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Chris stood watching the Dodder warehouse burn as firemen and police swarmed around him. Flames leapt into the clear night sky, roaring and hissing as they consumed the old wooden structure. The intensity of the heat reached out at him, forcing him to turn away. On either side of him, Josiah prayed in a low whisper and Nathan tried in vain to get someone...anyone to stop and give them details of what was happening. �ATF,� Jackson's voice was shaky as he finally got a police officer's attention. �We're looking for our agents. They're...� He broke off, jumping as the far end of the warehouse caved in on itself. Sparks danced amongst the flashing emergency lights like sparklers on the fourth of July. Larabee found it hard to breathe. �My men.� He focused on the officer again, trying to block out the crackling, snapping wood, the frantic shouts and the wooshing sizzle of the water hitting the flames. �Let me check.� The officer ran off before any of the three could find their voices again to stop him. They were left, starring at the horribly mesmerizing fire. How could this happen? Chris wondered. It'd been and easy case, a punishment really, handed down by AD Travis after Team 7 had acted up in a mandatory seminar on the growing trend of Tobacco sales to minors. Travis' solution was to loan the team to local law enforcement for two weeks to help with their undercover stings. They became babysitters, watching over the underage volunteers as they sent them into convenience stores to try to buy cigarettes from the proprietors. It should have been a cake-walk and instead...this. Chris felt as if the hypnotic fingers of the fire were beckoning to him, calling his name, enticing him. For a moment as his mind flashed between the burned out wreckage of his truck and the sheet covered bodies of his family five years earlier and this current monster threatening his new family�he wanted to give in. He wanted to let the flames win, to wash over him and take him away from the emotional pain with certain finality. �Chris.� He felt a hand on his bare arm. Calloused and warm. Real. He looked at Josiah, pushing the lure of the fire away. He still had family Sanchez's face was lit with a mix of joy and relief. �There.� Chris followed Josiah's gesture. Beyond two squad cars, huddled around the back of an ambulance, he found them. The rest of his team, the rest of the family. He was in motion then, storming through the chaos as if it wasn't there. Chris felt his fear melt into relief, followed quickly by a smoldering anger. JD was sitting next to Ezra in the open bay of the ambulance. A white bandage over his right eye stood out against his soot darkened skin. He saw Chris first, his eyes widening with fear. Buck, standing to the side, sensed the change in Dunne and turned. He grinned at Larabee even as he stepped protective in front of both Ezra and JD. �Chris.� There was no fear in Wilmington's voice. Ezra looked up as Vin pressed an oxygen over his nose and mouth and stepped up beside Buck. �Cowboy.� His voice was soft and light and immediately worked to slow Chris down. ?Breathe, he reminded himself. �What happened?� He kept his voice as steady as possible. They were okay, he could see it close up now. They were safe. �What are you even doing here?� There had to be a rational explanation. A valid reason for the four agents to be here when they were suppose to be casing convenience stores. Vin suddenly seemed wrapped up in explaining Ezra and JD's minimal injuries to Nathan. Buck looked at the ground and scuffed at the dirt. �Weheardtheplacewashauntedandwantedtocheckitout.� It took Chris a moment to figure out what Buck had said. �You thought it was WHAT?� He stared at his men, his mind trying to comprehend the newest twist into insanity. �Did you say...haunted?� �It's not haunted.� The girlish voice surprised Chris and he spun around. He'd forgotten about their assigned wards. The foursome stood beside the ambulance with the Sheriff. They looked surprisingly clean, unharmed. Chris ignored the dog. �It's not haunted then?� He couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out of his voice as his eyes swept over the youngsters. A preppy blond boy, a girly -girl who looked as if she ought to be at the mall, the skater dude and his dog. And "the geek" was the only description that came to mind for the dark haired girl before him. She pushed up her thick lensed, dark rimmed glasses and blinked innocently at him. �Correct, sir. It's not haunted at all.� He looked at Buck and Vin. Both men shrugged sheepishly. �They were convincing. We figured maybe Dodder was up to something hinky,� Buck explained. �Hinky.� Chris was certain now that he'd stepped into the twilight zone. He heard the girl talking again, going on about Dodder and the suspicious activity at the warehouse and night watchmen being frightened away by a supposed tobacco monster. Tobacco monster? He mouthed his dismay to Sanchez. But Josiah wouldn't look at him. Chris swore he heard Nathan start to giggle. Shaking his head, Chris refocused on the girl again only to realize the Sheriff was hanging on every word she said. �He started his own warehouse on fire?" the sheriff asked. �Yes, sir. The tobacco monster is really Old man Dodder himself. He's been storing illegal tobacco, Cuban cigars and such, to resell on the street.� Larabee gaped at the teenager then at the two deputies hauling a fuming old man, covered from head to foot in giant tobacco leaves. He looked ridiculous as the deputies pushed him towards a waiting squad car. �I would have gotten away with it, too,� Dodder spat furiously. �If not for those rotten ATF agents, those pesky kids and that...that DOG!� He glared at them all and Chris found him self following Dodder's angry gaze to the dog. The Great Dane raised its head higher and half barked, half growled in response. Larabee looked sharply at Vin. �Did that dog just answer him?� He swore it'd said 'rooby rooby doo' but he wasn't admitting that to even Tanner. �Don't ask, Cowboy.� Vin shook his head. �Just don't ask.� |
| Just Don't Ask |
| by sablecain |
| disclaimer: M7 characters belong to MGM, Trilogy and Mirisch. No copyright infringement is intended with their use. None of the other characters in this story really belong to me either, except maybe the sheriff or Dodder but I'm not claiming them. |
| This fic Answers the May 2006 "Cartoon Challenge" issued by Bern on the M7challenge list to take one of your favorite Cartoon characters and insert them into a M7 story. Cartoon characters--you've been warned. |
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