outside for Chris and Vin to join them as they headed north.
It was unlikely that he would have a hard time keeping Vin in line for the next few days since he was still pretty sore with almost any movement being painful. It was a week from now that he would have to be on alert, once the initial pain subsided to a level the Texan could ignore, he would, if the past was any indication, go out and promptly overdo it. At least he would if Nurse Ratchet Larabee wasn't around to keep him in line. He sighed, realizing that he was now thinking of himself in terms of Vin's own nicknames for him. He shook his head as he once again realized just how far gone he was.
They managed to get out of the hospital and out of Salt Lake without any problems, aside from Ezra's complaints about the fact that one simply could not find a decent cup of coffee, let alone a latte, in the entire city. And amazingly, for once, the rest of the team had to agree. Salt Lake just wasn't a city known for it's coffee. The desk clerk at their hotel had assured them that yes, they did have latte, and proceeded to send them down the street to the McDonald's Restaurant. Which sent the undercover agent into a total huff and, after tasting the cup he bought, even JD had to agree.
"Let's get out of this town and find some decent coffee." JD's declaration was met by unanimous agreement and they were on their way.
They arrived at the cabin late the next afternoon after having stopped in the last town to pick up a small mountain of supplies. Including a large bag of gourmet coffee.
The cabin was comfortable, the location about as perfect as anyone could ask for and not a complaint was heard, for at least fifteen minutes. Then their normal banter took over and Chris once again found himself thinking about his team as a bunch of unruly schoolboys. But at least they were HIS unruly schoolboys. He grinned as he sat on the porch watching the fabulous sunset with his arm around his own particular unruly Texan.
The adequate, but close quarters of the cabin prevented the pair from any more intimate contact than the casual cuddle and kiss that the rest of the team had by now accepted as normal during their off duty time when they were in a private location. And as much as he wanted more, Chris realized that Vin wasn't really up to anything quite yet and was secretly pleased at the lack of total privacy since he knew how persuasive the younger man could be. Just now the threat of JD walking in on them was exactly what he needed to keep the Texan's libido under control. Their much anticipated "reunion" would just have to wait a week or two.
The next few days were filled with fishing, swimming, hiking, birdwatching and even some time spend just laying around doing absolutely nothing. And while Ezra still refused to bait his own hooks, he even joined them on several of the fishing trips, surprising himself and the rest of the team when he managed to land a fair sized sockeye.
The two weeks passed seemingly overnight and they reluctantly packed up and headed home.
7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 7
They arrived in Denver on Saturday afternoon, and after picking up their assorted vehicles at the ATF parking garage they headed to their respective homes. One more day, then back to work. Even Vin, though he would be on light duty for another week or two.
By the time they were half way to the ranch Vin was asleep in the passenger seat. Chris smiled contentedly as he thought about how good it felt just to be coming home with the person he loved. No bells and whistles tonight, just the quiet company and gentle presence of his other half. He sighed as he again realized just how lucky he was.
Sunday morning was another matter altogether.
Vin was awake. He lay in bed curled up against his lover who was still asleep. He had waited for two long weeks, allowing Chris to set the limits of their time together, knowing at least on some level that he was right about holding back until his injuries were healed. But now...now they were home, now he felt good, and now he was hard as a rock, spooned up against Chris's naked body and thinking about how long it had been. He wrapped himself even more tightly around the familiar body, gently rubbing his hardness against the warm cleft so conveniently lined up with his aching shaft. He nuzzled the nape of the strong neck, breathing gently into the silken strands of hair that had grown slightly longer than usual over the past weeks. Content to stay in a gentle holding pattern until the green eyes opened and the tiger that lay within awakened.
He didn't have to wait long.
"Ummm," the contented sound caused the Texan to smile as he reached around to add one more bit of stimulation to Chris's already arousing member. He stroked the shaft gently, bringing it to a state that was nearly as hard as his own needy condition.
Chris turned then, taking the soft lips into a gentle but passionate kiss as his hands began their own explorations. The hard shafts now trapped together as they thrust against each other.
"Want you..." The drawl more evident in his aroused state, Vin reached around to the cleft and worked his fingers between the silky cheeks, opening the ring of muscle gently, if insistently. Chris's moans told him that he was more than welcome and they again shifted, giving Vin the access he needed.
He lubricated himself hastily while he licked his way up Chris's shaft, engulfing the head and sucking while he ran his tongue around in a way that he knew would bring his partner right to the edge. Then he gently released him as he slid up and positioned himself at the entrance to the warm channel that would soon engulf him.
"You ready?" he rasped.
The answer almost more than he could articulate at the moment. "Do it!" Chris pleaded.
Vin pushed in, waiting to feel the muscle relax, then he pulled back until he was almost out before pushing back in, harder and faster. It was exquisite. Pleasure and sweet torture vying for supremacy, they began to move together. It was something they'd done many times in the months past but each time it was more.
More intense, more intimate, more fulfilling, more right.
They moved as one, faster, Vin's shaft moving in and out, sliding over Chris's gland with every thrust, his hand sliding up and down on the shaft that sprang up between them. The moans and grunts joining with the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh to create an almost musical accompaniment. The pace speeding even more as they neared completion. Then as Vin once more hit the gland inside while he stroked the steel-hard shaft, Chris came with a cry that was part moan and part growl. His muscles clenched as he released his semen, Bringing Vin to his own climax. He thrust again, calling out his lover's name as his seed filled him, then collapsed onto the sated man beneath him.
They lay in that place for long minutes, holding onto that special, unique closeness for as long as possible, that place where there was no you and me, but only we, the place where they were truly one, body, mind and soul.
As their bodies cooled and the air sent a chill down his spine Vin stirred, gently pulling himself out of his lover, he slid to the side and pulled the quilt up over their still entwined bodies, then drifted back to sleep physically fulfilled and emotionally secure as to his place in the world.
Epilogue
Monday morning came way too soon and as usual, Ezra was the last one to arrive at Team 7's offices.
He got off the elevator carrying his latte with a new appreciation for just how easily that could be acquired here in Denver and shuddered as he remembered just how awful something that was sold under the same name could actually be.
It was as he strolled through the outer area where the secretaries worked that he became aware of people looking at him...no, not just looking, staring, and pointing and that one over there was actually giggling. Something was definitely amiss. He knew that it could not be at his current state of dress, he had been extremely thankful to don his newest Louis Vuitton suit after spending two weeks wearing the clothes they had purchased while away. He was quite sure that contrary to the claims of the rest of the team, there WERE other stores in Montana besides K-Mart.
He actually increased his pace as he neared the domain of Team 7, breathing a heavy sigh as he entered and found the rest of the team busily preparing for their week. Vin was just coming back from the break room with a cup of the nearly toxic brew that he claimed was coffee and the others were mostly already working at their desks, plowing through two weeks worth of e-mail and other backlogs.
He sat down, booted up and sat back to take a sip of his latte... which he promptly sprayed all over his monitor as the machine opened up and displayed his home page.
Or what should have been his home page.
Not the full screen, full color picture of himself, standing knee deep in a stream. wearing bluejeans, a plaid flannel shirt and grinning madly as he held up a huge fish.
Turning a lovely shade of crimson, that very nearly matched the primary color of the flannel shirt displayed on his screen, he looked up to see every monitor in the office turned so that he could see the same wallpaper adorning each and every one.
Tell me..." he groaned, "please tell me that 'that' picture is not on the screens out in the secretarial pool." But he already knew the answer as he realized what all the staring had been about.
Vin sauntered over with a paper towel and waved at the coffee splattered screen and asked with a 'butter wouldn't melt in his mouth' look on his face. "You okay, Ez..." He paused for effect. "Got something stuck in your throat?"
JD chimed in then, "Yeah, Ez, I think Nathan knows that Heimlich squeezie thing."
Ezra was, for one of the few times in his life, wordless. Which was probably a good thing because anything that might have come out of his mouth at that particular moment would have offended his own sensibilies to say the least. Instead he sputtered.
Buck had wandered close and leaned over, pretending to see the picture for the first time as he used Vin's towel to wipe away the dripping latte spatters. "Wow, Ezra!" he exclaimed loudly, "that's a huge fish ya got there."
It wasn't a Larabee glare, but it came close.
Buck ignored it. He'd been the recipient of many of the real thing, this one didn't even slow him down. He clapped the horrified Southerner on the back and declared that it had to be one of the biggest fish he'd ever seen, then strolled back to his own desk and got back to work.
While Buck had sidetracked him, Vin and JD had slipped back to their desks. When Chris came out of his office moments later, everyone except Ezra, was seemingly hard at work.
"Ezra," the blond scolded, "quit fooling around with your vacation pictures and get to work."
By the time Chris had finished his sentence Ezra was doing a fair imitation of the fish itself as he sat gaping in disbelief.
It wasn't more than 30 seconds later when the entire office, including Chris Larabee, erupted in snickers.
That was when Chris casually floated an already signed voucher for a new suit onto the stunned agent's desk.
"Good work on those bombs, Ezra," Chris stated clearly, "you saved a lot of lives. Thank you."
Then he walked back to his office, turned and nodded to the entire room, then entered and shut the door.
END
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