Hunted: Day 2

“Where’s Vin?” Buck asked as he shook Ezra awake. He had just returned from his shift and it was time for Ezra’s.

“He’s scouting out the area.” Chris supplied the answer as he stoked the fire higher for the morning meal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The longhaired mountain lion stealthily made his way around the enemies’ camp. Smells and sounds assailed his senses. Boosting himself into a pine, he surveyed the hunters. It was still fairly early and most of the camp wasn’t even awake yet. He took note of the enemies’ number, their strengths and their possible weaknesses. But it was their supplies that caught his interest. . .especially the large plastic container to one side of the hunters’ camp.

‘Stupid bastards. Leaving their water unguarded like that.’

Vin smirked as his mind whirled with the possibilities.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vin strolled back into the Seven’s camp, catching Ezra’s eye.

“Found the Warden’s camp.” At his friend’s raised eyebrow, Vin continued. “Gotta plan.” Ezra’s devious smile matched and complimented Vin’s. After a few quick whispers, both men went off to prepare.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“All right! What are you two up to?” Buck’s loud voice startled Ezra so badly that the Southerner actually jumped. But he recovered quickly.

“Ahh, Mr. Wilmington, I am sure I have utterly no idea. . .”

“Save it, Ez. We saw you two whisperin’. We know you’re up to something.” JD unconsciously mimicked Buck’s akimbo stance.

Ezra sighed then quickly outlined Vin’s plan.

Buck looked at Ezra in confusion. “But how are you gonna. . .”

“Do not worry, Mr. Wilmington. Leave everything to me.” Ezra’s smile did not bode well for their pursuers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, Ez. How is this gonna work?” JD came to a crouch beside the still working Southerner.

Ezra looked up from the bowl of crushed plants with a smile. “This, my young friend, is Sconvoltae budellae.” At JD’s confused sigh, Ezra let out a mournful, but patient, sigh. The educational system was sorely lacking. “In the wrong proportions it is deadly, but in the right proportions it will cause severe cramping. Enough to make you wish you were dead.”

JD’s doubt was written all over his face. “You sure?”

Ezra’s smile was devilishly mischievous, “JD. Have you ever wondered why I was evicted from all those boarding schools?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buck and JD kept watch as the masterminds of the plan carefully made their way towards the water container. JD barely smothered his laugh as the two men dumped Ezra’s entire concoction into the water reservoir. Just as silently, Vin and Ezra made their way back to their friends.

“How long?” Buck whispered.

“The plant works quickly once ingested. But the down side is that we must wait for them to ingest it.”

“Well, they ain’t had breakfast yet.”

The ATF agents didn’t have long to wait. Just as Vin predicted, the hunters used copious amounts of water for their morning coffee. Their generator driven Mr. Coffee machine quickly churned the brew but wasn’t successful at fully filtering the water. Vin, Ezra, Buck, and JD watched as the hunters passed the tainted coffee amongst themselves.

Soon moans filled the air and the four men exchanged triumph grins.

“Let’s get the hell outta here!” Buck quietly declared. The others nodded.

“WARDEN! OVER THERE!”

“Aww, shit,” Vin hissed. Somehow, they had been discovered.

The four men ran as the unaffected hunters grabbed their weapons and gave chase. Buck and Vin exchanged looks and the ATF agents agreed: split up. Buck and Ezra veered off towards the river, while Vin and JD headed for the mountain face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“But sir!”

“I don’t care! I will deal with your officials, just get that chopper refueled and ready to go!” Travis ran a tired hand over equally tired eyes. Another twenty-four hours had passed and they still hadn’t found Team Seven. The day before, a Canadian mountie outpost had reported a strange signal coming out of the British Columbia Rocky Mountain range. Flying to the source of the signal had yielded negative results. Now he and several Canadian mounties were getting ready to do another sweep of the area surrounding the deserted town, hoping to find Team Seven. Travis had a bad feeling and wanted his men found as soon as humanly possible.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vin could’ve sworn that he and JD had lost their pursuers but as they rounded the corner, they were stopped dead in their tracks. Before them stood a black clad figure. But it sure as hell wasn’t Chris Larabee.

The slim Asian man bowed in Vin’s direction. “I am Shaolin.”

Vin’s eyes widened slightly. “JD, go over there.” He gave the younger man a push to emphasize his point.

“But, Vin!” But Vin wasn’t paying attention to him. All of the sharpshooter’s attention was focused on the Asian man.

Vin bowed. “Vin Tanner.”

“KEEE-YAAAHHH!”

Tanner barely had time to dodge as the foot struck his shoulder. Losing his balance, Vin stumbled backward. He barely managed to stop himself from falling before his attacker’s fists and feet began their assault.

JD watched in horror as the Asian rained blow after blow onto his friend. However, JD soon had his own problems as he saw more hunters coming. He scrambled up into a tree, concealing himself with its low-lying branches. Dunne grinned as the idiots positioned themselves underneath him.

“Hey, boys! Looking for me?” JD swung down, catching both men unaware. His knees caught them in the back and his weight forced the two men to heavily hit the ground. JD bounced up in time to see more coming. He threw a look at Vin and was stunned. He was still fighting the Asian guy. Vin usually finished his opponents off quickly. . .it never took this long!

Turning his attention back to the advancing hunters, Dunne’s eyes widened as he realized exactly how many more hunters were coming their way. With a determined set of his jaw, JD made a decision. Pulling the slightly unfamiliar Glock that had been supplied by the Warden out of his waistband, JD took careful aim.

BANG!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buck and Ezra were almost to the river when the hunters caught up with them. Ezra stole a look at this mustached friend. Buck’s blue eyes had a familiar gleam in them. With Ezra’s answering smile, both men turned simultaneously.

Surprised by their sudden stop, the hunters were stunned long enough for the two men to attack. Buck took the larger fatigued covered man while Ezra, the smaller knife-wielding one.

Buck found himself taking on a guy bigger than Josiah with a murderous light in his eyes.

“So you’re Wilmington.”

Buck ducked the punch. “Do I know you?”

“Larabee.” The guy blocked Wilmington’s fist.

“Sorry. . .you ain’t Larabee. You’re definitely prettier.” Buck grunted as the guy’s fist connected with his abdomen.

The giant snarled, “Tell him the Colonel said hello.” His fist connected this time with Buck’s head. It was the last thing Wilmington heard before blacking out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Ezra was having just as much trouble with his opponent. The maniac swung his long arm in wide arcs and Standish had to jump to avoid the nasty looking blade. Behind him, Ezra could hear the breaking of the river against the sharp rocks. He risked a glanced at the river. It was much to close for comfort.

Looking back up into his enemy’s eyes, Ezra knew he had to chance it. But before he could act, he felt his body being propelled backwards, his attacker’s arms firmly locked around his waist and then the icy cold waters rushed over his head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The shot, as JD intended, went wide. It barely nicked the fighter’s arm, but it gave Vin the advantage. With a quick jab to the man’s jaw, Vin laid him flat.

“C’mon!” Vin grabbed JD and ran.

“Vin, I’m sorry about interfering.”

“Don’t worry about it, just keep going.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BANG!

The Colonel’s head snapped up at the sound of the gunshot. It was much too close to have come from one of his “pack.”

“Let him go!” The order was issued from a man almost as large as himself and brandishing a gun. The colonel looked at the unconscious man that he gripped in one hand and then back at the man he knew to be Sanchez. He grinned and lifted Wilmington higher.

“Put him--ooff!” Josiah grunted as Buck’s full weight was thrown into his arms. Lifting his head, Josiah watched as the mercenary made good his escape.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ezra fought for breath and for his life. The cold rushing waters swirled around him disorienting him, making it difficult to keep track of the knife’s long blade. The hunter kept his grip on the Southerner and used his free hand to strike with his deadly blade.

Standish’s mouth opened in a silent scream as the blade sliced through his arm. Even through the haze of pain, he fought and through the swirling water, he saw his chance. He knew he would only have a few seconds before they both hit the sunken log that blocked their path. Ezra turned, pulling and pushing his foe into position.

The guy never knew what hit him. With his back to the sunken log, the man didn’t have time to react as the water worked for Standish and slammed his body into the underwater obstacle.

Ezra pushed himself upward and surfaced with a desperate gasp. Hands pulled at him, causing him to panic and to struggle against them.

“Ezra! Ezra! Calm down!” Nathan’s voice filtered through the roar in his ears and instantly calmed the Southerner.

“Lord, Ezra. Just can’t stay on the nice dry ground and fight like a normal person, can ya?” Nathan shook his head as he quickly inspected the nearly drowned undercover agent. The ex-medic winced at the sight of the deep gash in his friend’s arm. Glancing around, Nathan spotted what he needed. Grabbing a handful of bluish red juniper berries, Nathan smashed the fragrant fruits and quickly applied the entire mass to Ezra’s wound.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, Vin?” JD ran to catch up with his older friend. Vin jerked his chin upward, it meant “What’s up?” on the streets of Purgatorio.

“That guy. . .the one you were fighting. He called himself Shaolin, right?”

“Yeah, but he ain’t no Shaolin.”

“How d’ya know?”

“Shaolin are honorable. They would never hunt somebody for fun.”

“Oh.” JD fell to musing but his attention shifted when Vin wrapped a strong hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks, Kid, for saving my life.” At JD’s wide eyes, Vin smiled grimly. “I don’t think I could’ve taken him.”

JD was so surprised that he never noticed the darkly clad figure watching them from a high vantage point. But Vin did. With only a nod to Chris to indicate that they were both okay, he turned his attention back to his young friend. “You’re kidding! But you’re the best!”

“Yeah, but he’s better.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“The Colonel?” Chris stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Yeah, big dude. Really short blonde hair.” Buck winced as Nathan once again checked his head.

“How big?”

Buck nodded in Josiah’s direction. “Maybe bigger than Josiah. He had military written all over him.”

Chris nodded. “Only person that big and military I know is Snider.”

“Snider?” Vin asked as he sipped his dinner coffee.

“Used to be in my SEAL team. Got drummed out though…narcotics charges.” Chris stared thoughtfully into the fire.

“Why’s he got a grudge against you?” Nathan queried as he nodded his satisfaction with Buck’s healing head and then moved onto Standish.

“Wait. Let me guess. You’re the one that brought those charges against him,” Josiah grinned as Chris sent him a smirk, it was answer enough.

“Dang, Josiah, how’d you know?” JD was impressed.

“Shit, kid, don’t need to be a profiler to figure out that one. Chris is the only person I know who could tick off Mother Teresa.” Everyone laughed at Buck’s wisecrack, even Chris.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Warden was getting impatient. Already two confrontations and only his people had been taken out of the game. They were hunters, not survivalists. They wouldn’t last much longer in the wild without water. They had underestimated their prey and were paying the price. The “Magnificent Seven” had to be eliminated…and quickly. When the Warden’s eyes focused on a blonde head, he smiled.

“Coyote!”

The blonde head near the campfire turned at the codename.

“Did you bring your toys?” An enthusiastic nod was the Warden’s answer.

The Warden smiled slightly. “Then why don’t you go play?”

The wide, crazed blue eyes sent shivers through many of the Warden’s ‘hunting pack’.