The tension that hung in the atmosphere assaulted Chris as he stepped off the elevator. It had been the same for the two weeks since Vin had left, and Chris knew that everyone felt the same. It seemed strange walking past Vin's empty office.
"Chris."
Chris turned when he heard his oldest friend's voice, noticing that JD, Josiah and Nathan had all gathered around as well, "What is it, Buck?"
"We were just wondering if you'd heard from Vin," Buck said.
Taking a deep breath Chris sighed, "No, I haven't heard anything." Chris had been grateful that his friends hadn't pushed him and given him some breathing space after Vin's departure. Although he had known that eventually they'd need to ask, and Chris was surprised that it had actually taken them a couple of weeks. "No-one here has spoken to him, have they?"
The four men shook their heads forlornly.
"What about you?" Chris had noticed Ezra appear and lean in the doorway to his office listening.
Ezra's demeanour suggested that he wasn't really interested, "Mr Tanner doesn't seem to think highly of any of us. He certainly hasn't bothered contacting me either."
Chris longed to tell his team that it wasn't Vin's fault, and that the sharpshooter would have communicated with them if he could. In fact, Chris was regretting not telling them about the assignment from the beginning. Every time Chris brought the subject up with the Judge, which was daily, Travis had been adamant that Chris not try to get in contact with Vin and to wait until he was back in town before telling Team 7 the truth. Chris had argued how unfair it was putting his team through this much distress. However, the Judge was aware that some of the bounty hunters had contacted their sources in the FBI and he felt it would be best to continue as they were. "I wish I could tell you more," Chris mumbled as he escaped to his office.
The small group of men separated and shuffled off to their own offices, none of them knew what to say, and anything that was said wouldn't make them feel any better anyway.
Ezra let the door shut behind him, as soon as he'd heard Vin's name mentioned he'd stepped within earshot, telling himself that it was just idle curiosity and nothing more. However, Ezra knew better, his pulse had quickened as he imagined Chris telling them that Vin was back and would be in later. Every time the elevator door opened, his phone rang, or there was a knock on his door, Ezra's spirits would lift hoping it was Vin. It never was, and Ezra couldn't understand why he was reacting this way, Vin had hurt him and Ezra shouldn't care if he ever saw the sharpshooter again. But he did, and it didn't seem like Ezra would ever be able to stop aching for Vin.
* * * * * * * Chris threw his pen on the desk, he'd had enough of work for one day. In fact, he hadn't gotten much work done for the past four weeks. Neither had the rest of his team, although there were only the occasional questions or comments, Chris knew that Vin was still on everyone's mind.
None of them could take much more of not knowing, Chris thought as he waited for the elevator as he planned to go home a little earlier. Deciding that his team could also use a reprieve, Chris turned around ready to give the others the rest of the day off, when JD came tearing out of his office.
"Vin's downstairs," JD almost shouted when he saw Chris.
Suddenly Buck, Nathan and Josiah also appeared in front of the elevators, everyone staring at JD.
"He bought in a bounty," JD explained, a friend of JD's had recognised Tanner when he'd walked in, and called the kid to let him know that the ex-agent was in the building. JD couldn't get out of his office fast enough when he'd heard and was glad that Chris was already at the elevators, so that he didn't have to waste any time getting down there.
"He's a bounty hunter again?" Nathan queried as the doors opened.
Chris shrugged slightly as everyone filed into the elevator. "Are you coming?" Chris asked Ezra, he'd seen the undercover agent jump towards his office door when JD had relayed the news, but then Ezra seemed to realise what he was doing and held back.
"If everyone else is going, I guess I'll tag along," Ezra muttered as he walked passed Chris.
* * * * * * * Six men stopped abruptly as they clambered towards one of the counters on the first floor. All of them were taken aback, partly by the mean looking guy staring at them to Vin's left, and partly by how terrible Vin himself looked. He seemed to have grown older in the four weeks he was away, his expression was set in hard lines, and his whole attitude seemed to reflect the menacing quality of the other bounty hunter next to him.
Chris looked as though he would either tear the guy's head off or, at the very least, pull Vin as far away from him as possible. JD, who had wanted to bound right up to the sharpshooter and ask a million questions, looked as if he were about to cry. Buck, Josiah and Nathan were somewhere between Chris and JD's reactions. While Ezra had to fight the urge to touch Vin, he'd missed the sharpshooter more than he'd like to admit in the past four weeks, but now that Vin was standing just a few steps away Ezra could barely control his longing.
Vin followed his associate's line of sight, and found himself looking at his six teammates. There was no nod, slight smile, lift of the hand, or any kind of acknowledgment whatsoever. Vin's eyes looked as if they'd frozen over, and it seemed as if he was staring through them instead of at them.
"I understand Jacobson was bought in dead," the clerk made it sound more like a statement than a question.
"Tanner's kill," the guy hit Vin in the shoulder as he said it.
Vin directed a bored gaze at the agent, but didn't say anything.
"Self defence," the other bounty hunter explained and then reached out to collect the cheque.
Vin didn't bother glancing back at Team 7, just walked out as if he hadn't recognised anyone let alone spotted any close friends.
* * * * * * * "I want the file on that bounty," Chris said so gruffly that the clerk jumped and couldn't reach for it fast enough.
"The bounty was bought in a couple of days ago," the clerk informed them as he handed the file over. "Those two were just in to collect the cheque."
Nobody acknowledged what was said as they moved away from the desk, gathering around to watch Chris flick through the file.
Stopping when he found what he was after, Chris paraphrased, "He was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest. However, he was so badly beaten, he probably would have died from those injuries eventually."
"That guy lied," JD blurted. "Vin wouldn't do that."
"He didn't deny it," Nathan mumbled.
"So what?" Buck defended. "Maybe he couldn't."
"I have to see the Judge," Chris stated. "I want Vin pulled out of there now."
"What?" Josiah asked. "What do mean pulled out?"
Chris sighed, this isn't exactly how he'd planned on telling them, "A lot of bounty's have been coming in dead, in much the same state as this one. Apparently this specific group of bounty hunters claim that their marks end up fighting against being brought in, and then get shot in self-defence. The FBI also suspect these bounty hunters are stealing money, drugs and guns. The Judge needed someone to go undercover..."
Ezra stared at Chris stunned as he listened to their leader relaying the events of the past few months. He'd known that something was making Vin act so uncharacteristic, but Ezra hadn't looked for the charade, and certainly hadn't realised Chris' involvement, or the Judge's for that matter.
As Chris spoke, everything became much more clear. Ezra wished that Vin had told him about this after they'd been together, he would have understood. He'd been an undercover agent for a long time, he wouldn't have interfered with this assignment. Well, besides trying to convince Vin not to do it, and probably following the sharpshooter wherever he went.
Ezra knew all about pushing people away, it seemed easier to complete a difficult assignment without worrying that they were placing themselves in danger trying to help. This was particularly true when there was a strong emotional attachment with someone, the first instinct was to try and stop the relationship at the beginning to spare further pain in the future. Ezra remembered how Vin had taken him with such passion, and at the same time how safe he had felt in the bond they shared. Vin had pushed harder after that night, and the undercover agent realised it was because Vin hadn't wanted to cause Ezra any more heartache and anxiety than he thought he already had.
"We're coming to see the Judge with you," Josiah stated when Chris had finished.
Nobody wanted to be left out, and Chris nodded in agreement, eager to have his friends with him when he spoke to the Judge. It had felt as though a weight had been lifted as he'd relayed the truth, and he'd been glad that they'd accepted the reasons behind the deceit.
"You should have told us weeks ago," Ezra hissed as he walked passed Chris to follow the others.
Chris ran a hand over his face. Damn, maybe his friends hadn't accepted anything, Ezra obviously hadn't.
* * * * * * * The Judge wasn't at all surprised as he looked up from his desk and saw six men standing at his door.
"We've just seen Vin," Chris stated as explanation for barging in. "He just collected a cheque for some bounty."
"I know," Travis sighed. "Jacobson was beaten then shot."
"Vin didn't..." JD began, but didn't know how to finish.
"Vin shot him," the Judge confirmed. "The agent I sent to follow them as backup witnessed Vin coming into the camp, and when he saw that there was no way this guy was going to live after what they'd done to him, Tanner shot him so that they'd have to stop. Apparently, some of the group turned on Vin because he'd interrupted their fun."
"And this agent didn't bother getting Mr Tanner out of there," Ezra voice was dangerously steely.
Travis looked at Chris, "We knew this was going to be a difficult assignment."
"Not this difficult," Chris mumbled.
"It's almost over," the Judge said. "With Agent Tanner's help we've been gathering the evidence we need. We’re organising a raid right now, working out the best way to apprehend this whole group of bounty hunters all at once."
"We want to be there for the raid," Buck stated firmly.
"No," Judge Travis was just as firm as Buck. "We have it covered."
"At least tell us when this bust is going down," Josiah appealed. "We need to know when this will be over for Vin."
The Judge shook his head, "And then you'll ask me the location. I can understand your concern for your teammate, but you're all too close to the situation. For the time being, the less you know the better this arrest will go."
"As far as I'm concerned, we've been kept in the dark long enough," Ezra stared pointedly at Chris. "I'd always assumed that we were supposed to back each other up. One of us should have followed Vin, not some unknown agent."
"One look at Agent Tanner, and all six of you came storming in here unannounced," Travis was keeping his tone calm. "Can you honestly tell me you would have behaved more rationally if you'd been there."
"That’s not fair," Nathan objected.
"We weren't given the choice," Ezra added.
"I have a lot of work to do," the Judge looked back down on his desk indicating that the meeting was over. "If you gentlemen will excuse me."
Buck opened him mouth to protest, but then noticed the expression on Chris' face and changed his mind.
Chris knew it was useless, he'd been trying to talk to the Judge about Vin for more than a month and knew when Travis wasn't listening anymore.
As Ezra walked passed him, Chris could feel the anger that was emanating from the undercover agent.
* * * * * * * Chris almost smiled when he noticed that his friends hadn't moved since JD announced the call from Judge Travis. The five men hadn't spoken while Chris was on the phone, just waited quietly, hungry for any news on their missing teammate.
"The raid went down this morning," Chris began.
Everyone collectively let out the breath they'd been holding, it was finally over.
"Was anybody hurt?" Nathan asked.
"There was some gunfire but, besides one of the bounty hunters, nobody was injured," Chris said. "It will still be a few days before Vin comes back to work, the Judge wants him to talk to someone first."
They all realised that by someone, Chris meant a psychiatrist. Both Vin's physical and mental health would need to be cleared before he could resume his duties.
"Is that all the information?" Ezra wanted to know. When he'd heard that Vin was now safe, Ezra's first instinct had been to shout for joy and his green eyes had shone with relief. Now, however, he was back to glaring at their leader, "Or is there something you're only planning on telling us four weeks from now."
"I hadn't finished," Chris stated, glancing at Ezra. "Apparently, one of the other agents had to stop Vin from shooting some guy named Peters, even though this guy was already unarmed."
"Oh no," Josiah mumbled.
"Poor Vin," JD said.
Ezra hated hearing that Vin was, and would probably continue, hurting this way. Not only hadn't Ezra been able to comfort and hold Vin, but none of the sharpshooter's friends had been there to offer support either. "Yes well, this whole assignment has been poorly handled from the beginning."
Chris didn't know what to say, as he looked down to avoid the accusing eyes and escaped to his office. Ezra was right, Chris should have handled this better. He should have insisted that all of Team 7 be involved, and he should have told his friends what was going on upfront. He certainly shouldn't have listened to Travis or Tanner when they'd insisted that Vin infiltrate this group alone.
"That was a little harsh," Josiah observed, turning to look at Ezra.
"Yeah Ez," Buck agreed. "Chris was just following orders, besides even if we'd known, Vin would still have been the one to go in."
Nathan nodded, "That's right and communication would still have been cut off. Travis didn't even tell Chris where Vin was or when the bust was going down. Nothing would have changed."
"Except for the fact that Mr Tanner would have been able to leave without believing that his friends were angry or disappointed in him," Ezra stated before storming into his own office.
* * * * * * * "Ezra," Chris was surprised to see the undercover agent already in Vin's apartment.
"Mr Tanner's not here," Ezra stated coldly, barely looking at Chris.
"Do you know where he is?" Chris asked, he really wanted to make sure that Vin was alright.
"No, I don't," Ezra also needed to be close to Vin, but as usual the sharpshooter was off on his own, and instead Ezra was talking to Chris. "Although, even if I had some information, I'm not sure I'd divulge it."
"When are you gonna stop with that?" Chris was getting exasperated. "We're both here because we're worried about Vin."
"I'm sorry, I thought keeping your teammates in the dark and working separately were now standard policy," Ezra drawled.
"Maybe Vin needs to be alone for a while," Chris mused ignoring what Ezra had said.
Refusing to believe Chris was right and before he let his annoyance take complete control, the undercover agent stalked out of the apartment without another word. Ezra knew what it was like to try and cope with a difficult undercover assignment on his own, and it had been Vin who had shown him what a difference a friend's support could make. Unfortunately, returning the favour would prove difficult, especially if Vin was avoiding any contact with his friends. Although his primary reason for coming to Vin's apartment had been concern for the sharpshooter, Ezra also longed to be close to Vin, to smell his masculine scent and hear his husky Texas drawl, maybe even touch his lithe body and taste his luscious mouth. However, all of that would have to wait, Ezra knew from experience that it was impossible to locate Vin if the sharpshooter didn't want to be found.
Chris sighed as he closed the door behind him, Ezra was angry with him, and Vin had disappeared again. Chris figured that Vin was just avoiding being coddled, and that Ezra's reaction was for the same reason Chris had found himself at the apartment, concern for a friend. Hopefully, once Vin returned, everything would start getting back to normal.
* * * * * * * Vin stepped off the elevator and was faced with six expectant faces. Furtively glancing towards his office, Vin wondered whether he could make it. But then he'd expected his friends to gather around, in fact he'd tried to prepare for this moment. However, when he opened his mouth to say something, Vin found he didn't know where to start.
"We're glad you're back Vin," JD started, feeling a little awkward but unable to think of anything else to say.
Vin relaxed a little and smiled slightly, "Thanks kid."
Some of the tension in the room dissipated as everyone smiled. "Chris told us about the assignment," Nathan said.
Vin just nodded as he looked at Chris who nodded back. Vin was glad their leader had taken on the responsibility of explaining his behaviour over the past couple of months. To be honest, Vin didn't know whether he would have been able to sit down and discuss everything, especially as he'd had to lie to his friends. Vin knew he was to blame for all the worry and pain that had been evident in their expressions when he'd first walked in, and he wasn't ready to let them appease his guilt.
Vin's eyes drifted to Chris' right and rested on Ezra. Vin took a quick breath and quickly looked away. Ezra actually seemed happy to see Vin, in fact he appeared as though he'd forgiven the sharpshooter for everything he'd been through. Vin didn't want Ezra's forgiveness, especially without having asked for it.
"... and if there's anything we can do." Josiah was saying.
Vin snapped out of his musings, "Um, I don't suppose you guys finished the paperwork I left behind."
Buck chuckled, "No, but we watered your plant."
"That's a big help," Vin grinned as he shuffled to his office, carefully avoiding any eye contact with Ezra, relieved when he finally closed the door behind him.
"I think we all have some work to do," Chris stated, hoping that everyone would be able to concentrate on their jobs now that all seven of them were a unit again.
Team 7 all broke off into different directions. Ezra heading straight for Vin's office. But before he could reach out to knock on the door, Chris placed a hand on his arm, "I don't think Vin wants us to be checking on him all day."
"I'd prefer Mr Tanner to tell me that himself," Ezra hissed, he'd noticed the exchange between the two earlier and it annoyed him that Vin seemed grateful to Chris for easing some kind of burden.
"You know him," Chris sighed. "He hates being smothered, he needs space."
"Seeing as you’re the expert at handling these situations, or maybe you’re just proficient at placing people in these situations in the first place," Ezra glared at Chris as he opened the door to Vin's office and stepped inside.
Chris tried to stop Ezra once more, and stumbled into the office behind the undercover agent, "Ezra, I don't think..."
"What's going on?" Vin asked, looking up from the file he was working on.
"Mr Larabee tripped, and was just leaving," Ezra stated, hoping that Chris would just let him talk to Vin for a few minutes.
"Actually I need Ezra," Chris looked pointedly at the undercover agent.
"I'm sure whatever it is can wait, I'll come and see you after I've spoken to Mr Tanner," Ezra couldn't believe this, Vin was finally here to offer support and comfort to, and Chris wouldn't leave them alone.
"No," Chris tone was firm, he didn't want Vin to feel hassled on his first day back. The sharpshooter had chosen to remain uncontactable until he was allowed back to work, and Chris had the feeling that Vin wasn't ready for all this attention just yet. "We should both leave and let Vin get on with it."
"I'll leave," Vin said as he picked up his file. "And let you two make up your minds."
"What's the matter with you?" Chris asked as both men watched Vin enter an empty office. "Vin will come to one of us when he's ready. Is it really that important that you get to talk to him about this first?"
"How dare you even suggest this is some kind of competition to me," Ezra's eyes blazed and he clenched his fists trying to control all the emotions that had been rising to the surface since he'd first seen Vin step off the elevator.
"Okay," Chris conceded. I know you'd never use Vin that way. But what do you need to see Vin about that can't wait until a better time and place?"
"When, where and what I choose to discuss with Vin is none of your business," Ezra stated as he stalked into his office and slammed the door.
Chris stared at the empty space where Ezra had been, he'd never seen so many different emotions play over the undercover agent's usually controlled expression. His mind had been so occupied with Vin's ordeal, that Chris hadn't realised how deep Ezra's feelings for the sharpshooter ran. Chris knew that Ezra didn't let many people get close to him, so Vin's friendship had always been very important to the undercover agent. No wonder Ezra was angry right now. Instead of going after Ezra, Chris decided to give him some time to calm down.
* * * * * * * It had been a few days, and things were still awkward on the seventh floor. Vin's easy going manner hadn't quite returned, and although he seemed outwardly amiable, his manner held a warning against coming too close. Chris had attempted to broach the subject a few times with the sharpshooter, but somehow Vin always managed to evade any real issues. At least Vin was willing to let Chris try, Ezra received no such chance. In fact Chris had watched Vin take great pains in avoiding the undercover agent, which only caused Ezra to become more irritated with everything and everyone else around him, especially Chris. Something must have happened between those two that Chris had missed, and it seemed clear that it wasn't just going away.
* * * * * * *