Looking back at her partner, she whispered, �I think he�s dreaming.�
Harm leaned closer and the smaller man began to mutter softly. �No, please, don�t,� he was mumbling, followed by a soft moan and a shout of, �Vin!� Suddenly the southerner was struggling to sit up.
Harm gently restrained him and said, �Easy, easy. It was just a nightmare. You�re safe. It�s all right, Shhhhh.�
The smaller man settled back against the covers and blinked as though he�d just woken up. He looked at the two officers and scowled. �I remember you,� he said, pointing to Harm. Then he turned to Mac, �But...wh-who are you?�
Mac smiled, �Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. Harm�s my partner.�
Ezra smiled slightly in a raspy voice, he replied, �A pleasure, I�m sure. Though the circumstances could be better.�
Mac smiled slightly, �Are you thirsty?� At his nod, she held a small cup to his lips so he could drink some water. He settled back against the pillows and she nodded, �Better?�
Ezra nodded slightly, �Much obliged, ma�am.� The smaller man yawned deeply and closed his eyes, with a mumble of, �Beg pardon, these drugs they have me on. I�m not in any pain, but I�m so tired.�
Harm scowled and whispered, �It�s hard to understand him through that accent.�
Mac chuckled and looked at the sleepy man, �Agent Standish, we need to ask you some questions.�
Hearing his true name, Ezra was immediately awake. He blinked at the two officers and said, �You know who I am?�
Mac nodded, �Mr. Larabee had to tell us, since I heard him talking to you earlier.�
Ezra nodded slightly, �That makes sense, but please use my alias in the future. We don�t know who we can trust around here.�
They nodded and Harm said, �Do you know who attacked you?�
Ezra sighed, �I never saw the one that grabbed me, the other one was wearing a mask, but I recognized the voice. It was Ensign Stewart. I believe that Lieutenant Graham may be involved. He told me that Commander Johnson had requested my presence. That set me up for the ambush.�
Harm scowled, �Could be a coincidence.�
Ezra shook his head, �Commander Johnson came to see me earlier. He told me that he had done no such thing. Johnson is a good man, I believe him. I don�t trust Graham at all and I believe he knew that I was checking the inventory.�
Mac nodded slightly, �How do we get in contact with the other members of your team?�
From behind them, they heard, �That won�t be difficult.� The two officers turned around, to see a tall man standing in the doorway.
From the bed, Ezra spoke up, �Hey, J�siah?�
The big man nodded at the two officers and made his way over to the bed. He gently laid a large hand on the southerner�s shoulder. In a soft voice, he asked, �How do you feel, son?�
Ezra smiled, �A little better than I did yesterday, but not as good as I will tomorrow.�
Josiah chuckled, �Glad to hear that, Brother. Who are your friends?�
Ezra�s smile widened, until his gold tooth was visible, �Commander Harmon Rabb and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie.� He turned to the officers and said, �This is Josiah Sanchez.�
Josiah nodded and said, �Presently, I am Josiah Carlisle, however.�
Ezra chuckled softly, �Am I then to assume that you are my dear father?�
Josiah smiled, �That I am, Zachary. Your brother, Vincent, will arrive tomorrow from Virginia.�
Ezra smiled, �Well, father, I�m awful tired.�
Josiah nodded in understanding, �Get some sleep, Zachary. We�ll be here, you�re safe.�
Ezra nodded quietly and closed his eyes. Soon he was fast asleep. Josiah turned to the two officers and said softly, �Well, what was my son able to tell you?�
Harm smiled, �He�s pretty sure one of his attackers was an Ensign Stewart, and he suspects that Lieutenant Graham may have been in on it.�
Josiah nodded, �Possibly the other attacker.� Both officers looked somewhat surprised. The large man held up a hand, �Let�s go some place where we can speak without disturbing young Zachary, shall we?�
Harm nodded, �Who�s going to keep and eye on him if you aren�t here?�
Josiah smiled, �Don�t worry, Commander Rabb, he won�t be alone until we�re positive he�s absolutely safe.� As they started out the door, a young man with longish dark hair and big hazel eyes was being brought in.
His leg was in a cast and he seemed to be dozing. Josiah smiled at the �orderly� and said, �You two keep the noise down. My son is sleeping.�
The �orderly� smiled, �Yes, sir.�
The young man chuckled softly and whispered, �See ya later, Josiah.�
Josiah nodded and the three headed out of the building. The agent lead the way to a Chevy Suburban parked by the curb. He opened the passenger door for the two officers and climbed in the front seat, next to the black paramedic from the day before.
Josiah smiled, �This is Agent Nathan Jackson. He is actually a paramedic, so he knew what he was doing yesterday.�
Nathan smiled at the officer. �Hello,� he called back, then started the vehicle. As they pulled away, he turned to Josiah, �So, how is he?�
Josiah smiled, �He�s more talkative today, but he hasn�t started complaining yet, so he has a ways to go before he�s well.�
Harm scowled, �Complaining?�
Nathan chuckled, �Ezra hates hospitals. We can usually gauge how he feels by how loudly he complains and the language he uses.�
Josiah nods, �The better he feels, the longer it takes him to say something.�
They all laughed at the comment. Josiah smiled and told the two officers, �The patient sharing Ezra�s room is also an ATF agent, JD Dunne.�
Mac scowled, �He�s an agent?�
Nathan glanced back, �He�s older than he looks.�
Harm chuckled, �He�d have to be, he looks about eighteen!�
Josiah smiled, �He isn�t actually hurt either. It�s a breakaway cast with his side-arm in it.�
Harm smiled, �That�ll come in handy if somebody tries something against Agent Standish.�
Josiah nodded and said, �The orderly is also an agent, Buck Wilmington. They usually pair up. Buck will make sure they�re both safe.�
Mac scowled, �How many people are there on your team?�
Nathan smiled, �There are seven of us. The only member you haven�t met face-to-face is Vin Tanner. He was in Washington this morning. We expect him back tomorrow. He�ll pose as Ezra�s brother. That�ll get us one more person in the hospital to watch over him.�
Harm scowled, �Why don�t we just pick up Stewart and Graham?�
Josiah sighed, �Unfortunately, all we have on them is circumstantial and it�ll be Ezra�s word against theirs. We need physical evidence against them.�
Nathan nodded, �Either we try to catch them selling the weapons or we try to catch them going after Ezra.� They arrived at a hotel and the agents piled out of the vehicle. Nathan smiled and explained, �Even though we live locally, we�re using this as our base, since it�s closer to the military base.�
Mac nodded and glanced at Harm, �That makes sense,� she said softly. Harm nodded in agreement and they followed the two agents up to their room. As they entered, Mac noticed that the room was already occupied and glanced at Josiah in confusion.
Nathan looked around and said, �Vin, you here?�
�Yup,� came the reply from the other room. After a moment a somewhat short man entered the room. He had longish brown curls and blue eyes. He grinned at the two officers, �Hey, I�m Vin Tanner.� Then he looked at Josiah and chuckled softly, �Hey, Dad. What�s up?�
Josiah smiled, �Hello, son. Well, let me see...Zachary thinks that an ensign named Stewart and a lieutenant named Graham are the men that attacked him.�
Vin nodded, �He sure?�
Harm shrugged, �He said he recognized Ensign Stewart�s voice. He was sure that Graham was involved, but he didn�t actually say that he thought he had been one of the assailants.�
Josiah nodded, �But it makes sense. He was sure that the Lieutenant was in on the attack and he was in the area at the time.�
Vin nodded, �Well, JD pulled up a bunch of data on men in and around the armory, so let�s look at their service records.�
Harm scowled, �How�d you get these files?�
Vin smiled, �You don�t wanna know, Commander. Don�t worry, you�re here now, so it�s all legal.�
Mac scowled, �Law enforcement officers that obtain information illegally?�
Nathan shrugged, �We didn�t say we came by the information illegally.�
Josiah smiled, �We just said you didn�t wanna know how we came by it.�
Harm shook his head and looked at the file on Ensign Stewart, �I don�t see anything that would implicate Ensign Stewart in the arms smuggling or the murder or the attack.�
Vin scowled, �True, �less you look at his service record and compare it to unsolved thefts at other bases.� Vin slid the file over to Harm and looked at him pointedly.
Mac scowled, �Lieutenant Graham has had charges of assault filed against him several times.�
Harm scowled, �Why is he still in the military?�
Josiah looked over, �Charges were always dropped by the complainant.�
Nathan looked at the file, �Except for one time. That time the person died, under mysterious circumstances. With no witness and no hard evidence, the charges were dropped.�
Harm scowled, �Agent Standish may be in greater danger than you thought.�
Vin nodded, �Y�all head out and see if you can find these guys and watch �em. I�ll head to the hospital and help Buck and JD watch over Ezra.�
******
Vin walked over to the nurse on duty and tried his best to look harried. ��Scuse me, ma�am. I got a call from my dad, he said they�d brought my older brother had been brought in yesterday. Said he�d been attacked!�
The nurse smiled and said, �What�s his name, sir?�
Vin took a couple deep breaths, as though he was trying to calm down, and said, �Lieutenant Commander Zachary Carlisle.�
She nodded and said, �He�s in room 215, right down the hall.�
Vin nodded and ran down to the room. He opened the door and peeked into the room. He looked around quickly and grinned at the other �patient�, then saw his �brother� dozing on the bed on the other side of the room. Entering the room, he walked quietly to Ezra�s side. Suddenly, the southerner�s head started tossing and he began mumbling in his sleep.
Ezra sat up and cried out, �Vin!�
Vin gently pushed Ezra back and said, �Easy, pard. It�s okay, you�re safe. Calm down.�
Ezra blinked and shook his head, as though he was just waking up. For the second time that day, a nightmare had woken the injured southerner. Unlike the two JAG officers, Vin knew what the nightmare was probably about.
Vin scowled, �You told them you were fine. That the nightmares had stopped!�
Ezra blinked and looked away from the angry Texan. In a soft voice he replied, �They had, but...they started again.�
Vin scowled, �When?�
Ezra sighed, and replied in a barely audible voice, �As soon as I went back under.�
Vin sighed in exasperation, �Why don�t you tell us when something is bothering you?� Ezra shrugged and Vin shook his head, �Never mind. I�m here for a reason, and it ain�t ta chew you out.�
Ezra scowled, noticing the serious tone, and asked, �What�s wrong?�
Vin looked at the two agents, �Graham�s been brought up on assault charges before. Never convicted, last time the victim died mysteriously.�
Ezra frowned, �Oh dear. Then I may be in even greater peril that we had first anticipated.�
Vin nodded and replied, �The others are going to see if they can get a lock on the suspects while I hang out here and watch you.�
JD spoke up from the other bed, �How are you gonna keep them from tossin� ya out when visitin� hours are up, Vin?�
Vin smiled and looked at Ezra, �My brother�s gonna throw a fit, tell �em he needs me ta stay with him.�
Ezra grinned and nodded slightly, �I believe I will be able to make my performance convincing.�
*** ***
Late that evening a nurse came in and tapped the dozing Tanner on his sleeve. She smiled and said softly, �Excuse me, sir. Visiting hours are over for the day, I�m going to have to ask you to leave.�
Vin nodded and said in an equally soft tone, �Just let me say goodbye to Zachary.� The nurse nodded and stepped back, while the Texan got to his feet. He gently tapped the sleeping southerner on the arm and said softly, �Zachary, wake up.�
Ezra moaned and squeezed his eyes shut, then looked up at Vin and said, �Hey.�
Vin smiled, �Hey, Zachary, I gotta go. I�ll see ya tomorrow, huh?� He leaned closer, ostensibly to hug his brother and whispered, �Showtime!�
Ezra immediately pulled Vin into a deep hug, �No, Vin! Don�t leave me,� he sobbed.
Vin scowled and pulled back, �Hey, Zachary. It�ll be all right. I�ll come back in the mornin�.� He patted the southerner, who was now openly weeping, on the arm.
Ezra shook his head, �No! I-I don� wanna be alone, Vin! Please!� He turned his appeal to the nurse, �Momma died in a hospital! I don�t wanna die! I don� wanna be alone. Please, please let Vin stay!�
The nurse frowned with worry, �You need to calm down, Commander Carlisle. You�re going to hurt yourself.�
Ezra took a shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes with one hand, �Can- can Vin stay?�
The nurse looked at Vin, then back at the sobbing man and nodded, �Okay, but you need to rest.�
Ezra nodded, and sniffled softly, �I will. Th-thank you.� Ezra settled back into the bed and sobbed softly, until Vin laid a comforting hand on his arm.
Vin smiled, �Try to relax, Zachary. That�s it, jus� you go back to sleep. I�ll stay right here.� Soon Ezra�s eyes drifted closed and he seemed to be sleeping.
Vin turned to nurse, �I�m real sorry, ma�am. I don� remember our ma much, I was just a tyke when she-she passed on, but Zachary,� he turned to the sleeping man, �Well, he was in the room with her when she flat-lined. It was real unexpected. Kinda traumatized him about hospitals.�
The nurse shook her head, �He was fine yesterday...�
Vin shrugged, �Dad said he was kinda out of it. Maybe he didn�t realize where he was last night?�
The nurse nodded, �That makes sense. Like I said, I�ll let you stay, but no trouble. Hear me?�
Vin nodded and said, �Yes, ma�am.� The nurse left the room and Vin turned to grin at Ezra.
Ezra opened his eyes and looked at his two teammates with a mischievous grin. JD shook his head in wonder, �Damn, Ez! You deserve an Oscar for that performance!�
Vin smiled, �How do you do that, pard? Go from total calm to complete hysterics?�
Ezra shrugged, �What can I say? It�s a gift.� Vin nodded and they all shared a chuckle. Since Ezra was actually hurt, he soon succumbed to the sleep that had been calling to him the whole time. Vin and JD chatted for a while. Vin told JD to sleep, he�d take first watch over the southerner.
*** ***
Early the next morning, Vin was sleeping in a chair beside Ezra, while JD kept watch. JD lay on his back, pretending to be asleep, when he heard the door open slowly. He glanced over and saw a large man, easily larger than Buck, creep into the room. The man stealthily made his way over to Ezra�s sleeping form.
JD watched as the man placed a hand over the southerner�s mouth and leaned in closer. The man, who JD now recognized as Lieutenant Graham, whispered to Ezra, �Couldn�t leave well enough alone, could ya, Commander?� Ezra brought his hands up to struggle against the man. Graham chuckled, �You can�t fight me. You�re weaker than a newborn kitten right now.� The lieutenant pulled out a knife and was about to use it, when he felt the pressure of a gun on his back.
�Federal Agent. Drop it,� JD said calmly.
Vin woke up at the sound of JD�s voice and carefully pulled out his gun, �Do it, now!�
Lieutenant Graham scowled at the two men and dropped the knife to the floor. JD started reading him his rights and putting the handcuffs on him, while Vin checked on Ezra.
Ezra sat up as soon as Graham was cuffed and looked at Vin with wide, frightened eyes. The agent shook his head, �He was right, Vin. I- I was completely helpless!�
Vin laid a comforting arm on his shoulder, �Shh, Ez. That�s why we were here, �member?�
Ezra nodded and settled back against the pillows once again. In a soft voice, he said, �Thanks, Vin. Thanks, JD.�
JD smiled at the southerner as he handed Graham over to the military police, �Hey, don�t mention it, Ez. You�da done the same for any one of us.�
