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Rating PG 13 Strong language and violence.
Disclaimer: Don’t own the seven , and Mog is the genius who began this universe, I’m just playing.
Author’s notes:  First, you probably need to have read Mog’s ‘Birthday in the Present’, which began this series and ‘Hands of Fate’ as well. Uh, do I need to say h/c and sap?? I didn’t think so.  Also, no beta, ‘cause this is just for fun, and a way to give me a break from all those other stories I reallllly need to be workin’ on.

Also, I started this story on the Dunne's Darlin's list because they definitely inspired me, but since my writing partner is not going to stop trying to make me feel guilty, I have decided to post it here also. Just remember, that although I love the rest of the guys, I'm a big Buck and JD fan. This is the first chance I've had to really express that, without someone , who shall remain nameless, hounding me about Vinjuries! Maggs is hopeless you know. *Ooops, did I think that outloud?"

***********************

“Yuck!” JD Dunned turned from the range to face the sink, where he quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with water. “What the hell did you put in that?”

Buck Wilmington grinned, sending a twinkle into his dark eyes, as he clutched at his chest in mock pain. “You don’t like it?? It was my grandma’s favorite recipe.”

“Recipe for what?” The young ATF agent took a long drink. “Paint thinner?”

“Cute,” Buck growled and pointed a sauce covered spatula at his roommate. “But if you don’t like it you can find your own dinner.  It wasn’t my idea to cook.”

“Maybe it wasn’t your idea,” JD grinned, grabbing a piece of garlic bread and heading for the couch, where he already had a game playing, “but it was definitely your turn.”

“My turn?” The tall, well-built, agent shot a glare at the retreating man before turning back to his task. “When exactly was the last time you cooked anything around here?”

“Two weeks from last Thursday,” the kid replied around a mouthful of bread. “The last time we were home.”

Wilmington thought for a moment , before a frown crossed his face. “If I remember, kid, Nathan was here and he made that strange Mexican crap that Chris likes so much.”

“Yeah,” JD rolled his eyes, “but I made the Margaritas.”

Buck removed the linguini from the stove and dumped it into a strainer over the sink. “Margaritas weren’t in any of the basic food groups the last time I checked, son.”

“I made nachos,” JD called, not taking his eyes off the hockey players.

“You opened a bag of chips and poured cheese on them. Even Ezra could have done that,” Buck countered.

Dunne grinned to himself. “No, Ezra would have ordered them from Los Diablos down the street, and had them delivered.”

Buck had to chuckle at that observation. The kid was nothing if not an expert on their odd teammates. The ‘magnificent seven’ as the tactical team had been tagged by their fellow ATF agents were definitely a strange mixture. “Take-out may actually be a
od idea for us,” Wilmington mumbled, as he took a whiff of the sauce he’d tricked JD into tasting.  Somehow, it just didn’t quite live up to what his dear departed mother had made.

Before Buck could decide if the concoction he’d just created was actually consumable, there was a knock at the door. “You expecting someone, kid?”

JD leaned his head back on the couch far enough that he was peering at an upside down version of his partner. “Nope. Cacey doesn’t even know I’m back in town.”

“Maybe it’s Winnie or Daphne,” JD bobbed his eyebrows, “or that girl you gave your phone number to at the grocery store. She could have tailed us home.” Wilmington’s propensity for attracting the opposite sex was legendary. “Josiah told you that animal  magnetism was going to get you in trouble one of these days.” Dunne finally used his feet to push off the coffee table and flipped over the low back of the sofa, landing gracefully with a small thud.

His acrobatics cost him a glare from his friend, but he merely flashed him an innocent smile before heading for the front of the apartment.  He had to kick his Nikes out of the way, not to mention the basketball that he and Buck had been shooting hoops with earlier that day, but finally he managed to open the door.  “Hey guys.” JD smiled as he motioned for Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner to come in. “I didn’t think we’d see you all ‘til tomorrow.”

“Is Buck around?” Chris asked in a tone that had the younger man’s grin fading.

JD looked from Larabee to Vin, guaging the seriousness etched on his teammates’ features. “Is something wrong?”

“Boys!” Buck greeted, coming around the corner of the wall seperating the kitchen from the hallway to the entrance. “I didn’t think you all could smell my cookin’ from the other side of town?”

“Toxic waste is easily detected,” JD smirked, ducking to avoid the punch Buck threw at him.

“We didn’t come to eat, Buck.” Chris’s reply was lacking more emotion than usual, and his old friend shot him a puzzled look. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure.” Wilmington nodded. “What’s going on?”

“Did something happen to one of the others?” JD asked, not able to hold back his worse fears any longer. He’d seen their leader this grim only a couple of times in the last three years since being picked for the elite squad, and it always meant trouble.
The youngest of the seven couldn’t imagine what could have went wrong since leaving his friends at the Denver airport that morning, but with their group, anything was possible.

“They’re fine, kid.” Vin was the one to answer, with a shadow of his normal lopsided grin. “How ‘bout you and me go and play a quick game of one on one.” The ex bounty hunter reached down and picked up the basketball near JD’s feet. “Didn’t look like there was anybody down at the court.”

Dunne run a hand through his dark hair and cast an unsure glance in Buck’s direction. He knew something was going down, and his partners, as usual, were trying to protect him from it. “Did I do somehthing wrong. Is this about the assignment in Dallas or something?”

This time Chris offered the boy a weary smile. He reached out and squeezed the youngest of his men’s shoulder. “Not a chance, kid. I just need to talk with Buck about a case.”

“Go on and show Vin some of that schooling I gave you today,” Wilmington teased, shoving the boy towards the door. “It’ll do you good to get to win for a change.”

“Who says he’s going to win?” Tanner grinned mischieviously, tossing the ball at JD.

The kid caught it and tucked it under his arm as he bent down to grab his shoes. “Abe Lincoln says I’ll win. You want to challenge him?”

Vin rolled his eyes and sighed. “You have been spending way too much time with Ezra, kid.”

Buck and Chris watched their teammates go, before making their way to the living room. “What’s up, pard? Why the secrecy?”

Larabee sighed and run a hand through his short blond hair. He knew his friend was not going to take this well. “There were two murders while we were away in Texas.”

Wilmington laughed. “Only two? That must be some kind of record.”

Chris sat down on the corner of the coffee table and faced Buck who’d eased his long form into the recliner. “They were both young men, about JD’s age. Caucasion, dark hair, athletic...”

“Where are you going with this, pard?” Wilmington’s voice held an edge to it now. “We left homicide a few years back, remember?”  Buck and Larabee had been partners for more years than he cared to remember, before Chris left the force after his family had been killed in a car bomb.

“Buck.,” Chris paused, hating what he was about to suggest, “there was a King of Hearts playing card left on each of the victims.”

“What?!” Wilmington’s face instantly drained of color. “That can’t be. Roswell’s locked up.” Buck’s voice trembled ever so slightly, but Larabee easily picked up the fear."

A fear he knew was going to double in intensity.

“Roswell escaped last week, Buck.  The authorities haven’t been able to find a trace of him.”

The dark-haired agent stood and rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Why weren’t we notified?”

“We were undercover, remember?” Chris stood too, following his friend to the glass window overlooking the park below them. “Travis caught me at home.”

Buck pressed his hands against the cool glass and leaned his forehead against it. “I better go get , JD. I don’t want him on the street.”

“He’s with Vin, Buck. He’ll watch out for him.”

Wilmington looked back up, his eyes meeting Larabee’s. “Did you tell him?”

Chris nodded. “He knows.”

“I still don’t want JD out there. It’s gettin’ dark.”

“JD’s a grown man, Buck,” Chris pointed out.

The pain that revealed itself in the other’s eyes was impossible to ignore. “So was I, Chris.” Wilmington started for the door. “So was I .”

*************************

“Okay, Vin,” JD faked left and then dribbled around Tanner’s right side, providing a perfect lay-up that put him six ahead of his
opponent. “What’s really going on with Chris and Buck?”

The ex-bounty hunter took the rebound and started to try a shot , which JD quickly blocked. The kid really was getting good.  Their normal Sunday afternoon games were beginning to pay off. But not for Vin; he was about to lose five dollars.  “Chris told
you it had to do with an old case.”

“ATF case, or Denver Special Crimes case?” Dunne snatched the ball from his friend and drove past him for another two points.

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that.” Vin grabbed the ball bounced to him and held it.

JD grinned and wiped at the sweat dripping from his face with the tail of his t-shirt. “Comes with the job, remember?”

“It has to do with a case they were involved in when they worked homicide,” Tanner replied bouncing the ball, so he wouldn’t have to look his friend in the eyes. “You want more info than that , Agent Dunne, and you’ll have to interrogate your roommate, not me.” Vin was caught off guard as JD snatched the ball and headed back for the goal.

“It must be serious for Chris to make a trip all the way over here.” JD tried to take the shot, but his teammate blocked him this time.

Vin grinned to himself, the kid really was getting good at pumping for information also.”I guess.” The lanky agent easily strode past JD to score his first two points of the game. “But maybe you should lay off the third degree until tomorrow. I think we
are going to have a group meeting with A.D. Travis.”

JD stopped and stared at his friend. “If this has to do with Special Crimes why would ‘we’ be getting into it?”

Tanner tossed the ball to his partner. “It’s not my story to tell, kid. So you might as well let it go.”  Vin knew how the youngest of their team was when he latched onto something. It’s one of the things that made him an expert at researching the background for their cases, but, at times, as tiresome as a dog with a bone.

“If I had a name, I could do some digging.” JD tossed a hopeful look at his co-worker. A look that usually got him exactly what he wanted from any of his older partners. “I actually got patched into the FBI databank last week, while we were in Dallas.”

Vin sighed. “Don’t even think about it, kid.” The older man had no doubt that his friend could pull up the whole sorted mess with the flick of a computer key, but it wasn’t something he needed to find out on-line. “For once, try to be patient.”

JD shrugged his shoulders. “Alright, if it’s that important.” The kid ducked his head , and then quickly recovered as he dribbled past Vin to try for another lay up.

Luckily, Vin was wise to this little tactic, he’d actually seen Chris use before, and used his height advantage to slap at the airborne ball.  It sailed over JD’s head , out of bounds, and rolled across the parking lot, where it bounced on the sidewalk
and down a flight of stairs, near the corner cafe’. “Jeez, “ JD laughed, “you don’t know your own strength.”

“Cute,” Vin reached out and slapped his friend on the back of the head. “It was your shot, you get to go for the ball.”

“But you touched it last,” Dunne pointed out.

Tanner run a hand through his long hair and sighed. He was beginning to feel old. “I could use the exercise, I suppose.”

JD stopped his partner with a grin. “I’ll get it. Atleast I know my way around here in the dark. You’re liable to trip on Mac’s mop bucket or something.”

Mason MacPherson owned the little coffee and sandwich shop on the corner of their block and was notorious for leaving all kinds of booby traps for unwanted guests.  JD couldn’t count the times, the Vietnam veteran had called he or Buck to come and check out a strange noise or suspicious looking prowler.  Still, the young man couldn’t complain too much. Mac’s wife, Hannah, always gave him and Buck all the capuccino and donuts they could eat in the mornings.

“It will cost you a George Washington though. Like Ezra says, there are no 'real' favors.”

Vin shook his head as he watched Dunne jog out of the range of the street light. “He really has been around Standish, too long.”

The ex-bounty hunter used the small reprieve to stretch his stiff muscles some, and was about to do a couple of practice runs at the goal, when he heard his name.

“Vin!” Buck Wilmington had instantly spotted Tanner as he crossed the street infront of his apartment to enter the small park, which provided a sort of oasis of the country in the middle of downtown.  However, the problem was,who he didn’t see.  His mind began to reel as he noticed JD wasn’t on the basketball court.

Chris Larabee had been right on his oldest friend’s heels as he had quickly exited the building, and couldn’t help but to pick up on the surge of adrenaline that propelled his fellow agent in Vin’s direction. He knew that Buck was panicked at the thought of Roswell being loose, and that mixed with a obvious missing JD, could be the straw to break the camel’s back.  Chris set off at a run to catch up to his partner.

“Vin!?” Buck called again, even though he was nearly to the court. “Where the hell is, JD?” he asked, out of breath, as he skidded to a halt in front of the surprised agent.

“The ball got away from us. He went after it,” Vin explained, casting a questioning glance to their leader who had also made it to the goal.

“And you let him go? Alone?” Wilmington demanded, his dark eyes scanning the area around them.

“Easy, Buck.” Chris layed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “The kid will be back in a minute.”

“I thought you told him what was going on?” Buck looked accusingly at Larabee and then to Vin. “It takes less than a minute for the Snake to strike.”

“Damn it, Buck,” Larabee didn’t like the wild , distant look that had defiled the other man’s features. “You need to calm down.”

Tanner watched the man infront of him, and felt a shudder go up his spine.  Yeah, Chris had given him some of the details of the case history and even told him about Buck’s involvement, but until seeing the look of pure fright reflecting in eyes that usually only held amusement and kindness, he’d not understood it’s impact on his friend.

“Which way did he go, Vin?” Wilmington’s voice was almost pleading, and his breathing was coming in short and quick pants.

“Buck...” Chris tried again, but his friend pulled away from him, and grabbed Vin’s wrist.

“Which way, damn it!? YOU were suppose to be watching.”

“Towards the cafe’,” Vin nodded towards MacPherson’s and Buck didn’t give him a chance to say anything else before taking off in a dead run calling out JD’s name.

Larabee gave his bestfriend a silent signal and the two followed their distraught partner.

“JD!” Buck yelled making it to the corner of Colt and Derringer, before running headlong into his very startled roommate.

The kid hit the ground hard and the older agent would have fallen on top of him, if his reflexes hadn’t been so good. “JD!”

“Dang, Buck, kill a person , why don’t ya’?” the kid, raised up on his elbows and glared at his friend. “What the heck are you yelling about, anyway? Mac and Hannah will have the law out here.”

Wilmington dropped to his knees infront of the younger man and run both his hands over his face. “We are the law, kid,” he choked , past the lump in his throat.  Relief over came him and he had to take a moment to calm his runaway heart.

Dunne watched his roommate for a moment then turned confused hazel eyes towards Chris and Vin who were now standing above them. “What’s wrong, guys?”

Buck looked up. “Godd***it, JD. You scared the hell out of me, that’s what’s wrong.”

“I scared ‘you’?” JD asked, increduously. “I’m the one who just got sacked in a dark alley, buy a raving lunatic.”

“JD!” Chris’s firm reprimand brought the young man’s eyes to him.

“He’s right, Chris.” Buck made a sound that could be passed off as a humorless laugh. “ I lost it.” Wilmington pushed himself up off the ground and took a shaky breath before reaching a hand out to his bestfriend. “I’m sorry , kid. ”

He helped JD up, before turning a remorseful glance in Tanner’s direction. “I didn’t mean to go off on you either, pard. I saw that JD was gone and I  didn’t know where he was and.. and..”

“It’s alright.” Vin held up his hand to ward off the unnessarry words. “I should have been more careful. It was my mistake.”

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” JD’s gaze shifted between the three men around him.  “I feel like I just walked into a bad episode of the X-files or something.”

“JD,” Chris started, “why don’t you take Buck back home, and we’ll all talk about this in the morning.”

Dunne started to object , but one look at the pale palor of his bestfriend and all his frustration was replaced by concern. “Are you alright, Buck?”

Wilmington looked at the youthful face of his partner and had to swallow back sudden images that sprang to his mind. Images of innocent young men, tortured and left to die agony-filled deaths. “No, kid,” he answered, wearily. “But I will be.”

JD picked up his basketball and gave Chris and Vin one more puzzled expression before reaching out and taking Wilmington by the arm. “Come on then. Let’s get you back upstairs.”

Chris watched his men go, and had to smile as he heard JD tell Buck that he’d order a pizza for them. “Looks like he’s finally growing up on us,” Vin said, quietly, voicing what Larabee was thinking.

Even though JD had just turned twenty-five, his enthusiasm and optimism made him seem more like a teenager. His youthful looks didn’t help any either.  Chris was sure, the young agent could turn forty, and he’d still be the ‘kid’ to him and the rest of
his men. The veteran agent turned a solemn gaze on his right hand man. “Yeah, he is. Let’s just hope the next few weeks don’t make him old before his time.”

**************************

Buck hadn’t said much through out the two friend’s late dinner, and JD had chosen not to mention the incident from before. He had seen Wilmington shaken a few times over the last three years, usually when he or one of the others was hurt; but never as scared as he was out on the street earlier.

Dunne sighed and leaned against the glass doors that led out onto the balcony.  It was way past midnight and he knew tomorrow would come much faster than he would like , but something kept him from turning in.

It was an uneasiness of sorts or maybe just a vacancy of the warmth he usually felt present in the home he shared with his best friend.  When he’d first come to Denver he’d been looking for adventure and a new life away from Boston, away from his mother's death, and away from the rigors of his work as a beat cop.  What he’d found was so much more than he could have ever hoped.

From the moment he transferred to the ATF and Chris Larabee chose him for his team, things started to turn around for JD Dunne.  A big part of that, the agent owed to the man sleeping upstairs.

Buck had instantly took a liking to the kid and made it his personal mission to keep his new associate out of trouble.  Although JD had pretended to be annoyed at all the fuss, and protective treatment, on the inside, he thrived on it.

He’d always wanted an older brother. Now, he had not only one, but six, to be exact.

Even though JD depended on his other partners, and cared about them more than he could put into words, they were different than Buck.

Chris often seemed more like a father to him than a brother , and JD idolyzed the man. Like Superman, Michael Jordan , and some legendary gunslinger from the old West rolled into one, Larabee was his hero.

Nathan was always around to give him advice and Josiah’s ear was open to confession anytime.  The healer held a kindness that JD had never encountered before and the missionary’s son had a wisdom that far exceeded his years.

Ezra was a constant paradox, and a source of entertainment.  He always managed to teach JD some new trick of the trade or bring him in on one of his schemes; and although many thought the ex-vice cop was cold and a loner, Standish had not once let the kid down.  Besides, JD was the only one Ezra let drive his Jaguar. That had to count for something.

Vin Tanner was definitely someone JD was close to , also.  The soft spoken, mild-mannered agent had always treated the rookie as an equal.  He demonstrated the upmost patience when explaining things and could calm JD down with just a glance or a few choice words.  Vin made an effort to include JD from the very beginning and Dunne would never forget that.

In fact, he owed his life to all his collegues, but he was indebted most to Buck Wilmington.

Buck was his bestfriend , his mentor, and protector. He had given him a home and a place where he felt like he was wanted and belonged.  Yeah, he gave him more advice on women and guns than he ever cared to know, but he’d also taught him what it really meant to be a man.

Most of all, Buck gave him what everyone searches for and very few find. Unconditional love.

JD was sure if he had ever had a brother, he could not have loved him more than he did Wilmington.

Perhaps that was why it was killing him to see the man so upset.

The young agent ran a hand through his dark hair and had decided to finally try and get some sleep, when a shout from upstairs sent him automatically reaching for the 9mm he usually had strapped to his shoulder.

Realizing he was dressed in his t-shirt and boxers, he made his way to the closet where he and Buck both kept a spare.

“No! Don’t!” The pleas came again and Dunne rushed the spiral case leading up to Wilmington’s room, taking two stairs at a time.

When JD made it to the top , the sight that befell him nearly stole his breath.  There was no intruder or unknown assailant as he had feared, only his bestfriend, sitting up in the middle of the bed with a dazed and confused look on his face.

“Buck?” Dunne inquired, replacing the safety back on his gun and laying it on the dresser. “You alright?”

Wilmington continued to try and catch his breath as he stared vacantly towards the windows across his room; so JD took a tentative step towards his teammate.

“I heard you yell and thought...”

“Go back to bed, kid,” Buck cut the younger man off. His voice was rough with sleep, but soft at the same time.

JD took a moment to watch his partner, and recognized the haunted features. After all, he was practically an expert on nightmares, considering the numerous amount he , himself , indured.  It was Wilmington who always helped him through them.  Whether they were horrible ones, like those he’d had after his first kill, or sad ones like his most recent, concerning the car wreck he and Vin had went through; Buck was always there. Now, it was his turn to repay the favor.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Wilmington choked back a laugh. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go to that Psyc. lecture with Casey.”

JD smiled and let his still shaky legs carry him the rest of the way across the room, to stand near Buck’s bed. “You’re the one who told me it would score points with her.”

The older agent ran a hand over his weary eyes and looked up at his friend. “Do you always listen to what I say?”

The kid shrugged and sat down, giving his friend a mischevious grin. “When it comes to girls or guns, I do.”

Buck sighed and popped the younger agent with one of his pillows. “ ‘Least you take heed to the important things.”

JD’s smile faded, and he let his gaze lock with that of his bestfriend. “I want to help, Buck.”

“I know you do, son.” The agent looked down at the sheets. “There’s not anything you can do. There’s not much anybody can do to change what’s happened in the past.”

Dunne was quiet for a moment, trying to imagine what or who could have hurt someone like Buck.  It was frustrating that he couldn’t come up with the right words to say, like Wilmington always did for him. He’d never been in this situation before. He was usually the one who was in trouble. “I might not be able to change what happened to you in the past, Buck,” the kid reached out a hand and laid it on the other man’s shoulder, “but I’m here now.”

A genuine smile graced the other man’s features. “I appreciate that, kid,” Wilmington swallowed back the sudden lump that had sprung to his throat, “but this is something I can’t share with you just yet. Do you understand?”

JD didn’t understand, but he wasn’t willing to make his roommate feel any worse than he already did. “I guess so.”

“Good.” Buck reached out and ruffled the kid’s hair. “Now go on and get to bed. I don’t want to have to be waking you up during our meeting with Travis tomorrow.”

JD started to get up, but then stopped, turning a concerned glance on the other man. “Are you  sure that you’re going to be alright? I could stay...until you fall asleep.”

Wilmington’s smile grew. The kid was helping more than he could ever know. “I’ll yell if I need you.”

Dunne nodded and silently made his way downstairs. After hearing the kid’s bedroom door close, Buck slid back under his satin sheets and pulled the comforter up around him. “And kid,” he whispered into the darkness, “I have a feeling I’m definitely going to need you on this one.”

********************************

“Mr. Tanner , do you have any inclination about this early morning meeting we have been summoned to?” Ezra Standish had just strolled into the Denver ATF office an hour earlier than usual.  He eased himself behind his desk that adjoined the ex-bounty hunter’s and gave his friend a disgusted look. “What kind of uncouth people insist on having a gathering before seven in the A.M.?”

“I have an idea.” Vin closed the file he’d been flipping through and eyed the other man. “Chris didn’t call you last night?”

“I wasn’t home.” Standish smiled, mischeviously. “Unlike the lot of you, I was actually missed while we were away on our little venture in Dallas.”

Tanner raised an eyebrow and tossed his pen on the desk. “Spent the night at your mother’s again, huh?”

Ezra’s grin faltered. “Your wry sense of humor never fails to amuse me, my friend.”

“Mornin’ , boys,” Josiah Sanchez’s smooth baratone echoed through the small, relatively empty, bull pen as he exited from the break room. “Where’s the rest of our crew?” The burly agent pushed a strange glass sculpture out of his way and sat on the edge of Ezra’s desk, instead of taking his own seat near them.

“ Careful. That’s an original Anchezous!” Standish complained, picking up the twisted piece of crystal that resembled the shape of cat.

“Bless you.”Nathan Jackson had stepped off the elevator and entered the office in time to catch Ezra’s outburst. He grinned at the Southerner’s annoyed glare, and slapped him on the back as he deposited his jacket and satchel on his desk across from Josiah’s.

“Hell, Ez, all this time I thought that thing was your crude rendition of Cuervo.” Vin observed, eyeing the strange statue on the other side of the desk.

Standish looked taken aback, but Josiah and Nathan couldn’t keep from grinning at the mention of the field office’s unsolicited mascot.  Cuervo was an overgrown alley-cat that had taken quite a shine to the accomodations of the downstairs parking garage of the federal building, not to mention a certain Jaguar that was kept there.

“If I did ever have the bad judgement to create a sculpture of that vile beast, I assure you I would have chosen a much more appropriate composition vehicle than that of Austrian crystal. Perhaps, something like the rusty lids from disposed cans of tuna." Ezra cast a wry look towards Vin , who let his grin fade. “ After all, I could have found an endless supply of them littering the back of your vehicle, I’m sure. ”

Sanchez could tell that the feud between his two friends was about to turn ugly so he decided to restate his previous question. “Where are Chris and the Skipper and Gilligan?” He asked with a twinkle in his eyes. He never grew tired of annoying Buck and JD with his comparisons of them to comedic duos.

“Chris is in his office with Travis,” Vin glanced towards the door behind them. “Buck and the kid haven’t gotten here yet.”

“I dare say that our young partner is probably running late as usual , and Mr. Wilmington has stayed behind to make sure of his safe arrival.” Ezra looked towards the two vacant desks parallel to his and Vin’s. “It does look like someone has been here, however.”

The ex-bounty hunter followed his friend’s line of sight, and was surprised that he hadn’t noticed the paper bag and plastic coffee cup near Wilmington’s computer before.  Of course it was a common sight, since he and JD usually stopped for breakfast on their way in, but something about its presence now bothered Vin.

The bag was white with the familiar outline of a sun and palm tree on it. The Coastal Cafe’ was written across it in bright blue letters and Vin recalled JD telling him that the MacPherson’s had named their small restaurant that because they had always dreamed of retiring to Florida.  “I don’t think they would have gotten here before me and Chris,” Tanner mumbled, starting to rise to check it out, when the elevator doors opened and the men in question entered.

“You guys hungry?” JD asked with a smile as he waved several more white bags in the air. “Hannah had extra strawberry muffins this morning.”

“Kid,” Buck started, trying to shift his load of a tray of covered drinks and JD’s motorcycle helmet, “how many times do I have to explain to you that Hannah just tells you that so you’ll let her give us free food all the time.”

Dunne dropped the bags of pastries on Ezra’s desk and gave his friend an innocent glance. “It makes her happy to feed us, Buck. Do you want me to break an old lady’s heart?”

“There are several other desks in this office, young man,” the southerner spoke up, before Wilmington could answer his best friend. “I would greatly apprecitate you use them.”

“Sorry, Ezra.” JD turned his attention back to the other men. “Where’s, Chris?”

“Office,” Vin answered.  The lanky agent stood and went to where Buck was depositing his and JD’s belongings onto his desk.  “Buck, were you two here earlier this morning?”

“Earlier?!” JD practically laughed, tearing the paper off one of the monstrous muffins.  “If we’d been here any earlier , it would have been yesterday,”he said , around a mouthful of the cake.

Wilmington merely shot an amused glance at his friend, before stripping off his faded bluejean jacket, and setting down. “Do you really think I could have gotten that boy here ahead of you all?” Buck caught the seriousness in his partner’s expression. “Why?”

Tanner nodded down at the unopened bag from the MacPherson’s. “That’s why.”

The ladies man of the group smiled. “Maybe that new record’s clerk downstairs is trying to woo me?”

“Please.” JD rolled his eyes. “She basically threatened to have you wrote up for harrassment when you asked her to pull your requisition.”

The other men gave their youngest partner matching grimaces , which he ofcourse returned with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. “What?”

“Eat your muffin, JD.” Josiah smiled, pulling the kid’s newspaper boy’s cap off of his head and hitting him with it.

Buck started to pick up the bag when Rosalind Bryce sauntered by.  Bryce was Assistant Director Travis’s secretary and had been a permanent fixture in the Denver office for more than twenty years. There wasn’t much that went on in the department that escaped her attention.  “I see you got your delivery, Agent Wilmington.”  The petite, silver-haired, woman shot the man an amused smile. “I’m not use to ‘men’ bringing you things. Have you exhausted the supply of the fairer sex?”

“A greatful husband, perhaps?” Ezra suggested with a grin.

Buck looked down at the bag once more and then back at Vin.  It was obvious they had the same bad feeling.

“Rosy, did you know the man who brought this?” Tanner asked.

“No.” The woman answered, putting a hand to her hip. “But now that you mention it, he did seem kind of familiar. ”

“What did he look like?” Buck stood up from his desk now, putting some distance between him and the parcel in question.

“He was older than you, closer to Josiah’s age.” Rosalind’s dark eyes squinted, as her sharp mind recalled every detail possible. “Quite handsome, although he was kind of pale. Blondish hair, with light eyes. About 6’2, I’d say, and he was rather charming and polite, smiled a lot when he talked.”

Wilmington swallowed hard, and willed himself to remain calm. “Did he have any kind of scar on his face?”

Bryce’s features registered her surpise. “He did. Right under his left eye. Not real noticeable, mind you. It kind of added character.”

Vin didn’t have to hear anymore to know who the stranger must have been. Buck stepped forward before the ex bounty hunter could stop him and snatched the bag up, tearing it open and dumping it’s contents.

Rosalind screamed and Wilmington stepped back, knocking his chair to the floor with a loud clatter. On his desk, amid several scattered blood soaked napkins and a plastic spoon and fork,lay the remains of a dead rattlesnake.

*******************************

TBC