Chris walked into the main office and glanced around the room at his men. They'd only been together for a week and a half, but he was already thinking of them as his men. The thought brought a momentary smile to his face.
Each person was in their own area of the room, doing their own thing, but slowly and surely they were becoming a team rather than just a bunch of men that were thrown together out of necessity. Buck and JD were playing with the setting of some new piece of surveillance equipment. Josiah and Nathan were quietly discussing off-duty pastimes. Ezra was talking softly on the phone. Meanwhile, Vin was sitting quietly at his computer, glaring at the devise with undisguised anger.
Chris headed toward his office and paused by the southerner's desk. When Ezra covered the mouthpiece with one hand and looked up, Chris said, "Help Vin with his computer and then be prepare to come into the briefing room in ten minutes." Chris waited for a nod from the undercover agent, then continued on his way.
Ezra sighed and said into the phone, "I have to go, darlin'. I'll call you back later." He paused while the other person spoke, then replied, "I love you, too. I'll see you later. Bye."
"Who was that?" Buck asked slyly. His ears had perked up when the southerner had called the person on the line "darling."
Ezra glared and replied, "A personal call, Mr. Wilmington." Without saying another word to the older man, he went over to Vin and, leaning in to whisper in his ear, asked, "Is there something wrong, Mr. Tanner?"
Vin sighed and said, "Damn thing won't give me my email."
"Are you typing in you password correctly?" Ezra asked, going for the easiest solution.
"I know my password, Ezra!" Vin growled.
Ezra smiled and hit a button on the keyboard. "The system is case sensitive, Mr. Tanner. Your letters were locked in capitol form. Try it now."
Vin's eyes narrowed and he quickly typed the password, when the email server popped up on the screen, he snorted. "Smartass," he grumbled.
Ezra smiled and said, "Sorry. By the way, our esteemed leader has requested our presence in the briefing room in..." Ezra paused to consult his watch, then finished, "seven minutes."
"Pass it on?" Vin asked, smiling mischievously. As Ezra nodded and returned to his seat, Vin turned to Nathan and did just that.
Meanwhile, Ezra quickly gathered up the files that he'd been going through before his phone rang and put them away in preparation for the impending meeting. A small part of him hoped that the meeting was not a signal that Director Travis had decided they were acclimated enough to be sent on a mission. While he knew that he had a duty to perform, Ezra wasn't quite sure he was really ready to return to field duty. With a sigh, he closed the desk drawer and followed the others into the small briefing room.
Chris smiled at the team as they seated themselves around the table. "Well," he began. "Director Travis has decided that we've had enough time to get to know each other and wants us to go on our first mission."
Ezra looked down at the tabletop; then asked, "What sort of mission?"
"We're to ascertain if an group operating in France is part of the Anti-intelligence Organization and, if they are, to neutralize the problem."
"So," Vin said. "We're off to France. Sounds like fun."
Chris glared at Vin and said, "We ain't goin' there to see the sites, little brother. We're going to work."
"I know, I know," Vin replied. "Don't get you shorts in a bunch, Cowboy. I just meant that I was past ready for a little action, is all."
Chris nodded and explained, "We leave in three hours. You have enough time to get home, pack an overnight bag and get to Dulles."
Ezra nodded and said, "We'll get the particulars to read on the flight?"
"I'll give you the file when we get to the airport," Chris replied, nodding once.
"Are we done?" Ezra asked.
Chris frowned at the question. "Yeah," he said uncertainly. "Yeah, you're done. Go get packed. I'll see you at the airport."
Ezra nodded and strode briskly from the room.
"Where's he rushin' off to?" JD asked.
"Lives in Alexandria," Vin replied. "Might be he needs a little longer to get there and then to Dulles."
Chris shrugged. "It's possible." As the group headed out of the briefing room, they found Ezra seated at his desk, talking on the phone.
Chris stopped beside him and asked, "You gonna go pack?"
"I have a bag in my vehicle already packed, but I needed to make some...preparations before we depart," Ezra said, covering the mouthpiece with one hand.
Chris nodded and followed the rest of his team out of the office, leaving Ezra to make his "preparations." Catching up to Vin, he said, "You can ride with me to the airport."
Vin nodded. "Figured," he said succinctly.
"See you at home," Chris said, nodding and heading to his car. Chris paused and glanced at JD and Buck, as the two climbed into Buck's old pickup truck. "You guys want me to pick you up?" he asked.
JD nodded and Buck said, "Sure thing, pard. Then I wouldn't have to leave Ole Blue at the airport."
"Thanks, Chris," JD said, climbing into the passenger side of the truck.
"Welcome," Chris replied.
***
Two hours later, the team had gathered at the airport and were waiting for their flight's boarding call. Ezra sat off by himself, reading the file Chris had given him and talking on the phone.
"I wonder who he keeps calling," Buck commented softly.
Josiah frowned and called to the undercover agent. "Who are you talking to, Son?"
Ezra looked up, eyes wide in surprise and said, "I am trying to reach someone before we depart, but she is not answering her phone."
"You gotta cancel a date?" Buck asked, eyes gleaming.
Ezra sighed. "No, Mr Wilmington," he grumbled, hitting the redial on his cell phone. "I have to..." he stopped as the person he was seeking picked up. "Mary!" he said softly. "I have to leave town suddenly. Would be willing to...You would! Thank you so very much, Mary. I shall make it up to you. I will. Goodbye," Ezra said, hanging up. Sighing deeply, he locked his eyes on the file in his hands.
"Leave it," Chris warned Buck, as the ladies man's mouth opened to ask a question.
Buck frowned and nodded slightly.
By the time the boarding call was made, all seven members of the team had read over their information packets and were ready for the mission before them. Ezra sat beside Josiah and whispered, "Wake me before we land?"
Josiah nodded and said, "Sleep poorly?"
Ezra chuckled and shook his head. "Flying makes me...nervous. I took a tranquilizer. I should sleep throughout the flight, but I want to be awake when we land."
"Okay," Josiah replied.
As Ezra leaned against the back of the seat and closed his eyes, Josiah whispered to Nathan, "Did you know he took tranquilizers before he flew?"
Nathan nodded and replied, "It was in his medical file. We talked about it a few weeks ago. Nothing to worry about."
Josiah nodded and glanced at the already sleeping southerner. At the moment, with all the usual tension gone from his face, Ezra looked far younger than his years. Josiah shook his head and pulled a book from his carryon bag. Opening to the center of the book, he began reading silently.
Vin and JD had pulled out a pair of gameboys and were amusing themselves by seeing who could score the highest on Tetras. Buck was paging through a magazine and Nathan was reading through the medical files of his teammates. Chris was writing furiously in a notebook on his lap.
The flight went without incident, until they were nearly to France. Just as Josiah was about to wake Ezra, the southerner came awake with a gasp and glanced around frantically.
"Are you alright?" JD asked softly.
Ezra nodded and said, "I...It was just a bad dream. I'm fine."
"I was about to wake you anyway," Josiah said softly. "The pilot just announced that we'll be making our final approach soon."
Ezra nodded and said weakly, "Thank you." From that moment, until the wheels touched down, Ezra white-knuckled the arms of his seat. When the plane stopped, he mumbled, "I hate flying! It's not natural that anything this big should be in the air."
Josiah nodded and said, "We gotta go to the Embassy and check in."
Ezra nodded and replied, "Thank you, Josiah."
"For what?"
"Not laughing at me when I started talking to myself."
Chris nodded. "It's okay, Ezra. Everyone is afraid of something. I don't like heights, for Vin it's closed in places. Don't worry about it. At least yours almost make sense."
Ezra smirked and nodded. "Let's get our baggage and head for the Embassy," he said softly, changing the subject.
The others agreed and headed down to the baggage claim area.
***
The men arrived at the US Embassy a while later. Chris talked to the Deputy Station Chief and got them an area in the offices that they could use as a base of operations. As his men gathered around the small table, Chris said, "Thomas has agreed to allow us access to whatever personnel or equipment we might need while we're here."
"Big of him," Vin mumbled sarcastically.
Ezra smiled and said, "We've all read through the information packets, so what is our plan of action, oh esteemed leader."
Chris rolled his eyes. "First, since we think we know where to find them, Buck and JD will set up surveillance. If they look suspicious, we'll decide the best way to go forward."
"What are our choices?" Nathan asked.
Chris shrugged. "We can have Ezra attempt to infiltrate their operation..."
"I'd have to know a lot more about them than I do now to do that," Ezra replied.
"Or," Chris went on. "We could go in with guns blazing."
Vin frowned. "Have to know the layout of their base better, if'n we do that."
"We don't even know that they have a base," Josiah reminded. "They may just meet at the club and discuss their plans."
Chris nodded and added, "Either action will have to wait until we know for sure that these are the people we're after. They may not be anything more than...a group of friends that gets together every once in a while."
As his team nodded, Chris turned to Buck and said, "I want you and JD to set up surveillance outside the club they're meeting in." At Buck's nod, Chris turned to Ezra and said, "I want you inside the club. Watch them, but don't make contact until we know it's necessary and try to be as unobtrusive as possible."
Ezra nodded and turned to JD. "Is there some device that might allow us to listen in on their conversations?"
JD nodded. "I could slip a miniature listening device into...the center piece on their usual table."
"Give it to me," Ezra replied. "I'll get it there."
JD nodded and Chris locked eyes with the southerner. "Be careful, Ezra," he cautioned.
"I always am," Ezra replied, dimpling at his leader.
***
While JD and Buck sat out in the surveillance van, listening to the conversation their suspects were having inside the club, Ezra sat inside and watched the group. Chris and Vin had positioned themselves not far from the southerner.
Ezra found it oddly comforting to think that Chris was concerned enough about his safety to set himself up inside as a form of backup. Ezra shook his head and tried to concentrate on the job at hand. For some reason, his mind kept going back to the fact that this was the first mission he'd been on since Mandy's death. What if he wasn't ready yet?
A woman entered the club and made her way over to the group Ezra was watching. As she turned to sit down, the southerner got a good look at her and realized that he knew her. Cursing softly, Ezra ducked his head, hoping she didn't see him as he'd seen her.
"What's wrong?" Chris asked the southerner through the communication device hidden in his left ear.
"I know her!" Ezra hissed.
Chris cursed softly and Vin said, "Heads up, she's going your way."
Ezra glanced up just as the woman in question got to his table. "Ezra!" she said. "It is you!"
"Hello," the southerner replied. "How are you, Meredith."
The woman sat down and said, "I'm fine and yourself?"
"Can't complain," Ezra shrugged.
"What are you doing in France?" Meredith asked, pushing her long blonde hair out of her face.
Ezra smiled and said, "Unfortunately, I am here on business."
"Still trying to get people to invest in one of your ventures?" Meredith teased.
"You laugh," Ezra scolded playfully. "But you will be sorry when one is successful and you did not join in on it."
Chris listened to the conversation and whispered, "Any wonder why they tapped him for undercover?"
"Not anymore," Vin replied.
"But what brings you here?" Chris heard Ezra ask.
Meredith shrugged. "I've got a job with a big firm and they sent me here for business too. I met a guy and decided to stay. That was two years ago."
"Ah," Ezra replied. "And would one of those gentlemen be your beau?" Ezra asked, pointing over to the suspects.
Meredith smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Darin, he's the one in the blue shirt."
Ezra looked over and noted that Darin was all-but-glaring at him. He smiled tightly and said, "Darin seems a little put out by our conversation, my dear. Perhaps we should cut this short."
Meredith frowned and glanced at her boyfriend; then said, "Yeah, I guess. Listen, Ezra, give me your number, maybe I'll call you later."
Ezra smiled and handed her a small business card emblazoned with the ace of spades. "That's my cell phone number," he explained.
Meredith nodded and, smiling again, stood and went back over to the group.
"Smooth," Chris complimented softly.
Ezra smiled and said, "Thank you."
The night went uneventfully and the club closed for the evening without any sign that the group was participating in any form of dangerous activities.
Ezra met up with the others at their hotel and yawned deeply. "I'm tired," he complained.
Chris nodded. "Looks like maybe this mission is a bust. They seem harmless enough."
The others nodded in agreement and began to head to their separate rooms, when Ezra's cell phone rang.
Ezra frowned and picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" he said softly.
"Oh, Ezra, I'm scared!"
"Meredith?" Ezra asked. "What's wrong? Where are you?"
Meredith sobbed and said, "I'm at my boyfriend's apartment. I heard him and one of his friends talking. I didn't think he was capable of the things they were saying."
"What kinds of things, Meredith?" Ezra asked, signaling JD to get a trace on the call.
JD nodded and pulled out his own phone to do just that, while Ezra continued the conversation with Meredith.
"They were talking about hurting people. They were going to wait outside the US Embassy for someone named Thomas Jones and grab him and...the things they said they were going to do...Ezra I'm scared."
"Do they know you overheard them?"
"N-no."
Ezra nodded and said, "Can you get out of there, do you think?"
"I...I think so," the distraught woman answered.
"Good," Ezra replied. "Think of some excuse and get out of there. Don't go home, go to the Embassy, you'll be safe there."
"Okay, Ezra," Meredith answered softly.
JD nodded and Ezra hung up. "It's them," he confirmed. "Meredith happened to hear them planning to snatch the Deputy Station Chief."
Chris frowned and said, "I'll get protection on Thomas; then we'll move out. Think she'll be safe, Ezra?"
Ezra shook his head. "I told her to go to the Embassy. I dearly hope she'll be alright."
"Could it be a set up," Buck asked suspiciously.
Ezra shook his head again. "She's incapable of that kind of subterfuge, Mr. Wilmington."
"You sure?" he pressed.
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "I have to know how to read people, Buck. I'd be dead if I trusted the wrong person. Meredith Younge is simply not capable of that kind of deceit."
"Good enough for me," Josiah said sagely.
The team quickly got ready to head out to the address that JD was able to obtain from the phone trace. Meredith had made their job easy for them by calling them from a phone in her boyfriend's apartment.
As they reached the apartment, Chris glanced around at the team and nodded. When each of his men nodded in return, he knocked on the door. "Darin Anderson? Can I have a word with you?"
Chris's polite request was met with a curse and he mumbled, "Nice didn't work. So we try not nice." Chris kicked the door in and held his weapon at the ready. Nathan and Josiah covered him on both sides. Vin was outside, on the roof of the neighboring building, in case his abilities as a sniper were needed. Buck and JD were stationed watching the fire escape, so the suspects could not flee through that route.
The other four men began making a sweep of the apartment. Josiah secured the right, Nathan the left and Ezra took up the rear, making sure no one sneaked up behind one of the others.
Josiah turned to secure the back bedroom, while Nathan went to check the bathroom. Chris continued forward toward the living room and kitchen, with Ezra several steps behind him. The four operatives knew that there was at least one man in the apartment, but so far they'd found no one.
Suddenly, Ezra saw a flash of movement in the kitchen. Without thinking, he shouted and pushed Chris out of the way as a gunshot sounded. The noise brought Nathan and Josiah rushing back to the scene, shouting at Darin Anderson to drop the weapon. Seeing that he was outgunned, the young man wisely complied.
Chris sat up and said, "Everyone alright? Anyone hit?"
Nathan shook his head. "I'm fine," he replied, cuffing the suspect.
Josiah glanced at Chris and said, "Blood?"
"Not mine," Chris replied. With some trepidation, he turned and glanced at Ezra. "You alright?" he asked in concern.
Ezra sat up and said softly, "He got my leg. I'm fine."
Josiah took their suspect, while Nathan knelt down and checked the injured man. "You're gonna need to go to the hospital," he said softly. "The bullet's still in there."
Ezra sighed and said, "Very well, Mr. Jackson."
"You go with him," Chris said unnecessarily. Nathan nodded and Chris turned to the suspect. "Where are your friends?" he growled.
"They left," Darin replied. "You're too late, by tomorrow they'll have killed Jones and they'll come after you next."
Chris glowered at the man and said, "Get him out of here and down to the local jail."
Josiah nodded and led the suspect out of the room. Vin came in as Josiah, Nathan and Ezra left and Chris asked, "You see what happened?"
Vin nodded curtly. "Ezra saw the gun and shoved you out the way. You okay, Cowboy?"
"Stupid..." Chris mumbled. "He could have been killed! What was he thinking?"
Vin shrugged. "Can't tell ya that, pard."
Chris sighed and shook his head. "Let's get this scene processed and get back to the Embassy, we got work to do."
***
The rest of the mission went like clockwork. The other members of the cell showed up and tried to snatch Jones and were neatly apprehended. Once their mission was completed, the remaining members of the Special Intelligence team gathered at the local hospital to check on their injured comrade.
"How ya feelin'?" Vin asked gently, as Ezra's eyes fluttered open.
"Tired," Ezra replied, his southern accent thicker than normal. "Chris?"
"I'm fine," Chris said softly. "Thanks to you."
Ezra smiled and said, "When am I gonna go home?"
"They'll let you out tomorrow," Nathan replied. "When we get back stateside, an Agency physician will have to check you out, but you won't have to be hospitalized there at all."
Ezra smirked and said, "Phone?"
"Who you gotta call?" Buck asked.
Ezra shook his head. "Personal," he answered softly.
"It can wait until you feel better," Chris said softly. "You need to rest."
Ezra looked for a moment like he was going to argue; then sighed and leaned into the pillows. After a few moments, he was sound asleep.
"He'll be okay," Chris said, seeking confirmation from Nathan.
Nathan nodded. "He lost a lot of blood, so he'll be weak for a while, but there's no reason why he won't make a full recovery."
Chris nodded and turned back to the sleeping man and sighed. Once they got back to Washington, Chris would have to make sure Ezra knew how much his actions were appreciated. He was also determined to find out just who Ezra kept calling and why.
End