The Zoo

by Heather F.

Part 1

Chris Larabee watched from the cover of trees. With binoculars in hand, he surveyed the immediate area around his undercover agent. Standish stood near the Lion habitat. The popularity of the exhibit had forced the architects and those involved with the planning of the zoo to keep the area open. It needed to accommodate the large, curious, masses enough room to view the exotic cats.

Unlike most twilight times...the zoo was empty. Save his team and hopefully their targets. A one Geoffry Hughes had fallen under the scrutiny of team seven. For the last few months the team had worked tirelessly to reach this spot. A meeting with an exchange of goods. Up until now things had worked out pretty smoothly. Well other than the few minor incidents in the surveillance van a few weeks back. Though the fermenting socks of Buck Wilmington really had nothing to do with the case it did play havoc with the work schedule. Buck and his odoriferous socks were persona non grata with the rest of the team. Still the hard work and small sacrifices had come to fruit.

The meeting between Eric Sullivan and Geoffry Hughes was to go down tonight. Chris adjusted his headpiece listening to the movements of his team.

"Gawd Damn it Buck," JD’s irritated voice crackled across the headphones. Carried closely by a snort and a snicker.

"Vin the next time you suggest Josiah bring Chili for lunch you sit in the van with him," Nathan uttered in disgust.

There was the soft whine of electric windows followed by a few gasping breaths. There was a moment of silence...followed by further cursing another chuckle and then the sliding open of the side door to the van.

Chris ignored the men. He was silently thankful for his role as team leader. For once it took him out of the hot seat.

"You see anything yet Ezra?" Larabee splayed the glasses left and then right. The zoo was gorgeous this time of year. With no one around he just might take the time to see some of the sights.

"Other than a few marauding beast..."

Larabee watched his undercover agent peer through the fence across the concrete moat into the living habitat of the lions. The ATF leader wondered how much of the fences and moats were for the animals protection as it was for the human audience?

"I don’t see a thing." Standish leaned against a black old fashion lamp post with his arms crossed. Static heralded his movements.

"Ez, uncross your arms you're screwing up reception," JD’s tinny voice rang out over the ear phones.

Larabee laughed as he watched his undercover agent do as directed, but not without some sordid comment. The language was not familiar.

"Now Brother that was not very nice," Josiah’s voice boomed over the headsets. Chris chuckled as he watched the Southerner gaze over his shoulder tossing a scathing glare at the hidden van.

"Ez...they’re jist tryin’ to keep your lazy butt safe," Tanner’s chuckling voice rang out.

A sigh was heard and things quieted down somewhat.

The spring sun was lingering in the sky a little longer. The mornings were getting brighter quicker and the evening sunset was being pushed back a few minutes every day. In no time at all summer would be upon them. The surrounding trees were beginning to bud...well at least the deciduous trees. The air still held the bite and threat of snow. The vestigial chill of winter would not for go its grasp so easily.

"Ey Chris when we’re done with this can we take a look around at the exhibits...I mean with no one here and stuff it would be kind of cool...." JD’s voice broke the small silence.

Chris shut his eyes. The kid could not keep still for half a minute.

There was a short pause and Larabee’s response was cut off, "Sure kid...I’m with you..Whatta ya want to see first? The kid in Vin suddenly showed itself.

Larabee raised an eyebrow. Tanner had secluded himself over near the elephants. The area was shaded by large trees and of course the well disguised ‘Elephant’ housing. Tanner had a view of the lion exhibit and the 180 degree’s that surrounded it.

"Really?! I was thinking maybe seein’ the Crocodile house first," Dunne piped up excitedly.

"Ahh kid that’s just because you watched that stupid Crocodile Hunter show," Buck added. Larabee could picture Wilmington swiping the kid’s hat off his head.

"Cut it out Buck...Is not...and leave my hat alone," Dunne complained peevishly.

"Is too...ya can’t wrestle no Alligators in the zoo and yer to small too be messing around with them anyhow." Buck added. Chris bit back a chuckle at the authoritative tone in Wilmington’s voice. The Ladies’ man did it just to bother the kid.

"Shut up Buck...and I ain’t to small for nuthin’.." JD knew Buck was just trying to get under his skin but Dunne could not help but react.

"A Crocodile is different from an Alligator, brothers." Josiah’s voice softly informed, "an Alligator has a flatter head and its snout is not as tapered. And they have a special pouch in their upper mouths that allow for a spot for their larger lower fourth teeth, and they are usually more sluggish than a croc. Though it would not be something I would want to test."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Well Thank you, Mr. Animal Planet," Buck’s voice broke the stunned silence.

Chris could almost see Josiah shrug.

JD’s amazed voice rang out, "Geez Josiah how’d ya know that?"

"Yes...Please Mr.Sanchez don’t leave us on the preverbal edge of our seats with your vast worldly knowledge of swimming reptiles."

"Shut up Ezra," Nathan’s voice shot out.

"Used to work on an Alligator farm when I was a kid," Josiah shifted his position next to a utility pole. He had himself secured near an abandoned popcorn booth just outside the van. "Ya don’t want to mess with’em when they’re hungry that’s for sure. Certainly would take quite an effort to subdue one."

Chris hoped this put an end to the discussion...until he heard a soft Texan, "I could do it."

Everyone else heard it as well.

"No way Vin, a Crocodile would eat you whole," Wilmington crooned out building the embers of a challenge.

"Well technically Buck a Croc. would probably drown him and leave him under water to soften him up and then eat him later...their jaws aren’t strong enough to rip and tear fresh meat." Sanchez’s schooling voice echoed back.

"Whatever...Still don’t think Vin could do it." Wilmington replied.

Chris shut his eyes. The gauntlet had been thrown. Before he could put an end to it an indignant Texan voice hissed out, "Could too."

"Cannot," Buck shot back. Larabee wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off of Buck’s face. The man was an instigator.

"I bet Vin could do it," JD said.

Chris shut his eyes, Oh no. He opened them in time to see the undercover agent push himself off the post he was leaning against, his interest sparked.

"Bet?" the Southerner’s voice echoed across the headsets. "Are we going to wager Mr. Tanner’s skill against that of a prehistoric reptile?"

Chris tried to utter a determined, ‘No’.

"Whatya say Vin?" Buck stirred the waters of temptation.

"I would wager Mr. Wilmington fifty dollars that says Mr. Tanner successfully completes the task."

"Thanks Ez," Tanner responded quietly. He could always count on Ezra to back him....and make a profit doing it.

"You’re on," Buck replied.

Chris sat back and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and pinched the ridge of his nose.

"Mr. Wilmington you might as well hand over your wallet now." Greed oozed from the voice.

"Ezra another word out of you and I’ll shoot you myself and toss you in the crocodile pit," Larabee’s words shot across headphones.

Chris heard the others chuckling. "Buck you’ll be going in after him...so shut yer traps...all of you!" Larabee sat back against a tree and peered over the two boulders that obscured him from sight.

He watched Standish. The man had scuffed his shoe toes in disgust, like a little kid not allowed to play at his favorite game.

Chris sat up when Standish’s dejected posture suddenly stiffened and became alert.

"Get ready Gentlemen the party is about to begin," The southern tones had become soft and thickened. The start of an adrenaline rush. Larabee had to admit they were all adrenaline junkies....why else would they do this day in and day out.

"Still say I could do it," Vin muttered as he readied himself for the work ahead.

Chris nodded in silent agreement. Tanner stood a good chance of making Standish a wealthy man. Larabee was not going to sanction it. No way in hell.

"Ok Boys and Girls....game time." Chris’s voice whispered across wireless mics into headphones. The game was about to begin.

Ezra waited for Geoffrey Hughes to exit the onyx Lincoln that had pulled up in front of the agent.

A large man unfolded himself from the passenger seat.

Standish backed up a step. Something was off. This was not Hughes.

Vin pulled his eye from his scope furrowed his brow and settled back down to mark his target. Trouble was brewing.

Chris squinted his eyes and tightened his grip on the Sig. Things felt foul.

Buck, JD and Nathan exchanged glances at the sudden rustling of clothing as their teammates shifted positions. A dark feeling of foreboding suddenly draped itself heavily over the van.

Standish retreated a step. The urge to take cover almost tangible. The agent held his ground until he heard one of the most frightening things he had ever had the displeasure of ever hearing.

"Ohhh Shit." Larabee’s voice rang out in a soft whisper.

Standish paused for a moment. Eyes widened, muscles and joints flexed and a sudden surge of Fight or Flight roared through his veins.

Suddenly Larabee was screaming. "Moooovveee Ezrrraaa!"

Standish was already pivoting away from the car.

The rapid report of gunfire split the night.

A jumble of voices were shouting and screaming orders. Chaos ruled the moment.

The large bald man emptied cartridges in the spot Standish had once stood.

Vin softly squeezed the trigger of his rifle.

The Target’s automatic weapon fired in jerky uncontrolled bursts as the dead fingers tightened around the trigger. The muzzle flashed toward the sky, then over his shoulder before finally falling from a slack grip. The shootist fell into the car as another high powered round caught him mid mass. His over sized feet still dangled out the door as the driver threw the car into reverse.

The gun fire did not cease however. The metallic ping of automatic rounds invading sheet metal filled the area.

"Git down....git down....Where’s JD!" Buck’s panicked voice boomed over the shrill of bullets.

Hurried voices and gunfire sailed over headsets. The rush of moving bodies, the quick gasps of breaths and racing heart beats filled the head sets.

"He’s safe...I’ve got’im....I got’im!," Josiah’s voice hollered out. The large man had reached in and pulled the younger agent out of the van by the collar of his shirt. Thank The Lord they had left the sliding door open. The chili might have been a blessing after all.

Chris pressed a hand to the head set trying to distinguish the rapid fire prattle of noise that assaulted his ears.

"Vin you see Ezra?"

There was a pause...

"Vin?!"

Larabee was running full out for the van. He stretched his long legs, leaning his torso forward as he hurdled a small cropping of boulders. Without missing a stride he tore across a patch of pavement to a small island of woodchips flowers and a Ponderosa pine. The leader of team seven dove for cover behind the pine as a gunman took him in his sites.

Part 2

Bark and splinters filled the air. The soft thud of bullets settling in the thick trunk kept Larabee pinned down. "Shit..shit...shit.." He whispered as dull thunks ate at the tree.

Chris waited for a catch in the rhythm of the spray. It came. With reflexes that came naturally and enhanced with constant use, Larabee rolled out from behind the tree firing.

The gunman jilted and spun in a macabre dance before crumbling to the ground.

Larabee lay on his belly a moment catching his breath. The chamber of his revolver was open and spiraling wisps of smoke stretched upward. Reflexes ejected the spent magazine and slapped in a full replacement. The sliding mechanism was hauled back and snapped forward. Chris quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Nice shooting pard’" Vin’s voice whispered over the earphones.

Larabee merely nodded in response and headed for the van.

Tanner had probably already dismantled his sniper weapon stashing the parts in various places. He had no view of the van from the elephant shelter. If he could see Chris now then Vin was already on the move. The others sounded like they needed help, Tanner would be on there to back them up.

Chris paused. The Chocolate Brown Ford Van looked like a colander. Where bullets had ripped through the thin shell brown paint had peeled away revealing the grey primer underneath. There was no more than three inches between perforations. The van was a dot to dot of riddling bullet holes.

"Buck?!, Nathan?!...Josiah?!" Chris hollered. He ran toward the van with his gun still drawn.

"We’re ok Brother," Josiah’s strained voice crackled over the ear phones. Chris swung around at the sound of the voice so close to his shoulder and dropped to one knee bringing his Sig. up.

"Whoa pard’ we’re fine," Buck soothed raising his hands in surrender. There was no playing around with the adrenaline rush. It was fight or flight...and they were all geared to fight. It was easier to pull the trigger in an instance like this than not too pull it....especially for Chris.

"We’re ok Chris," JD wrestled himself out from under Josiah’s protective weight.

There were times when JD really hated when those guys were over protective of him and there were times when he was extremely thankful....This was one of those times.

"Nathan?" Chris waited as the medic climbed to his feet picking glass out of his hair.

"Yeah just fine," The disgust in his voice was directed at no one in particular.

"Vin?" Larabee called out over the mic.

"Yeah, fine....you guys ok?"

"Yeah," Chris paused caught his breath and tried to soothe raw still firing nerve endings.

"Ezra?"

Chris searched the faces of the four men before him. They all froze.

"Ezra?" The tone took an authoritative twist...demanding a response.

"Gawd Damnit Ezra...Answer me!" Larabee started walking in the direction of the Lion Habitat.

"Vin you see him?" Buck asked trotting to catch up to his old time friend.

"Last I saw him he was doing a Swan Dive over the fence."

Chris and Buck started into a slow jog. In a few short strides it became a flat out run. Nathan, JD and Josiah caught them as the five men ran toward the Lion Moat.

"Ezra?!" Chris shouted again as they closed on the concrete barrier.

The five men reached the chain link fence and peered through it.

Down fifteen feet in what served as a barrier between man and beast...and water drainage, stood their undercover agent.

"You alright?" Larabee noted the torn jacket and shirt and surmised the wire was broken.

"Right as rain," The annoyed sarcasm was a better indicator than the actually spoken words.

"Good come on out of there," Chris directed.

Ezra raised an eyebrow, "Do I resemble the reclusive Spider man?" There was pause as the undercover agent stared up at his fellow agent with unmasked ire.

"Looks more like Shoe Shine Boy," JD muttered. Underdog was still aired on the Cartoon Network. Vin chuckled, Hong Kong Phoey was his favorite.

The adrenaline that coursed through the southerner’s veins...flooded his good sense, "How the hell would you like me to get out of here?"

"Easy Brother," Josiah chuckled out.

"Easy? Take it easy? If you have not noticed someone tried to fill me full of holes....and now I’m stuck in some gawd forsaken moat in a four figure suit that would make better patching material...what do you want me to take easy?!"

Buck whistled, rolling his eyes. He steered JD away from the impending explosion.

"Ezra shut up you weren’t the only one who was shot at," Nathan explained tiredly. He hated these coming down times.

Standish paused in his frantic short pacing. He gazed up at the others, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah we’re all in one piece....well except for your suit," Vin smiled with raised eyebrows.

"Mr. Tanner....Shut up,"

Gun fire ripped through the night.

One moment Standish was staring up at his six teammates and the next he was face down in the stagnant pool of water.

Small chunks of concrete peppered his body.

Standish using hands as well as feet hastily crab crawled down the moat toward one of the buildings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vin and the other peeled from the fence and headed toward the closest building. The rapid report of automatic weapon discharge was hot on their heels. No one wanted to be last but no one wanted to leave someone behind.

In a concerted group effort the six men pushed and pulled themselves toward shelter.

Vin could not help but think they were one big moving target. Strike down one and you struck the whole team.

Chris mirrored Tanner’s thought. They were bunched to tightly. Safety maybe in the numbers in most cases...this was not one of them. A single bullet could easily target two or more people.

The sharpshooter ran toward the building’s tinted, glass doors. Without hesitation the Texan raised and fired his Sig. The glass exploded out of its frame showering the area in a cascade of glittering glass.

JD could not help but think it was a cool effect.

The sounds of running boots, sliding shoes and the splatter of sneakers echoed off the waxed floors. The six men careened by display cases. They ignored the standing displays of information and interactive sites that captured slight glimpses into the animal world. With no thought to the teaching tools they sprinted past into the bowels of the largest building in the zoo.

Vin pushed open a heavy metal door. The "Authorized Personnel Only" sign indicating to the trespassers that they were heading in the right direction. With hands on rounded, painted, railings the six men skipped, jumped and ran down cement steps. The textured iron lips of the steps helped controlled sliding feet. Large numbers painted on the walls indicated the floors. They left the L floor and headed for B1.

Without preamble Tanner pushed opened the lime green door that lead to sub basement 1. The tracker hesitated checking left and right. His eyes adjusted to the dim lights of the narrow corridor. Small square windows well above head height offered some natural light. A few lockers graced the opposite cinder block heavily painted walls.

The musty smell of the staircase had been replaced by a musty disinfectant smell. It reminded Tanner of a hospital laundry room.

"Which way?" Tanner asked.

Chris scanned the corridor. "Right." Larabee pushed passed Vin and headed to the right. The floor had changed to textured concrete. The floor was concave with drains placed periodically. Larabee heard the trotting feet of his five teammates behind him. He did not have to peer over his shoulder to know Buck watched their backs. He had no doubt that Josiah and Nathan had somehow nestled JD between them. Two living shields bent on protecting the youngest of their team. Two Tigers protecting a mongoose. Chris could feel Tanner matching his stride checking doorways to their left and right always on the outlook for an ambush.

The corridor soon gave way to a wide spot. A room really. Cages lined three walls.

A raised stainless steel grated table sat in the middle. A hose hung on a coil from the ceiling over the table, next to a pair of clippers. A red thick rubber hose was coiled against a far wall. IV hooks hung from clean shiny chains that again were hung to the ceiling. Bags of LRS with extension sets waited on the hooks. The room was an off white. Thick black mats sat on either side of the grated table. A counter graced the fourth wall. Glass cabinets rested on the green counter top as well as a gram scale, pestle and mortar. A calculator sat neatly on top of a few small hand books.

"A ‘dirty’ surgery room," Nathan explained as his eyes scanned the area taking in the medicine cabinets, snares, muzzles and the large portable anesthetic machine in the corner.

"A what?" JD asked as he peered into the empty stainless steel cages. There were rubber grates on the floor of the cages to keep the animals up out of any messes should one be made.

"A place where you would clean ‘dirty wounds...debridements...lacerations...no major surgeries would be done in here," Jackson explained. He fingered the pulse oximeter connected the gas inhalation machine. A ventilator sat beside it. Various size tubing hung from hooks the smallest looked as if it belonged in a pediatrics ward while the largest appeared big enough to supply an elephant...Gawd that would be tough. The equipment appeared well used but carefully maintained and cleaned. This was top of the line stuff.

The six men paused taking in the room before Chris caught their attention. They still had to meet up with their seventh.

The off cadence of approaching footsteps turned heads and brought weapons up level.

"’Ey Ez!" JD shouted as he watched the undercover agent jog toward them. He managed a slight limp.

"You ok?" Chris stepped forward to scrutinize their seventh.

"Yes...fine," Standish cocked his head at Larabee’s unbelieving glance.

"Well I am curious as to what this might be?" Ezra held out a brown marked ‘dart’. A wicked barb rested near the tip of the point.

"Looks like a tranquilizer dart," Nathan remarked taking it from the out stretched hand.

"Where’d you find it?"

Standish rubbed at his thigh absently, "In my leg."

"Shit," Chris mumbled out.

"You feeling alright?" Jackson asked taking a step toward the southerner.

Standish took an involuntary step back. He did not like the looks he was getting from Nathan or Josiah.

"Yes I feel fi...." His words tapered off as his eyes rolled and his knees gave way. The undercover agent melted toward the floor in a boneless heap. Vin grabbed him and eased him down to the ground.

Jackson followed them and quickly felt for a pulse. The medic shook his head and gazed back up at the others, "He’s alive...just tranquilized I guess."

"With what?" Chris asked. They did not need this kind of complication now. Buck still watched their back entrance.

"I don’t know," Nathan responded curtly.

"Probably something like Telazol or Ketamine, Diazepam, or most likely a combination of stuff," Josiah furrowed his brow and softly added, " Apparently nothing strong enough to knock down a Elephant or Lion. He’d be dead by now most likely. Just hope they didn’t use Xylazine." he removed the undercover agent’s tie.

"What’s Xylazine?" JD asked.

"Sedative for animals...causes pulmonary edema in people," Sanchez responded unbuttoning the top two buttons of Standish’s shirt. "Don’t know what dose a brown dart carrys but the color of the dart determines the dose...there are orange, blue, yellow, brown, red," Sanchez gazed up at the others and shrugged, "least those are the only ones I ever saw...can’t recall though which was what....Its been a while." He tried to dredge up more information, "The stuff they used for the larger animals...took only a few cc’s. Not much at all...very dangerous stuff. Couldn’t even spill it on your skin....or you were down if not dead." Sanchez stood cringing at the popping in his knees.

"How?" Buck furrowed his brow in confusion.

Josiah merely shrugged, "Worked on a game preserve once when my father was a missionary for the surrounding peoples."

Wilmington shook his head in disbelief. He turned his attention back to watching the corridor they had just exited.

Jackson had gotten to his feet and rummaged through some draws. He found a stethoscope.

The medic listened carefully to the southerner’s chest... "He sounds ok." Jackson lifted the eyelids and found the pupils unrolled. Nathan furrowed his brow, "He’s out cold..."

"Shit," Vin muttered walking down the corridor Standish had just exited. Tanner kept his gun at the ready it seemed their foes were closing in for the kill.

"What the hell is going on?" Buck asked taking quick glances over his shoulder at the others. The corridor he watched remained empty. Wilmington had a suspicion it would not last.

"I don’t know but we’re getting out of here," Chris declared. "Josiah can you handle Ezra?"

Sanchez merely nodded. With Nathan’s help he draped the unconscious man over his shoulders in a classic fireman’s carry.

They were about to head back down the corridor they came when Vin came charging up from behind them, "Move....move .....move....they’re coming!!"

As if to punctuate his statement the sound of automatic fire split the night. Rounds sunk into the concrete wall spewing the area with small bits of rock.

Buck grabbed JD by the collar and pulled the kid in close behind him. Dunne did not register the protective move, instead he understood Wilmington expected him to watch his back.

Nathan trailed behind Josiah pushing the larger man urging him to speed up. Sanchez did not feel the incessant push but instead trotted the best he could with his burden.

Tanner and Larabee turned each squatting on one knee on either side of the narrow hallway. They fired down at their unseen pursuers trying to give their teammates a better chance at escape.

Vin watched in frustration at the apparent snail’s pace his friends moved.

"We’re too big a group...to easy a target." Tanner bit out in helplessness. This was not an ideal situation. While actually having unknown number of assailants firing automatic weapons at your friends and yourself would never be ideal it certainly did lend for better situations.

"I know...I know..." Chris snapped back firing a few pops down the corridor. The blond bit his lip and spoke into his mike.

"I want you guys to split up....groups of two’s you understand me...I don’t wantcha bunching up...head for the nearest exit and call for back up...." Larabee paused shutting his eyes briefly. His team’s strength lay in their numbers...Their edge was one another and now he just divided them. God help them. "And watch your backs!" He hissed out vehemently. Angry with himself, angry with his men but more importantly angry with the situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 3

Josiah and Nathan continued straight down the corridor. It had to lead to somewhere.

Buck and JD headed back up the stairwell. Wilmington took a quick peek around the banister , ‘slicing the pie’, checking to make sure the stairwell was empty.

"Ok JD lets go."

The kid was past his older friend moving quickly keeping himself hunched over....making a smaller target.

Gunfire roared in the enclosed space. JD threw himself flush against the wall narrowing down his own strike zone. The young Bostonian calmly raised his Sig. and fired two rapid shots. There was a grunt and the clatter of metal on concrete. Their assailant had dropped their gun.

Buck sprinted passed JD and hit the next landing. Who ever was shooting at them was gone for the moment.

Wilmington whistled to the Kid. Dunne took a deep breath and followed his older comrade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nathan and Josiah trotted down the hallway. It forked and intersected multiple times. Sanchez led the way arbitrarily making direction changes. Jackson followed close on his heels keeping his eyes on their back trail. So far so good. They cringed with each gunshot that sounded in the distance. They teammates had to be ok...Had to be.

"Shit," Josiah muttered. He was pushed forward as Nathan ran into him.

"Why’d we stop?" Jackson asked. He checked for a pulse on Standish. Alive.

"End of the line brother," the profiler stood before a closed door. "Authorized Personnel Only" was clearly stenciled on the door. "Should we see what’s behind Door Number 3?"

"Might as well don’t have much choice," Nathan returned. He could almost feel their attackers hot on their heels. He hoped Chris and Vin made it out ok. Buck and JD? Those two though not invincible were darn near close to it when together.

Sanchez twisted the doorknob and pushed it open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vin and Chris continued to lay down suppressing fire until their teammates had disappeared from view.

"What do ya think Pard’?" Vin swiveled his eyes toward his partner as he slapped a new clip home.

"I think we best get out of Dodge," Larabee slid the chamber closed on his gun. The muzzle was hot to touch and the gun barrel smoked.

"After you," Vin smiled knowing he was the better shot and would do a slightly better job at watching their six o’clock.

"Wise ass," Larabee muttered conceding to the sharpshooter’s skills. Larabee headed down the corridor Buck and the others disappeared down.

They passed the stairwell and branched left at the first fork they met going in the opposite direction of Josiah and Nathan.

The sharp report of gun fire on the stairwell made them pause.

"Think Buck and JD are alright?"

Chris thought for a moment, "Yeah, Nothin’ is gonna stop Buck from keep’in JD safe," Larabee even allowed a slight chuckle, "and JD sure as hell won’t let Buck out do him in anything."

Tanner nodded in agreement. The poor imbeciles that hunted Wilmington and Dunne were in for a rude shock.

Larabee continued to lead them down the hallway taking alternating lefts and rights. They eventually came to a dead end with a large heavy metal door. "Authorized Personnel Only" written in blazing orange warned trespassers away.

Chris tucked his Sig under one arm. He cranked the doorknob and shoved the door open with his shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josiah stepped through the door onto dirt. The spring sun had set. Long dark shadows of twilight stretched heralding the close approach of night. Floodlights brightened only sections of the vast tall grassy field. A few gnarled trees dotted the meadow. The tall prairie grass waved rhythmically with the breeze.

Sanchez adjusted the dead weight across his shoulders. Standish was getting a bit heavy.

"I don’t like this," Nathan’s stomach rolled with an uneasy feeling. The only thing he could easily discern other than the trees were a few large boulders mid meadow. The field itself had to be between 50-100acres. A large perimeter chain link fence started from the edge of the building out line.

"I have to agree with you Brother," Josiah remarked. This field offered no cover and with the added burden of the undercover agent there was no way they could move with any speed.

"Lets go back," Nathan reached behind himself and turned the door knob.

It wouldn’t give.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris and Vin crossed the threshold of the doorway. The heavy metal door swung closed clicking with an ominous finality. The two men froze. Their world had suddenly changed.

They stood within a humid climate. Swampy glades lay before them for as far as the dark twilight would allow. The cry of an exotic bird filled the area. The heavy dank smell of rotting vegetation was nearly palatable. Something nearby slid into the dark, sluggishly, moving water. Small black ripples lapped the shore. Whatever it was displaced a lot of water.

"This don’t feel right Cowboy," Vin whispered narrowing his eyes hoping to penetrate the encroaching blackness.

"I think you might be right," Chris answered. Larabee reached for the door knob. He turned his wrist...only his hand moved sliding on the sheen of condensation on the metal door.

It was locked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck and JD skipped the Lobby and continued up to the second floor. Dunne stood flush to the wall and flung the door open. Wilmington took a quick peek through the doorway before pulling back obscuring himself from view.

"Looks clear kid," Wilmington entered the second level in a crouch position expecting gunfire at any moment. A quick survey and it seemed the place was empty.

JD followed close on his heels. The kid let the door slam shut behind him. The harsh slamming of a closed door caused Wilmington to whirl around bringing his gun up. He found JD staring at him flushed faced and embarrassed.

"It’s ok JD...couldn’t have known," Buck replied before turning his attention to the new scene.

It was an office floor. Desks laced the area. Computers, rolodex’s, scanners, calendars and even potted plants dotted the area. The resemblance of normalcy was almost soothing. JD smiled when he eyed the features of every desk. Phones.

Without waiting for Buck, Dunne walked to a desk and picked up a phone. He hit ‘Line 1’...no dial tone...he repeated it with all the other lines. No dial tone. The young computer whiz flipped on a computer. No lights, no hum, nothing.

"Buck," The worry in the young agent’s voice shot a sense of fear down Wilmington. Not much openly scared the kid. He had faced gunmen, lunatics, raving judges, the wrath of Chris Larabee and JD faired basically very well under such forces with only apprehension. The fear that laced his voice and expressed itself in his face made Buck shutter.

"They cut the power kid," Wilmington tested a few phones himself. He played with light switches. Nothing.

"Well nothin’s ever easy is it?" Buck smirked to himself. "Least way’s we don’t have to listen to Ezra belly ache about ruining another suit."

JD smiled in appreciation for what Buck was attempting but the severity of the situation was alarming. This was Zoo. Their back up systems had back up systems. There were contingency plans for just about everything, safety protocols, independent energy sources. Zoo’s were little islands of self sufficiency and someone had crippled it. Someone had thoroughly cut the power life line to the place.

Whoever was hunting them was serious about getting them. This was not good.

"I got to tell ya kid...this ain’t good."

"Tell me about it...What if all the automatic waterers aren’t working," JD rifled underneath a desk trying to find an elusive independent, nonexistent, energy source. Where was McGyver when you needed him.

Wilmington did a double take. Waterers...Admirable Kid....don’t ever change.

JD crawled out from under a desk. He scanned the room hoping to find something useful.

The metallic click of a hammer being cocked grabbed Wilmington’s attention. "Down!" Buck dove for cover praying JD was already on the floor.

Automatic fire peppered the area. Papers were thrown into the air. Computer terminals popped and smoked while some fell over from the force of impacting bullets. The second story window exploded outward showering the immediate area with glass.

Buck crawled toward JD. The office furniture was not bullet proof. They were in a world of hurt.

Wilmington found JD curled on the floor next to a desk. The young agent had his gun at the ready his eyes squeezed closed. He was waiting for his chance to attack.

"JD we’re goin’ out the windows," Buck searched his young friend’s face and found only determination. "On the count of three...."

When they hit three..Wilmington and Dunne jumped to their feet like Siamese twin Jack in the Boxes. With Sig’s firing they ran for the windows and dove.

Buck hit the ground with a sickening crack. JD scrambled to his feet all the while pulling Wilmington along with him. Buck scrambling with feet and hands the two agents disappeared into the dense forest environment found in Siberia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 4

Nathan led the way. The medic kept the concrete barrier to their immediate right. The barrier itself stood close to seven feet tall. Anchored to the top of it was an immense Chain link fence. What was beyond it he could not be sure, but he figured it would be another moat and then an area a few feet higher that allowed for viewing. Exactly what the masses would be trying to see out here was something Nathan had not quite figured out.

It had him worried.

The Floodlights went out. Josiah and Nathan paused. It seemed all their senses shut down for a brief second. Then the sounds of twilight picked up. The hum of insects, the sound of a breeze through the grass and Josiah shifting feet behind him.

What lived in an open grassy meadow? A Serengeti from the feel of it.

Jackson paused. Giraffes...they would seem docile enough, Zebra’s....they were horse like therefore not so frightening in a bizarre sense...What else? Ant eaters... Jackals, Hyenas....

Quit screwing around Jackson and just admit it....Nathan berated himself, Just say it, "Lions."

"What was that Brother?" Josiah heaved out. His lower back and Quads were beginning to burn.

"You think they keep lions in here?" Jackson questioned trying desperately to hide his concern.

"It would be better than Wildebeast or Water buffaloes," Sanchez gulped another breath, "They’d kill a man just to watch him die."

Jackson swung around and stared at the ex anthropologist.

Josiah realized his potential mistake and tried to atone for it, "Or so I’ve heard," he finished meekly, unsettlingly unconvincing.

"Great." Nathan leaned against the concrete wall. He really missed his city streets right about now. Jackson stared up at the patchy cloudy night. Pink and purple highlights stretched across the greying sky. It really was a pretty night.

The medic stared at his older friend, "Ya want me to take’im for a bit?"

"Do you mind?" Josiah was half tempted to stash Standish somewhere and come back for him later. He had not only because he had learned long ago their undercover agent feared abandonment. As a result of that fear the Southerner tried to leave or force you to make him leave before being walked out on....a screwy convoluted way to protect oneself. Chris saw it and squelched it.

Nathan hefted the dead weight. He wiggled his shoulders and craned his neck freeing pinched skin.

"Rhinoceroses, can’t forget the Rhinos," Sanchez remembered as they continued their walk.

"This just keeps getting better," Nathan muttered trailing behind the preacher’s son. Jackson found it easier staring at the ground just in front of his feet.

They trudged on for a few more minutes before Sanchez stopped and declared, "Rhino pen."

"How can you be so sure," Jackson did not bother lifting his gaze. The leadened burden across his shoulders made it too much of an effort.

"Rhino manure," Sanchez simply stated and side stepped the pile. Gnats and flies dotted the remains rising to the air and hovering while the intruders shuffled passed.

Nathan followed in his friend’s path. Damn a Yugo could get stuck in that mound.

They walked for what seemed an eternity. The landscape rose slightly adding to Jackson’s misery. Sweat meandered between his shoulder blades. He could feel blisters starting on the sides of his toes. He could think of better things to be doing right about now.

"Nathan stop moving." Though this was a suggestion he had hoped to hear the Medic dreaded Sanchez’s tone.

Jackson froze at the harsh whisper.

"Ya think you can make it to that ledge over there with Ezra?"

Nathan craned his head up and stared at the small rock cropping near the boundary. It held a small footpath.

"I think so...what’s going on?"

"Rhinos have noticed us,"

"Can we out run them?"

"Can you out run a speeding jeep?" Josiah moved so he stood between Nathan and the large Rhino that lowered her head at them. Rhinoceroses were notorious for their poor eyesight. When confronted with unfamiliar things in their territory the large 2-3 ton animals tended to charge. Built like a tank with the attitude of a pitiful Rhinoceroses were not the gentle giants one sees in picture books. They were marvels to watch and observe...untamed and unmatched in both beauty and power, the White and Black Rhino’s were forces of nature. It was a privilege to see one.

"No."

"Don’t run just walk real slow," Sanchez directed. He gently pushed Jackson in the direction of the rocks, never taking his eyes off the animal. Josiah shadowed his friend. The preacher watched as the large Rhino browsed with its prehensile lip. Black or White? He mused. Which had the prehensile lip as opposed to the flat lip like a horse....A Black Rhino or A White one?

Black’s did...they were browsers..as opposed to grazers. Nature had a way of distinguishing and protecting her wild children.

The two agents slowly climbed the path. Rocks and dirt slid and rolled down the incline. Nathan slipped crashing to the path with a yelp.

The sharp movement and small yelp startled the 2 ton beast. With a sprinting speed that defied logic, the block-like build of muscle and sinew bore down on them with the finesse of an avalanche.

"Get up!...Get up!.." Josiah ran forward grabbing the undercover agent by the suit coat shoulders and hauled him up off Jackson. Sanchez never stopped dragging his unconscious burden further up the narrow trail. Nathan, not one to be left behind nimbly gained his feet. The medic took one glance over his shoulder...and regretted it.

Horns and beady eyes were all he registered. Well that and a wall of grey raging mass of momentum. The medic grabbed the Southerner’s feet and yelled, "Hurry Josiah Hurry!"

The two men slipped, scrambled and clawed their way up the maze of closely nestled boulders.

Josiah lost his grip as the suit coat seams finally relented to the misuse. Standish’s left shoulder and head dropped to the ground. Sanchez’s foot slipped and he fell unceremoniously to his butt. Jackson still working on a flood of adrenaline did not register the sudden bog in the path. Still holding the ankles the medic stumbled and fell into and over the undercover agent and profiler. The threesome became a tangle of limbs.

They lay panting.

"I think we lost her," Josiah panted out.

"I hope so," Nathan gasped taking quick glances over his shoulder.

The two men peeked over one of the rocks. The Rhino huffed and swung its head left and right clearly irritated at the trespassers in her pen. The large vertical horn she used for digging was more than an adequate weapon. Her close proximity gave them a clear view of her three toes.

"They sure are beautiful aren’t they?" Sanchez whispered out with a touch of awe. It was the agility and grace that amazed him the most. It was no small wonder that something could grow so huge on just sticks and twigs and leaves. Even White Rhinoceroses, the bigger of the two, faired even better on their diet of grass. Nature and God or God and Nature worked miracles every day. Josiah took pleasure in admiring these natural marvels.

Jackson stared briefly at his old friend and then back down at the creature below. Yes, Yes they are....beautiful and dangerous.

"See that prehensile lip, that one is a browser..Its a Black Rhino they are a little smaller than their White Cousins." Josiah explained absently, "the White Rhino has a broad lip because it’s a grazer." He sighed and quietly muttered,"It’s been a long time."

Jackson merely nodded. He never knew there was a difference.

The Rhino suddenly swung its head in a new direction. The two men stared to their left and saw three men bearing down on their position from inside the pen. The silhouettes were not familiar.

The giant mammal realized a danger when she smelled one. With a snort she trotted back to her shrub ladened meadow and few scattering of trees.

"We can’t outrun both...not dragging Ezra around with us," Nathan remarked.

"What do you suggest?"

"We put him someplace safe and come back later for him," Jackson answered not liking their options.

Josiah tried for an adequate refusal. It would not take much...the disgust of his own statement bothered the medic. The simple motto, "Never leave one behind." was not simply ignored.

A miracle wrapped in a foolhardy enigma presented an escape.

Suddenly Buck and JD appeared like a mirage on the other side of the fence.

"’Ey guys miss us?" JD’s young voice boomed out.

Both Josiah and Nathan swung around wide-eyed.

"Boy are you guys a sight for sore eyes." Nathan whispered back.

"We got company heading our way. Can we drop Ezra on you? We’ll lead them away from ya." Josiah and Nathan did not bother waiting for a response. Their puruers were quickly closing the gap. In a few minutes they would be in firing rage. Maybe no accuracy but close enough for a lucky shot.

Buck and JD shrugged. The pen they were in was empty or so it seemed liked. If they could only find their way out of it they would be in the clear.

Together Josiah and Nathan hefted the undercover agent over a low point in the fence. The suit coat caught on the top wires and ripped with a sickening sound. Nathan laughed quietly. Ezra’s suit was slowing disappearing.

Buck and JD reached up greedily for the body and guided it toward the ground in a controlled fall. Well almost controlled. Dunne cringed.

"You guys figured out what’s going on?" Buck asked. Wilmington shut his eyes briefly against the sharp pain in his chest. It was getting painful just to breathe.

Nathan and Josiah shrugged.

The sharp report of gunfire pierced the night. Dirt kicked up a few feet from Josiah.

"Gotta go boys...be careful," Sanchez whispered.

Buck nodded as Dunne dragged Standish out of sight. Wilmington snapped off a few attention-getting rounds buying his two friends some valuable time.

Part 5

Chris pulled his foot from the soft mire that held it. His foot threatened to slip from the shoe. The warm muck saturated his socks. He enjoyed the outdoors as much as the next person but this particular area seemed to harbor all the annoyances one found with outside living. Larabee swapped at another mosquito.

"They're attracted to C02...hold yer breath and they’ll go away," Vin joked.

Chris scowled at him, " I thought it was the pH of your skin?" Larabee cursed as his foot finally slid from the shoe. The vacuum of muck would not relinquish the footwear so readily.

"Gawd damn it," he hissed as the shoe sunk from sight. This whole situation was getting out of hand. They were no longer in radio communication with each other anymore. He did not know how well the rest of his team was faring and it was maddening.

"Whatever," Vin shrugged noncommittally stifling a chuckle as Larabee’s shoe oozed from sight.

"You gonna git that or go barefooted?" In times like these Tanner missed Ezra or Buck. You could leave it up to those two fools to taunt Larabee. In unfortunate times like these when the situation arose the Texan felt obligated to harass his partner.

"How ‘bout you go after it," Chris returned. This whole situation was getting out of control.

Tanner pushed a few more buttons...it was kind of fun. Maybe Ezra couldn’t help himself when stuff like this happened, "Make me." The smirk and raised eyebrows put a light-hearted twist on the challenge.

Chris thought about trying to force the bounty hunter to do it but figured he did not want to end up in the muck and the mud. With a frustrated sigh the leader of team seven squatted down to dig for his missing shoe.

He never saw or heard it. Never even suspected it was there. It was not until it lunged. Not until the huge jaws closed down on his coat arm did he realize that they were being stalked.

The Crocodile lunged from the black water with the violence and abruptness of a re-emerging submarine. Its movements were blindingly quick.

Terror seized Larabee for a horrendous brief second. In his life he had faced insurmountable odds. He had been shot at numerous times, threatened, knifed, bombed, caught in earthquakes chased by cars, stomped by horses. Never had he ever had something try and eat him.

It sent a primal fear down him that singed his soul. For the first time in his life he understood the mouse’s perspective when cornered by a cat, or the deer dragged down by a mountain lion. For the first time in his turbulent life Chris Larabee felt the sickening dread of becoming a meal.

It was something he had never encountered before.

Not all fears are the same. The fear and exhilaration of a roller a coaster was different than the fear and exhilaration of a car accident. The fear of a bullet was somehow remarkably different than the fear of being eaten.

With a force he had never encountered before Larabee was thrown from his feet as if he were a china doll. The Crocodile shook its massive head twice and quickly retreated back toward the water with its prize.

Chris felt himself get shook and torn. He stared mesmerized at the tapered snout. A croc. Didn’t Josiah say they had narrow snouts? They were stronger than Alligators or maybe just faster. Well he never did do things half- assed. Eaten by a prehistoric Reptile....Ezra would have a wager in this somehow...Buck a joke and JD would probably wonder if it could be patented as a video game.

Shock had taken its grip.

Tanner stood rooted. In all his years he had never seen anything so incredibly frightening and awesome.

The Texan, as was typical, acted without consciously thinking. Instinct threw itself into overdrive. Without thinking of himself or the probable outcome the long-haired agent did the only thing he knew how....he attacked.

With a howl of animal rage Vin dove on the back of the Crocodile. He wrapped his legs around the midsection just behind the short powerful front legs. Tanner cinched his arms around the croc’s jaws grabbing his opposite elbows. He pressed his cheek tightly to the scaly head causing his face to bleed from the friction. With eyes squeezed tight the wily tracker held on for dear life....Chris’s and his own.

The Crocodile did not bargain for the extra fight. It was not accustom to the fight. Though raised in a relatively controlled environment it acted as its wild relatives. The animal thrashed its upper body left and right. It performed its ‘death roll’ trying to dislodge the added weight to its back. It wanted to slide further into his watery world and submerge.

Chris recognized Tanner on the top of the Crocodile. Larabee tried to pull his coat sleeve from the clamped jaws. Weak jaws my ass. The croc rolled. Chris was submerged one moment and sputtered thick fetid water the next. Up became down. Left and right held no meaning. Larabee fought and struggled with the caught arm.

The croc thrashed itself again. Chris found himself weightless for a second and then slammed to the mud with resounding smack.

Larabee swung his feet around and kicked at the snout of the reptile. The Croc. rolled again. Chris went under for a third time.

The coat sleeve ripped.

Larabee found himself suddenly free. The agent began swimming for the surface. A wave of panic shot through him as he hit the silty bottom of the pool. He had swum down and not up. Ohh Gawd. In a flash of panic and with burning lungs he swam toward what he hoped was the surface.

He shot through the water heaving in large gulps of air and some water. He coughed and gagged. "Vin..." It was hoarse and garbled. "Vin!!"

Suddenly the water to his right splashed upward. Larabee treaded backward a new surge of fear bolting through him.

It was Vin.

The Texan’s blue eyes wildly searched the area. He saw Larabee and smiled, "Looks like Buck owes Ezra fifty..."

"Shhhhiiittt," Chris chuckled out. The euphoria of the moment had him promising he would make sure Wilmington paid up. The two scrambled quickly from the black water putting some distance between themselves in its shores.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck tried to adjust the weight draped across his shoulders but the pain in his right side protested angrily. Wilmington seriously considered asking JD to carry the undercover agent but had stopped himself. Dunne would be carrying more than his weight. Though Buck did not think the kid would be unwilling or unable to do it, it would put Dunne in a vulnerable position. Ezra and JD,just as the others, were like brothers. Buck would go to his grave protecting them to the best of his ability. If it meant lugging Standish around and sparing JD the hardship then so be it.

"Buck you git the feelin’ somethin’s followin’ us?" Dunne rubbed his neck rolling his shoulders. He had this niggling feeling that someone or something was watching them. It had been bothering him since they dove into this area.

Wilmington sighed. He could not feel anything but the growing pain in his side. It was almost like a stitch from running but worse. It took his breath away if he stepped wrong.

"Nah kid, Why?"

"Somethin’s not right," JD had stopped walking. They were surrounded by large flush pine trees. The undergrowth of the forest was surprisingly thick in spots. This struck Dunne as curious since the canopy of reaching pines should have blocked some of the sunlight and stunted brush growth. Maybe the zoo felt the need for the brush.

Buck tried to take a deep breath. A fierce bolt of pain ripped through him. He squeezed his eyes closed and took a stuttering breath. He wanted nothing more than to put Standish down but he feared the simple act would be agony and worse yet he would not be able to get the undercover agent back over his shoulders.

"Buck somethin’s behind you," JD’s voice had become a soft hesitant whisper. Wilmington faced his young roommate. The fear emanated off the agent.

"What?" Wilmington whispered back.

"Don’t know but its eyes are reflecting every once in awhile," Dunne answered. He trained his sig. in the direction of the eyes.

"Are they big?"

JD furrowed his brow. That was a stupid question. "Well they’re about at the level of my hip if that’s what you mean. I think about three yards behind you just past that last pine." Dunne explained. Whatever it was it was tall.

Buck took a slow step forward bringing himself next to JD. The Ladies man slowly turned and searched for what JD was staring at.

"Josiah can you hear me?" Buck whispered. He got no response. Damn.

"JD what stands that tall hand and has vertical pupils?"

Dunne thought for a moment, "Casey has a cat and it has vertical pupils....oh shit."

"Yeah," Buck took JD’s handgun from his tight grasp. "You think you can climb that tree kid?"

"I ain’t leavin’ ya Buck."

"Don’t sass me JD."

"Screw you Buck I ain’t runnin’."

Damn you for your loyalty JD.

"Ok then lets just back up nice and easy and hopefully make our way over to that fence." Wilmington felt a flush of pride well up in him. Dunne was better than most men. And the best type of friend a person could ever hope to come and know.

The two men back-stepped making their way to the rock outcropping near the fence.

The vertical eyes disappeared without a sound.

Oh damn. An unseen enemy was more dangerous than a visible one.

A twig snapped to their immediate right. Both men swung their attention toward it. Leaves of a bush moved with the passage of a hot breath. Buck could hear the slight panting.

"Shit...move JD! Move!" Wilmington pushed the kid to run in front of him allowing Buck to protect JD’s back. Dunne, however, was intent on protecting his two friends. The young ATF agent fired in the direction of the noise. Dirt kicked up as bullets dug into the ground. The two men hurried to the relative safety of the boulders.

A scream rent the night.

Buck let Standish slip from his shoulders. The pain in his side was momentarily forgotten.

"What the hell was that Buck?" Dunne’s voice shook almost as much as Wilmington’s legs.

"A tiger I think," Buck shrugged.

Both men watched in awe as the Siberian Tiger melted from the forest. Its massive paws padded the ground softly, kicking up small billows of dust. It kept its head hung low below its shoulders. The tail....was huge. Wilmington had never imagined that the tiger’s tail were so long nearly three to four feet in length and as thick as a man’s fist. The animal itself was impressive.

It stood nearly 10 feet in length and weighed close to 500 pounds. The largest living cat on the planet it could eat up to 60 pounds of meat in one sitting and then go for days without eating. It attacked its prey by ambush with success in one out of ten attempts. The vertical pupils and yellow green irises could see six times better in the dark than a human.

Buck had fallen for the mystique of the Siberian Tigers as a kid. His mom had shown him a book once with a tiger on it and since then Wilmington had digested just about everything he could about the creatures. Momma Tigers raised their cubs all by themselves...hunted for them, fed them, protected them...did their best for their cubs with no ones help...Just like his mom had done for him. He gazed over at JD....just like JD’s mom had done for him.

"Well that sure don’t look like Tony Tiger does it Buck?"

"No kid but damn she’s beautiful." The wonder in his voice grabbed JD’s attention.

"What makes ya think she’s a she?"

"Her udder kid. Didn’t anyone tell you about the birds and the bees...’sides this poor momma lost her cubs a few days ago. Got some kind of virus." Wilmington had read about it in the local paper. He was surprised at how much it saddened him. Seeing the mother now only increased his sympathy. She was a magnificent creature.

"Now what?"

"I don’t know....kind of hopin’ Josiah would be in radio contact..figured Marlin Perkins and his trusty sidekick would know what to do."

"Who’s Marlin Perkins?"

"Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom," Sanchez’ deep voice boomed over headsets. He sounded breathless ragged harsh breathes filled the line. They could hear Nathan panting somewhere in the background.

"You guys sound like a 1-900 number," Buck smiled relieved to hear the familiar voices.

Dunne sat back against a boulder. What the heck was Mutual of Omaha? He rolled Standish’s face out of the dirt and checked for a pulse. Too bad Ezra was sleeping through all the fun.

"Well any idea’s Josiah?" Buck asked.

There was a pause. Static held the frequency and then a, "Nope...yer on yer own."

"Where are you guys now?" JD maneuvered Ezra’s left arm out from underneath his torso. It looked awful uncomfortable.

Buck could picture Nathan and Josiah searching the area, "I think we’re in a...." An ‘Oh No!’ was shouted by Nathan and then a somewhat frazzled answer, "Polar Bears!"

The reception was scratchy at best and the connection was lost.

Wilmington and Dunne exchanged raised eyebrow looks of concern. Better them than us.

"Well kid...What would Crocodile Steve do in a time like this?" Wilmington eased himself back against the boulder clutching his right side. How was he going to get JD and Ezra out of this mess?

"Shut up Buck."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 6

Vin leaned against the concrete wall. They had fallen down a hole and followed their noses. The hole....a grate in the floor near a retaining wall. They dropped the few feet and trudged through ankle deep fetid sewer water. Not a human sewer...at least not from the stench of it. In the end it had proven to be their saving grace. They followed the small tunnel until they found another grate. With a little brute strength and more than a few curses the two ATF agents had gained their freedom from the drainage basin.

They found themselves within a small cluster of offices. No window’s decorated the area. Must be the ‘interns’ work area. The lack of lights was nearly suffocating. By chance Tanner found a flash light. Larabee was already checking the phones. Dead lines.

Damn.

Tanner shined the weak beam at his friend and noticed the blood dripping freely from the wound.

"We better git that cleaned up," Vin pointed out. Without waiting for a response the bounty hunter disappeared into the ‘Women’s Room’.

Larabee ignored his partner’s idiosyncrasies.

Tanner popped his head out, "Hey ya got .35cents?"

Chris dug into his jean pocket and handed over the change. Vin merely nodded his head in thanks and disappeared back into the women’s lavatory.

A few minutes later he returned. "Ok Chris take off your coat we gotta fix yer arm."

Chris was about to argue but stopped himself. It would be easier just to comply than to fight. Better to save his energy for a more important battle. He peeled his canvas Carhart jacket off and rolled up the shredded remains of his shirt sleeve. Strange, the arm did not hurt too badly.

Tanner held the flashlight in his teeth and set about scrubbing the wound with the abrasive white paper towels found in restrooms across the country. Next he reached for the small square box and opened it.

Larabee recognized the Maxi Pad. He held his tongue as Tanner placed the pad on the deep abrasions. It would eventually need stitches. At least his tetnus shot was up to date.

"Maxi Pads make good bandages....wrapped sterile and very absorbent," Tanner explained never looking up from his work, "hey look this one has flaps....wonder why?"

Chris bit his lip and looked away. Vin had never been married.

"Where’d you learn about using those?"

"Josiah...said he drove a Log Truck for a few summers when his Dad worked up near Washington and Oregon...guess some log truck drivers carry them in their glove boxes in case of accidents and need clean bandages." Tanner wrapped the pad in place with the torn strip remnants from Chris’s sleeve.

"Ok now what?" Tanner played the dimming light across the room. It hesitated on a hallway.

"Guess we go that way," Chris slid off the desk heading down the corridor knowing Tanner followed.

The small pen light continued to brown and finally fade out. Vin shook it, smacked it against his palm before finally giving up on it.

No matter really. They were better off without the light.

The darkness was heavy, thick. It seemed to weigh on them. The two men kept close to the wall.

Larabee paused when he heard voices.

Both men crouched down low, weapons at the ready. Tanner slid across the hallway creating two distinct targets.

The voices were unfamiliar and far enough away to be garbled. Chris turned his head in the direction of Tanner hoping to get a read on his friend. Instead tiny flashes of light created by his own eyes danced in his vision. He couldn’t see a thing.

Muzzle flashes flared the area. Chris felt himself blinded by the sharp illumination. Chunks of wall fell to his head. Before he realized it, his gun was raised and he was returning fire. The bark of Tanner’s Sig. echoed harshly but comfortingly beside him.

Both men inched forward. They were sick and tired of giving ground. It was time to take the fight to the enemy.

Both men, without being able to see one another, clung to parallel walls and slowly crept forward firing at the dwindling muzzle flashes.

Vin suddenly cried out. Chris heard the sound of a gun clattering to the ground and the harsh quick gasps of painful breaths.

Damn...damn...damn.

Larabee executed a quick shoulder roll and came beside Tanner. Without speaking the agent grabbed his friend by the upper arm and forced him through an unseen door. Chris eased the door closed.

"They had night vision glasses," Vin finally whispered out. His eyes were closed. This new area was bathed in the light of the moon.

"You hit bad?" Chris ran his hands over Tanner’s torso. Vin’s answer was a yelp when Larabee’s hand fround the graze. A chunk of tissue and bit of muscle was gouged from the sharpshooters left lateral midsection.

Without warning Larabee ripped the sharpshooter’s shirt and took a better look. Tanner silently cursed his friend while he himself kept his gun trained on the door. They had dropped two targets but there had been at least three different sources of muzzle flashes in the corridor. Hopefully the third turned tail....or maybe he was just sitting outside the door waiting for them to re-emerge...Not likely.

Chris bit his lip when he inspected the three inch gouge in Tanner’s side. It bleed freely and the edges were friction burned. "You don’t happen to have any more of your handy bandages?"

Tanner smiled and reached into his coat pocket, "That’s why I needed change." Tanner held out the unused box to Chris. Larabee smiled. He placed the pad on the wound, "Gimme yer belt."

Vin raised an eye brow but conceded. When the belt was wrapped and secured Larabee stepped back. "Like new."

The sharp shooter inspected the field dressing and nodded in agreement. Not bad.

"Wonder where we are this time?"

Chris searched the area, "I haven’t a clue." He started walking following the fence and keeping away from the water’s edge.

Something moved just as he put his foot down. Then another one. It was then that Larabee noted that it was not a fence that surrounded the area but more like a viewing glass. The natural light came from banks of sky lights in the ceiling.

Where were they?

Something on the ground moved again.

Oh no. Vin....

Before Chris could utter a warning he heard rather than saw something fall from a tree. It landed on Tanner’s shoulder.

Chris turned and watched as the Sharpshooter reached up to his shoulder and pull down whatever had landed on him.

A forked tongue shot out and flickered in curiosity.

Tanner froze

Time seemed to have slowed down almost paused. The blue eyes became wide as the small reptilian tongue shot out again making contact with the Texan’s lips.

Tanner’s mouth dropped open.....The forked tongue shot out again.

And suddenly the Snake was flung to the ground as if it scalded Tanner’s hand. The Sharpshooter jumped back with a small squeal. In the next instant the gun was in hand and firing madly at the poor legless reptile who’s only crime was an unfortunate sense of balance.

Chris stood rock still as Tanner emptied his clip into the shapeless mass of a mottled, dim, colored snake. The sound of an empty gun filled the area. Still Tanner put pressure on the trigger firing without firing. The gun smoked and the chamber lay open.

"Whoa Vin I think you got him," Larabee softly intoned, "guess he won’t be assaulting any more trespassers from the trees again." He couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.

Tanner waited a moment and then gazed sheepishly up at his best friend, " Don’t like snakes."

Chris chuckled and cautiously took the empty gun from his friends quivering grasp, " Never would have guessed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nathan slid across the ice. He grabbed a shrub and hauled himself around the corner. With feet moving quicker than the rest of his body he hung precariously at an odd angle. With pure upper arm strength he tried to pull his body around the brush onto solid ground.

He nearly succeeded.

Josiah, wind-milling his arms in a hapless gesture with his back arched past center point, careened full force into Jackson.

The two men with more momentum than traction slid across the frozen pond toward the fence. Their frictionless ride halted abruptly with the collision of Nathan’s feet with the concrete barrier.

Nathan felt something give in his ankle. A howl of protest escaped as hot searing pain shot up his calf and shin.

Josiah wasted no time in extracting himself from the medic. Sanchez partially gained his feet only to have the rubber soles of his sneakers slip out from underneath him. He fell soundly onto Jackson.

A whoosh of air herald the moment.

"Sorry brother," Josiah muttered trying again to gain his feet. He pushed off Jackson’s midsection with his elbow. The older man missed the bug eyed response from Nathan. With tense muscles and hard fought dexterity, Josiah managed to make it to his feet. He stood hunched over...his arms out, muscles taught, fighting to maintain his balance.

The quick white shadow of movement caused him to snap his head around. The simple too fast action was too much for unsecured feet. Sanchez tumbled back down to the ice with a yell.

Nathan saw the potential for collision and pushed himself out of the way. His lungs finally drew in that elusive breath that allowed muscles to unfreeze. He vacated the spot just before Sanchez crashed into it with a "Whumpf."

Jackson saw the two polar bears. Ohh Gawd...ohh gawd. They were dead men. And though these two Polar Bears did not seem to hold the natural 7-9.5 feet in length or the 4 feet height at the shoulders and though they did not appear to even come close to the 770-1430 pounds that most Polar Bears are known to achieve...these two white bodied black nosed bears appeared larger than life.

Shit...shit...shit.. "Git up Josiah, Git up!...quit foolin’ around," Jackson whispered harshly into his friends ear. The medic started dragging Sanchez across the ice favoring his right ankle. Nathan kept running through what he knew about Polar Bears....They were one of the largest land carnivores known. They ate seals, small walruses and the occasional small whale. Oh Gawd who ever heard of a small Whale? It had to be bigger than him and Josiah combined. These Polar Bears would probably would settle for a few ATF agents in a pinch. Nathan pulled Josiah along with more vigor.

Jackson could see it now...the Pathologist and Medical Examiner doing a fecal float on the Polar Bears searching for signs of Josiah and Nathan.

This was not what he had in mind when he joined the ATF.

What else did he know? Oh yes...never eat the uncooked liver of a Polar Bear...you would die from a HyperVitaminosis A or was it an over dose of Iron? Either way Polar Bear liver would kill a large man if he were to eat it in its entirety. Not a very helpful fact. Gawd he felt like JD and all his weird useless information. That kid ate way to much cereal.

Josiah finally managed to claw himself to his feet.

Holding forearms, Nathan and Josiah slid and slipped their way across the ice to the Plexiglas barrier. With strength born from desperation, the two men jumped and grabbed the rim. In panicked synchronized motions, the two men scrambled over the top of the 3 foot thick barrier to drop down onto the other side...like normal observers.

The two polar bears lumbered and frolicked with one another on the ice. They played and swatted at one another as if they were just kids and not monsters spawned from Dante’s Inferno.

Nathan leaned his head against the cool Plexiglas holding his rapidly swelling and throbbing foot and ankle off the carpeted flooring.

Josiah read the short little blurb on "Klondike and Snow"...the two baby polar bears that had been hand reared by the zoo. The preacher gazed back through the viewing glass at the two ‘cubs’ wrestling on the ice. Sanchez started with a slow chuckle that slowly boomed into a full fledged belly laugh.

Nathan gazed up from his silent prayers of deliverance and stared at the profiler as if he had lost his mind. People reacted very differently in near Death experiences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 7

‘They ain’t there....they ain’t there....they ain’t there.... Vin kept running the phrase through his head. Sweat beaded his face. He followed Larabee limb from limb as they climbed the thick, branched, tree. Heavy moss hung from the slick smooth bark. Occasionally something would move and catch Tanner’s eye. A snake. A creature that sent icey fingers of fear twisting around his spine. One moment a branch would seem bare and then suddenly it would move. Sometimes a branch was not a branch but merely a snake as thick as his arm.

Oh Gawd keep it together.

"How ya doin’ Vin?" Chris fought to keep the amusement out of his voice. He stared down between himself and the aged tree trunk they were nearly to the sky light. Larabee could hear the panting below could almost feel Tanner’s unreasonable dread.

At least Vin’s weapon was empty. In most occasions that would worry Chris but in this particular instance it was a blessing in disguise. Damn Sharpshooter would probably shoot every snake into extinction. He was worse than Standish and his fear of Rats. Fool southerner shot up a wharehouse once during a ‘meet’ because "The Atilla" of the Rat world decided to make an unscheduled appearance. There was such a blaze of bullets that the arms dealer simply surrendered thinking the seventh calvarly was up on them.

Chris shook his head. Big tough ATF agents couldn’t handle a simple snake or small rodent. His men definately had their little quirks.

"Shut up Larabee," Tanner mumbled out. He would wipe that smile off Chris’s face before this day was through. He reached out and grabbed for another hand hold....it slid from under his grasp.

Vin squeezed his eyes closed, clenched his teeth, and prayed for a chance at revenge.

Larabee continued upward. Within a few seconds he was at the top. Vin squatted beside him soaked with nervous sweat. Together the two men pushed on the sky light with their hands. Nothing. They stood slowly gaging their balance and pushed on the ‘Glass’ with their hunched shoulders. Nothing. Vin held tightly to his side feeling blood stream down to his waist making his Levi’s adhere in a maddening manner to his skin.

Chris shook his head in dismay and squatted back down on the branch. Couldn’t anything be easy? With a sigh, he unholstered his gun and checked his rounds. He had two shots left.

He fired once at the concave protective glass.

Vin and he sat quietly for a moment until finally Vin said, "Well, Cowboy that sure helped alot."

Larabee scowled up at the simple, small, bullet hole in the otherwise intact window.

"Think you can do better?" Chris felt his frustration boiling.

"Yup," The easy Texan drawl was maddening.

Chris simply handed him the Sig. with a tight, unamused, smile.

Vin acknowledged it and took the weapon. The Sharpshooter aimed the weapon and fired at the window.

Chris gazed up at the window that now held twin bullet wounds.

"Ohhh, you’re a big help."

"Shut up," Vin retorted. Damn safety glass windows. Whoever heard of putting them on top of buildings.

The two men faced once again began pushing on the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck and JD leaned on the other side of the cement moat. Wilmington bent over slightly holding onto the right side of his chest. His breaths came in short, shallow, bursts. Climbing the damn chainlink was more than his chest was willing to concede. There was no way he would have been able to get Ezra over that fence.

Dunne stood on his tip toes and stared back into the Tiger Habitat. He could just make out the undercover agent laying on his side between boulders. In his heart JD felt it was wrong. They were just going to leave him behind. Of all of them why did it have to be Ezra? He was the one out of all the seven that knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that one day they would throw him out. They would collectively leave him behind. The others had worked hard to put those fears aside but they lingered. It was not easy to shuffle aside beliefs that had been ingrained from early life. Just like Vin feared the others would die on him leaving him alone. JD hated to think that he and Buck were abandoning one of their own out of necessity.

They had made sure the Tiger could not get to Standish. They had nestled their undercover agent within the tight confines of the boulders. She should not be able to drag him out from between the granite barriers nor jump in with him. Buck was sure they would be back for Ezra before he even woke up from whatever drug ran through his system. Wilmington had blanketed the undercover agent with his coat, offering some protection against the growing chill of the night.

JD could not help but feel bad. Maybe they should have just stayed with him and hope the others got help?

Buck had a point though. They could not keep lugging Standish around with armed gunmen after them. They traveled too slow and just made a bigger target. They endangered not only their own lives but also Ezra’s. JD bowed to Buck’s logic even when it was clear that Wilmington was not pleased with the situation.

"You ok Buck?" JD held onto the chainlink trying to get one last glimpse of their undercover agent. He knew they would be back. He just hoped Ezra slept through it.

"Yeah kid...jist give me a minute," Wilmington leaned against the moat wall trying hard to control his breathing. The more he thought about it the deeper his breaths seemed. What a contradiction.

Dunne peered down the moat to the left and right. He was beginning to understand what a rat in a maze felt like. All they were missing was some cheese. JD chuckled...they were kind of like walking bait as things stood.

JD gazed up at the night sky. It was still strange to see so many stars. Having grown up in the city JD never really gazed at the night sky...never learned the constellations positions. Under the bright lights of the city you never could see the stars. His Mom use to take him to the Boston Science Musuem and visit the Planetarium. It was his chance to see the stars even Mercury, Venus, Mars and the rest of the solar system. His mom loved Space...loved the freedom she thought the future would bring. JD had always hoped the immediate future brought a cure for his ailing mom. It had not happened. With the loss of his mother he moved west...met the guys and for some of the first times in his life he got a chance to see the real stars without the glow of the city. It was one of the beauties of Chris’s ranch. There was the camaradery and friendly atmosphere but even more importantly the dark nights brought out the billions of stars. The same constellations that his mom had tried to show him through the Musuem. At those times at the Ranch melancholy would fall over him at the sudden emptiness of his mom’s passing...but suddenly Buck would drape a friendly arm over his shoulders and point out the constellations he knew. Occasionally Ezra would provide a background story on the names and how they were derived. Vin would just sit quietly with him and smile every time JD tried to point out a shooting star before it disappeared from sight.

It was with some wonder that Dunne now peered up at the sky trying to find Orion. The warrior and guardian of the night. Maybe, somehow, in a foolish round about way the Warrior would watch over the Agent they were forced to leave behind.

"Hey Buck is that Chris and Vin on the roof over there?"

The Ladies Man peered up and noticed the two figures on the roof next door.

"Yup, sure looks like them," Wilmington slowly straightened out. Both he and JD waved when they saw Chris and Vin’s silhouettes turn and face them. The two men waved back haphazardly. The mics and headsets must not be working.

"They don’t look to happy," JD squinted trying to make out the two men better.

"Nope," Wilmington agreed, " I bet not," Buck chuckled softly, "especially with Chris up on that roof," The Ladies’ Man faced the kid, "he don’t like heights too much." JD shrugged. He had seen their leader in trees and on ladders. He didn’t seem to mind. Dunne watched the two silhouettes squat down on the slanted roof. Buck had already started down the moat.

"Really?" JD shuffled backward trying to keep up with Buck, "he goes up ladders."

"That’s different kid," Buck slid his feet trying not to lift them to high or place them to harshly. His chest complained with every movment.

"How so?" Dunne back peddled still trying to keep an eye on the shadows.

"I don’t know kid but it is." Wilmington paused and noticed the young Agent still walked backward. "Come on JD lets git movin’...we gotta find some help." Buck grabbed the kid and pushed him gently down the moat. He grimaced at the burning twinge that flared across his chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josiah supported Nathan from the right side. The rug muffled their awkward foot falls. "How ya holdin’ up Brother?"

Nathan nodded. He was doing fine. His ankle felt about the size of a bowling ball and it throbbed mercilessly with every placement.

It was the others, however, that he was truly worried about. He hoped Chris and Vin stayed away from the reptiles and snakes. Foolish, stubborn, headed Texan would wrestle a Croc. just for the challenge. Nathan hoped Chris was smart enough to steer Vin clear of the obvious temptation.

Jackson was curious as to why the Rhino pen met flush with another enclosure. Nathan could not help but wonder what kind of trouble Buck and JD found. Those two attracted trouble like Honey does ants.

Maybe he and Josiah should have kept Ezra with them. The healer’s thought’s strayed to the undercover agent. Ezra had been pretty unresponsive. Though his color was good, his heart rate was down and his respirations shallow. What if he was hit with a Cocktail? How long would it last?

Sanchez felt the slowing of Jackson’s pace. Nathan was getting lost in his own thoughts. Worried about the others no less. Probably thinking they should have kept the Southerner with them instead of passing him off on to Buck and JD. A burden to be shifted to another’s shoulders. Unfortunate but necessary. Josiah fumed....he would see that Hughes paid penance for his actions.

"Buck and JD will take care of Brother Ezra jist fine," Sanchez softly muttered. He had no doubts that Wilmington and Dunne would do their best to watch out for their downed friend. Josiah just wished Standish was still under his protective eye.

They twosome hobbled down the lazy curving corridor. The Polar Bear exhibit was in a rounded building giving the viewers a chance to observe the creatures while the bears played on land, ice or water. The inner wall was adhorned with immense sharp pictures of Polar Bears in their natural habitat. Some pictures were accompanied by brief, large, lettered, spurts of informational facts on other Artic mammals and birds. It was done masterfully with the intent on keeping audiences of all ages intrigued. It educated the masses in a brilliant but simple manner. Josiah marveled at the effect. The Zoo was a bountiful place of interaction and facts.

"Josiah you have any idea what’s going on?" Nathan kept trying to come up with possible scenerois. They were all plausible if not slightly unbelievable.

"Figure our Geoffrey Hughes might be onto us." Josiah paused at the photoportrait of an Artic Fox. It was a small wiry animal that melted within its background with astute cunning. They were cute too.

"Makes sense," Nathan paused, "Why drug Ezra when he could have just as easily been shot?"

"Well Hughes is known for taking those who betray his trust and ‘play with them’." No better than a cat with a mouse, batter it around and then finish it off. However, sometimes the mouse escaped.

Nathan paused and stared at Josiah. The medic could read the disgust and anger in the older man’s visage. The thought of anyone taking one of the team was repulsive enough to any one of them. Sanchez sometimes took it as a personal insult when someone targeted the Southerner. To think that the arms dealer wanted to torture their undercover agent left a murderous rage in the older man. It was no less than the anger that boiled in Jackson. Now the madman had sent his minions after all of them.

None of them were safe.

"How much ammo you got left?" Nathan slid his clip out of his gun checking its contents. He listened half heartily as Sanchez did the same.

"Less than half," Josiah slapped the clip home, "you?"

"Same."

The two men rounded a turn and came face to face with two gun wielding Unknowns.

Who startled who the most was questionable. Who reacted quicker was immediately determined. The two Unknowns started to bring their weapons up to bear. The black gun straps over their shoulders wrinkled slightly as the semi automatic weapons started to level out.

Nathan and Josiah fired simultaneously. The sharp bark of weapons filled the enclosed area.

The two assailants danced backwards. Automatic weapons jerked left and right but triggers remained unpressed. Sanchez and Jackson took small steps forward pressing their advantage, becoming the aggressors.

The gunmen finally folded on themselves collapsing backward as if the strings to the marionettes had been cut.

Sanchez and Jackson stood for a brief second trying to get their breathing under control. They converged on the two dead men. They needed weapons.

Jackson started to kneel down next to one of the gunmen when a junk of the wall next to his head suddenly exploded as the result of an unseen projectile.

Nathan instinctively ducked. A steely vise like grip grabbed his upper arm and hauled him to his feet. After a few stuttering steps and still keeping his head low and his arms up the medic was pulled and pushed by Sanchez back down the corridor they had just traversed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris and Vin sat on the roof.

Tanner gamely tried to gain his composure. Damn Snakes. Who the hell would pay money to see a slithering, good for nuthin’, forked tongued devil. Ain’t no good ta anybody..no how.

Larabee sat beside Tanner with his head resting on his forearms. I’m not up that high....not that high...this is no big deal....not a problem. I can handle this....no different than sitting in a chair. Except that I’m two stories up. Two stories...That’s how many feet? Oh shut up...shut yer damn trap Larabee. Get a grip. I hate heights...I hate’m. Gawd damn I hate this.

"You ok Cowboy?" Vin slapped Chris’s arm, trying to make sense of Larabee’s strange mumblings.

Chris shot his head up and peered nervously about, "Yeah fine."

"Uh huh," Tanner’s amusement bubbled to the surface. Don’t like heights, huh, Cowboy?

"We’re kinda high up here, don’t ya think Chris," Vin started nurturing his wicked streak. He really had to stop hanging around Buck and Ezra. "What maybe twenty feet or more," Tanner made it a point to search around, "well except where it drops off over there by the Elephants...that looks closer to maybe....I don’t know...thirty...probably forty feet." Tanner leaned to the side and drooled some spittal over the edge of the roof. He listened intently for the delayed sound of the spit hitting the tarmac below, "yup pretty high up."

Chris bit his inner lip. When they got down from here he was going to kill him. Strangle that low down, snake fearing, trouble making Texan. Larabee checked his gun again. Maybe he had one bullet left with V.T. on it.

Tanner’s chuckle died out when he noticed Chris double checking the weapons for ammunition.

Time for a new tactic, "’Ey Chris, did ya see Ezra with Buck and JD?"

Chris holstered his empty weapon and peered over at Tanner. "No..Josiah and Nathan must still have him." It was unlikely that Sanchez would let the Southerner out of his sights. Jackson if given a chance would be taking P and R.’s every 15 minutes.

"You figure out what’s goin’ on?" Tanner asked again. He surveyed the area looking for a suitable place to get down. There was no way in Hell he was going back through that window.

"Thinkin’ its Hughes," Chris gazed back toward the window they just hauled themselves out of...maybe he could convince Vin to go back down the tree.

"Me too, think he wanted Ez alive...mail him back piece by piece to The Judge?" Vin noticed a spot on the hard tiled roof where it dipped and came close to a good size tree.

"Yup, wipe us out in the process, make a name for himself...hope to scare off his competition maybe..." Larabee followed Vin’s gaze. There was no way I am trusting my life to that skinny little sapling near the west eave.

"Ain’t to bright is he?" Tanner slowly climbed to his feet. Yeah...that should hold us. No sweat.

"Nope not at all," Chris followed Vin’s movements. Those scrawny branches wouldn’t hold a good size crow.

The two men crab crawled toward the tree. The branches overlapped and scratched at the roof in the slight breeze.

Piece of Cake...Tanner grabbed the branch and pulled on it...Testing it.

You’re out of your F*****g mind Vin...I’m findin’ my own way down. Larabee began scanning the roof for possiblilities.

Gun fire jolted the night.

The two agents hit the ‘deck’ flattening themselves out. The distinctive popping sounds of Sigs answered back.

"Josiah and Nathan?" Vin tried to fixate on the sounds.

"Has to be...Buck and JD are in the opposite direction." Larabee saw muzzle flashes in the building next door.

"I’m sick of this shit," Tanner clenched his teeth as automatic fire answered the sigs.

"So am I." Anger seethed through Larabee’s pores. The leader of Team seven grabbed the branch and swung off the roof.

The branch bent. It swung left and right under the weight. Its tip bowed a few feet nearly touching the larger branch below it. Larabee wrapped his legs around the lower branch and let go of the one he held with his hands. The bent limb snapped back up in a soft rustling of leaves. Chris in a single minded determination scampered down the tree.

This was going to stop...and soon.

Vin shook his head watching the mad descent from the tree. More like a controlled fall. Damn Chris was pissed.

He sure could climb though....better than a chimp. Tanner grabbed the branch and followed his best friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 8

Buck and JD heard the popping of Sigs. It was coming from behind them. Dunne broke out into a run and quickly pulled a lead on Wilmington. If they could get out from between the fences they could hopefully help their teammates. JD peered over his shoulder and noticed Buck a few yards behind hobbling holding his right side trying gamely to keep up.

"Damn," Dunne muttered to himself. He had not meant to leave Buck trailing behind.

Wilmington came level with the kid but dared not stop. The pain in his side was excruciating. If he stopped now they would not get moving again. "Com’n kid lets keep goin’," his voice was strained and tired. Lines of pain etched his normally smiling face.

JD wanted to argue but they were no better than sitting ducks in the moat. Dunne put himself on point again hopefully placing himself protectively in front of Buck. A building loomed before them. A plain grey metal institutional door herald the end of this section of drainage.

Dunne pushed the door open with a whoosh.

He startled the men behind it.

JD reacted. He had to protect Buck...and Ezra. Somewhere back there Standish lay by himself defenseless. If these gunmen were to get passed himself then Buck was a dead man and Ezra....well he would be worse than dead.

JD launched himself at the gunmen with a roar of defiance. Dunne had been learning to fight from Vin. Tanner’s martial arts were fun if not a little brutal. Ezra had taken time to teach JD the rudiments of boxing. It was a great way to keep in shape and Dunne found it kind of exhilarating especially when they grafted in kickboxing. The work out was exhausting. With Nathan’s help the young Bostonian had been introduced to the art of grappling and joint manipulation....Ground fighting.....definitely a dirty sneaky and powerful way to defeat an opponent.

JD was a master of none of these skills, neither were his teachers, but he had become something of a Jack of All Trades. Dunne had learn to integrate the three different forms of fighting to meet his needs and size. He was able to capitalize on his height and utilize his speed to his own advantage.

Dunne had become an aggressive scrappy fighter when the time arose. Though those times did not rear their ugly heads often...in fact this was the first time ever he had been challenged by someone other than a friend.

Terror was all JD would remember....and then nothing. He would never remember taking on two foes larger than himself. He would not recall disarming and immobilizing two gunmen.

Dunne reacted simply to protect Buck and Ezra. Just as those two would have done for him. JD reciprocated what he knew the others, any of them, would do if they were in his position.

Buck never had a chance to raise a hand. Not once did Wilmington dare interfere with the wild cat that unleashed itself on the poor fools who thought to threaten him.

JD Dunne, in a fit of adrenaline and the blank memories of fear, rose to the challenge and soundly defeated those that threatened members of his family.

In less than three minutes, in the same time as a boxing round, in the time it takes to hard boil an egg, in less time it takes to draw that needed breath...JD had two men incapacitated.

He, himself, scrambled with shaky legs and leaded arms to his feet. Sweat ran into his eyes. His knuckles bled and he had bitten his own lip. His lungs burned for more oxygen and his head swam.

He never felt a blow land on him...but bruises began to appear on his forearms.

Buck stood back and waited with awe. Pride welled up in him. Proud to know that JD could stand and be counted with the rest of the team. JD was finally learning that he was equal to the other men...though labeled ‘The Kid’ they expected him to protect them as much as they watched over him. Wilmington smiled and chuckled....thankful that it was not he on the other side of that door.

"Not bad kid....not bad at all," Buck side stepped past JD, "jist next time keep yer chin down and hands up." Wilmington stifled a chuckle at Dunne’s unbelieving expression. The boy did not need to develop an ego.

"Watch it Buck," JD huffed as he collected the guns from the fallen men and hand cuffed them around a support beam in the corridor. "I jist might be able to kick yer ass some day." Dunne grunted as he dragged the last unconscious man’s arm around the post and cuffed the wrist together.

Buck did not bother to disguise his laughter. It hurt his ribs terribly...but truth be told, JD could probably kick all their butts. "Check their pockets, see if you can’t find anything on them," Wilmington directed. He could not even bear to bend over.

Dunne complied, his search fruitless. Even the magazines that fed the weapons were nearly gone. Finally, the bad guys were running out of ammo too.

"Nuthin’ Buck....but I think I recognize this guy from the surveillance tapes," JD nudged the bigger of the two downed men, "he works for Hughes....Not the father but the kid..what’s his name?"

"Sean...Sean Hughes," Wilmington filled in softly. The eldest son was worse than the old man and vicious to boot. He lacked his father’s brains and patience...but surpassed the patriach in brutality.

"Lets go find the others kid...let’em know who’s doin’ all the shootin’." Buck swiped JD on the back of the head playfully to keep the tension from building. JD was beginning to look scared. The Kid had heard of the gruesome things the oldest Hughes son could do with a chainsaw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josiah practically dragged Nathan out the door. The ex- preacher careened around the edge of the building and slammed directly into....Larabee.

Chris was thrown back a few feet and bowled into Tanner. Vin fell back into a Telephone pole. It took a few moments for everyone to recognize one another.

"We best move along brothers," Sanchez remarked, "we have company coming."

Josiah scooted past Chris and Vin dragging Nathan with him, giving the medic no choice in the matter.

"I ain’t runnin’ no more," Tanner declared not moving. Those snakes were the last straw.

Josiah paused. He frowned at Nathan. The medic merely nodded his head in agreement. He was sick and tired of hobbling around.

Larabee’s determined stance mirrored Vin’s. Their leader had already made his decision. The time for running was over.

The three men joined the Texan flush against the building’s outside wall. They tried to calm their breathing, maybe even hold their breaths a little.

Vin listened intently as muffled sound of running feet vibrated through the building. The outside door was shoved open. There was a pause as the gunmen decided which way to go.

Josiah held up three fingers. There were at least armed three men that had been chasing them. Chris and Vin nodded grimly. They waited patiently for the gunmen to make a decision.

Running feet approached their side of the building.

The gunmen rounded the corner. The first one ran square into Vin’s snapping punch. The man stumbled back holding his nose. The second gunman caught a flashing upward palm under the chin sending him staggering backward. Larabee wrung his hand out at the sting in his wrist. He pressed his advantaged. The criminal arched precariously with his midsection exposed and extended, suffered a flurry of hard quick upper cuts which landed squarely in his abdomen. The third gunman tried to ready his weapon but was slammed to the ground by the heavy hooking punch that slammed into his ear. Josiah grinned pleased with himself.

Nathan quietly but quickly hobbled around the fray and removed the automatic weapons from the reach of the combatants. A fair fight was indeed acceptable...unless it seemed his friends needed some outside help...and well then.....fair took a subjective twist.

One moment Hughes men had their guns and were hunting fleeing prey...and the next the weapons were ripped from their grasps and fists pounded their bodies.

The prey had become predators. Even a doe will turn and strike with her cloven hoofs. The sparrow will eventually dive on intruders. Push to far and the most docile of animals will turn and attack.

Team seven was not docile by nature. An undercurrent of violence shifted uneasily below controlled tranquil waters. Some were more ‘domesticated’ than others, some more wild then their teammates...but under the veneer of civilization rested an aggressor.

Team seven had been pushed and shoved too far. The wolves raised their teeth to the enemy. The grizzlies roared and stood on hind feet before charging. The badgers coiled, spat and lunged with teeth bared and the wolverine sunk its fangs into marauding flesh.

Vin, Chris, Josiah and Nathan took the fight to the enemy. Some where out there Buck and JD were trying to protect Ezra and find help.

The other four had reached their tolerance of running. The sickening sound of flesh striking flesh the occasional snap of a bone and the unsquelchable cry that followed filled the air. The foursome soundly and efficiently defeated three armed gun men.

When the last man hit the pavement with a resounding thud handcuffs were produced. Nathan leaned back against the utility poll trying to take the weight of his grossly swollen ankle.

Tanner angrily kicked the downed men onto their bellies and roughly cuffed thick wrists together. Josiah followed suit. Chris adjusted the ‘Maxi’ around his arm protecting the bleeding wound. It was beginning to hurt in earnest.

"They work pretty good don’t they?" Josiah rumbled up nodding his head toward Chris’s field dressing.

"Not bad," Larabee breathed out trying to catch a won breath. This had been one long night.

Vin leaned against the pole with Nathan. His side was burning and he could feel blood running down his belly. Gawd Damn Snakes.

"They sure did use alot of concrete with this place," Vin observed staring at the shadows cast by the concrete moats, "I mean between them barriers over there and these poles...whoever carried the contract must have done right good fer themselves."

"Probably did brother Vin...probably did," Josiah straightened out from cuffing the last man, "but if they set those utility poles right...they would have sunk them in gravel and not cement or concrete.....won’t rot as quick with crushed stone anchoring’em." Sanchez wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He paused when he saw the other three staring at him perplexed, "Worked on a line crew for a Utility company a long while back...least ways that’s what those guys did...used gravel...less maintenance and poles lasted longer....can’t say whether or not its true though."

Nathan and Vin shook their heads in bewilderment.

"’Ey where’s Ezra?" Chris searched the immediate area expecting to see his undercover agent suddenly appear.

Nathan and Josiah shared a sheepish look, "Well ya see we were in the Rhino pen and she took to charging..."

"Ya left’im in with the Rhino’s?" Tanner’s look of disbelief was lost in the shadow’s of the evening.

Sunrise was just an hour or less away.

"No," Nathan interrupted, "We tossed him over the fence to Buck and JD." Jackson gaze fell to Josiah, "What was that like a couple of hours ago?"

Sanchez merely nodded.

Chris and Vin exchanged a worried glance, "We saw them two about twenty minutes ago ‘n they didn’t have Ez."

No one said a word. Each was lost in their own thoughts.

Josiah took a sorrowful breath. He knew he should have kept the undercover agent with them. It was wrong to pass the burden onto someone else. Burden? Ezra was not a burden...he was a friend, a brother and yet they handed him off to others.

Nathan closed his eyes and settled heavily against the pole. Damn it was wrong to strap those two with Standish. Why should they be able to handle the dead responsibility any better than himself or Josiah.

The slap of approaching sneakers drew everyone’s attention. They flattened themselves against the wall and waited.

The footsteps...sounded like two separate runners. A shuffle, one foot landing heavier than the other. The other set was a true jog...just tired. Short strided.

Chris reached out and grabbed the intruder before they rounded the bend.

JD felt himself get slammed against the wall. The wind knocked out of him.

Buck saw JD get flung around the corner but before he could react he caught a fist to the jaw. Wilmington stumbled backward.

"Whoa...whoa...wait a minute. Its JD and Buck....its JD...Chris....Its JD!" Nathan restrained Larabee’s cocked arm preventing it from landing. Chris blinked and slowly let go of the form against the wall. JD melted to the ground trying to draw a breath.

Buck hit the ground with a thud and grabbed his chest.

"Sorry Buck..thought you were someone else," Vin mumbled. He offered the Ladies’ man a hand. Buck shook his head still holding on to his ribs with his left arm. "Busted ribs?" Tanner squatted down in front of Wilmington.

Buck merely nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 9

The six men stood out of sight within the Polar Bear building. Seven men had been taken out. How many were left?

"What’d you two do with Ezra?" Sanchez watched the duo closely. Neither one seemed worried or concerned.

"We left him in with the Tiger," JD answered pleased that they had found a safe place to stash Standish.

"You did what?" Chris leaned forward and grabbed Buck’s arm, "Tigers? You left him with a bunch of wild cats?"

"No just one," JD could not believe that Larabee would think so ill of them. "The momma cat that lost her cubs last week." Dunne shrugged, "she seemed nice enough...just curious...ain’t that right Buck?"

Josiah closed his eye and let his head thunk on the table.

"Was he awake?" Vin kept an eye out for any more intruders. Tanner turned his attention back to Buck and JD. He hoped Ezra was a still out. Vin was not sure what was worse....being left alone because people who were suppose to love you died...or being caste aside because those people chose not to keep you. Tanner figured either way it hurt and scarred.

Nathan waited patiently. How long did whatever run through Standish’s system work? Lord help him if woke up and irritated the tiger.

"No, he was out." Buck tried to lean back in the visitor center bench. Muscles burned and bone edges grated. He saw Tanner’s look and it made Wilmington wince. Buck never would have left the Southerner alone if Ezra had even so much as blinked.

"We had to leave’im.." JD was about to explain when Josiah softly interrupted him.

"We know son, we know," How could he possibly lay blame or judge someone for doing the same thing he and Nathan had done? Sanchez and the others knew Buck and JD had no choice.

"S’gonna be light in a few...lets wait it out then go git him," Vin turned back toward the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The six men exited the building under the grey light of a false dawn. The sun would inch over the horizon in a few minutes. The crisp bite of the early morning air chapped cheeks and reddened noses. The temps had stayed above freezing. JD sighed with some relief at least the water would not have frozen for the animals. He was not sure if the zoo used tank heaters. Chris did at his ranch and even still the stock tanks had to be checked daily.

Nathan leaned on Josiah. His ankle had stiffened and swollen almost to his knee. He had loosened his sneaker but the soft leather still dug painfully into the foot.

Chris held his torn arm at his midsection. Keeping it level seemed to be the most comfortable position. If he dropped it to his side it throbbed mercilessly. His fingers even ached.

Vin clutched at the wound in his side holding the makeshift bandage in place. The dried blood pulled at the wound searing already frayed nerve endings. He walked with a hitch trying hard not to disturb the torn muscles.

Buck and JD led the way at a slow hobble. Wilmington’s chest had become almost unbearable. His head was actually beginning to hurt from clenching his jaw. They would find Ezra, figure out a way to get him out...and then get out of Dodge. Maybe even go to the Emergency Room. Gawd he hurt.

The six men closed in on the Tiger habitat. The paved area led straight to the fence. The moat dropped before them and then a second fence stood on top of the far wall. The tiger was clearly visible.

The boulders had proven to be no obstacle.

"Shit," Vin’s Texan voice whispered on the breeze.

"Uhho," JD worried at his lip.

"He still seems out," Nathan observed.

"Think she’s keeping him for an hors d’oeurve or as a cub?"

"Least he’s not awake," Buck wanted to lean against the fence but was afraid to move anywhere off center line.

"Now what?" Larabee watched as the Tiger nuzzled and licked at her adopted cub.

Standish lay somewhat curled beside the large cat. It was obvious to them that he was still unconscious. The dark brown mop of hair hung out from under the cat’s foreleg. His face buried in her chest. Occasionally she would paw him, nudging him as if testing his awareness. He remained unresponsive.

She seemed un-alarmed. She had stretched her long frame out beside him keeping him close to her belly wall just as she would do to her own cubs. Thankfully the large Tiger ran her tongue over the suit coat and shirt sparing the skin underneath the sharp texture of her tongue. It could rip the hide off a man.

"Any suggestions?"

Gunfire punctuated the question.

JD tackled Buck dragging the large man into some shrubs. Vin and Chris both dove for cover behind an enormous tree.

Josiah tossed Nathan behind a closed ‘Popcorn’ stand.

How many could possibly be left? Chris seethed from behind the Bull Pine and watched as the gun man confidently walk into the open.

Team seven had no more ammo. Apparently the hunter knew it. He converged onto the open area unconcerned about the men that cowered before him. He held the automatic weapon at ready, its clip full.

He would avenge his father, saving him the disgrace of having been beaten by the ATF. Hughes stopped his haughty jaunt a few yards from the tiger pen.

JD caught a glimpse of Vin. The Texan held tightly onto Larabee keeping the blond from doing anything foolish. Dunne could hear Josiah swearing enough to make a Long Shoreman blush. JD held his breath. Buck lay behind JD curled into a ball wrapping an arm around his battered ribs. He held tight to JD’s leg, keeping the boy in place and fighting against the agony in his own chest.

Dunne closed his eyes and prayed someone or something would happen for the good. Even the Momma Cat was standing. Standish lay between her four feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sean Hughes stood with his gun drawn. The Tiger stood over her unconscious cub protecting it from a danger that she was well acquainted. The tiger raised her upper lip in a snarl flashing yellowish, white carnassal teeth. The green, yellow irises seemed to darken with her intent. With her head hung low and her hackles raised the mother appeared even more fearsome.

Hughes targeted the tiger. Before the sun cleared the morning horizon he would kill at least one of the ATF team. He was willing to destroy anything that stood in his way. Tiger or not, the man would not leave without one of Larabee’s men dead. Sean’s only regret that it was not ‘The Man’ himself. Too bad Chris Larabee was not present to eat the bullet. He was around here somewhere and maybe after destroying his undercover agent the yellow, bellied, bastard Larabee would make his presence known.

Yes and then Sean would kill ATF Agent Agent Larabee and then the rest of his team.

A gleam of hatred fueled revenge lit Sean Hughes’ eyes.

JD broke free of Buck’s grip.

Hughes squeezed the trigger.

The massive cat stood her ground.

Buck screamed JD’s name in deviance and denial.

The young ATF agent threw his body sideways shielding the mother on the other side of the barrier. He protected the animal that offered itself to protect her misbegotten cub.

The bullet seared into Dunne’s body. The lead projectile cracked the clavicle. The small bone that held no real importance in most animals, deviated the direction of the Foreign Body. The misshapen bullet skipped across the bone through the trapezius muscle ripping and gouging flesh as it spiraled through the body and exited out the back of the shoulder.

The bullet embedded itself in the tree trunk a few feet above the mother.

Buck had charged from his cover intent on murder.

Vin beat him to his target.

The Texan with an eerie silence attacked the man that threatened his team. In a violence and efficiency the others had suspected but never witnessed before, they watched in morbid fascination as Vin brutality took down the aggressor.

Wilmington deviated his path. He slid on his knees to the kid. "Oh God JD? JD?! What the hell were you thinkin’?....JD?!" Buck scooped the ‘boy’s’ upper body in his arms cradling him. He could feel the rapid beat of a shocky heart. He could feel the hot panicky breath of his best friend.

"Damn you kid what the hell were you thinkin’?" Buck fought back the sobs that threatened to spill from him. Instead his throat tightened as his grip cinched down on his friend. The stinging hot pain in his ribs paled in comparison to the empty loss that nearly drowned him.

"She’s a mother Buck.." JD stammered out. It was so plain to see, "She was protectin’ Ezra...that’s gotta mean somethin.."

Buck pulled the kid tighter to himself and rested his cheek on the boy’s dark wavy hair, "You stupid, beautiful, kid.....It mean’s somethin’ alright kid...its mean’s something," Wilmington rocked him back and forth thankful JD was alive...thankful that Dunne still breathed. "Don’t ever change Kid...don’t ever change," he murmured quietly.

Buck turned his gaze back toward the mother tiger. She watched the men outside her pen with a wary gaze. She stood over her ‘cub’ protecting him with the only weapon nature gave her....simply her body.

He hugged JD closer again and closed his eyes. How did they get so lucky?

"Brother someone might want to stop Vin," Josiah’s voice softly grabbed Chris’s attention.

Larabee watched as Tanner continued to strike the unmoving and semi conscious man on the ground. Tanner’s hand must have broke somewhere in the melee. The tightly controlled Texan used his elbow and forearm to batter his target.

Chris simply nodded in agreement to Sanchez’s statement. JD was obviously not dead. It was time to save Vin from himself. Larabee slowly made his way to the sharpshooter.

Nathan knelt down beside Buck and carefully pried the large man’s arms from around the Kid. JD’s hazy connection with consciousness was slowly slipping. The bleeding and shock needed to be addressed. Wilmington could help, Jackson would not deny the larger man of that necessary step toward healing but Jackson needed to gain control of the situation.

Josiah surveyed the area. Chris had managed to talk Vin ‘down’ without laying a hand on him. The Texan was a live wire shorting and striking at anything that invaded his space. Larabee knew this and kept his distance. The voice of reason eventually slipped in around the howls of rage.

Buck and Nathan worked on JD in an unfortunate and familiar manner. Sanchez turned his attention to their seventh. He lay oblivious still under the protective belly of his guardian.

The tiger snarled at the man that leaned against her fence. Though she saw no immediate threat, the area had become to busy. With a gentleness that belayed her size, she grabbed the collars of Standish’s shirt and suit coat and dragged him from the area.

Sanchez’s attention was diverted from the pen at the sounds of sirens and running feet.

Judge Travis and the calvary. Some had missed them....and reacted. ThankGod for the Judge.

Josiah smiled and leaned against the fence watching the sunrise. It was a good day to be alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 10

The Tiger Handler stared at the collection of men around him. The blonde and long haired fellow still seemed to have a bit of fight left in them. The black man and older man appeared congenial enough but something about them kept the handler on watch.

"I need you two to stay back here," he directed Chris and Vin behind the door way out of sight.

"She doesn’t know you so she won’t come if she sees you." Besides you have enough hostility radiating off you two to start a war.

"I need you two just over there," He directed Nathan and Josiah off to the side out of sight but still close enough to be of some help. They would be less threatening to the cat.

"I’m going to call her in for breakfast." He faced Nathan and Josiah, "When she leaves your agent..DO NOT approach him until after I have her secured," He paused and waited for silent agreements. Though the tiger was raised by humans she was still a wild animal and had all the instincts of her wild relatives. She would kill to protect what she deemed hers.

Nathan and Josiah waited patiently as the tiger was called. They could tell the large cat was torn. She pawed and rolled her cub with a front foot and her nose. She peered over her shoulder as she was called again for feeding time. The Tiger tried to collect her ‘cub’. The suit coat and shirt collars tore at the seams.

The urgency of the call increased.

The cat again checked over her shoulder and once again nudged her ‘cub’. No response.

The call again for food.

The big cat hesitantly left the body, constantly turning back as if to return to ‘its’ side. She edged closer to the door, knowing that food lay within but her ‘cub’ was unsheltered. Instincts were battling.

Josiah and Nathan squatted down out of sight praying the mother abandoned what she thought was hers.

With an almost audible sigh the Tiger walked through the small entrance way to her feeding area. The heavy metal door slammed down behind her with a dreadful finality.

The cat roared in anger and fear. Another cub lost.

Josiah and Nathan bolted from their hiding space. They grabbed Standish by his ankles and shoulders and shuffled back through the service entrance. The door slid closed behind them.

Chris and Vin closed in on the others as Nathan quickly searched for a pulse, checked pupils and respiratory rate. Jackson watched as the green eyes opened briefly and rolled again.

"Sleepin’," he smiled up at the others almost laughing. Josiah did...a deep belly laugh that rolled down the concrete block hallway.

"Shiiiiitttt," Chris uttered shaking his head unable to hide the smile of relief.

"Damn he can sleep through anything," Vin muttered trying to protect his wrist from jarring.

The cry of the Tiger rebounded hollowly off her enclosure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Judge Travis directed ambulances and officers with the efficiency of a three ring circus master. Travis spoke briefly with Buck distracting the large man as EMT’s secured an IV to Dunne and loaded him onto a gurney. It was with some well practiced direction that he ordered the older man to allow the young Ambulance crew to check Buck’s ribs. A few suspected fractured ones.

Travis merely shook his head. Suspected? Hell son, those ribs are broken...else Buck would have carried JD to the hospital by now...

Travis’s attention was drawn toward the coroner’s people. They were crawling over everything. It seemed there were bodies strewn about the zoo, but most had pulses. The park would not be open for another couple of hours. There was a lot of work to be done.

The Judge helped Buck into the back of the ambulance. The mustached man would not leave his young charge unattended. Travis assured him that the others would be following shortly.

Chris supported Standish from under one shoulder while Josiah had him from under the other. The two men more or less dragged their third between them. Nathan and Vin followed behind. Jackson limped painfully wincing with each foot placement resting heavily on Tanner. The sharpshooter bit his lip at the increasing searing pain in his wrist.

Orrin walked toward the maintenance exit when Larabee shuffled out first supporting Standish followed by Sanchez.

"You boys doin’ alright?"

"Tigas," Standish mumbled trying to lift his chin off his chest.

The Judge smiled as he slid in taking Chris’s spot, "Go get checked out with the EMT Chris...and take those two with you." Vin and Nathan were both about to object when Travis simply said, "its an order boys.....not a request."

Josiah failed to stifle his chuckle. He did not know whether or not formidable Judge Orrin Travis carried such authority but it seemed no one was willing to risk it.

"Let’s put him over there."

Josiah followed Travis’s lead. Sanchez easily manipulated Standish into the front seat of the Judge’s car. He eased the seat back resting the undercover agent’s head against the headrest.

"You comfortable Ezra?" Josiah watched the wide green eyes blink with exaggerated motion.

"Tigaas," Standish tried to lift his head from the seat rest but was unable too. Instead it rolled toward his shoulder as he slumped in the seat.

The Judge knelt on the driver’s seat and secured Standish’s seat belt, "That should keep him still for a moment or two." The older man crawled back out of the car and headed toward the EMTs. They looked like they could use some help.

"Let’s go see how the rest of your friends are doing," The Judge and Profiler crossed the observation area to the growing hostilities between EMT and ATF.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Judge pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital. He parked as close to the doors as possible and still had a good hundred yards to walk. Josiah had followed from the Zoo in his own vehicle. Travis sighed heavily as he stared at the dozing man beside him. Standish slept slouched in the passenger seat. Orrin was half tempted to crack the windows and lock the door. Let sleeping dogs lie.... "Lets go Agent Standish."

The Emergency department knew of the incoming storm. They were quite familiar with these types of scenarios and in fact practiced for such occasions. Though these dry practice runs were known as Disaster runs...some for Bus accidents, others for Train derailments, still others for Plane Crashes etc. They thought themselves some what if not adequately prepared for most onslaughts that would come through their doors.

And they were....But they never had a drill for the bombardment of Team seven at their doors. Though the infamous team was notorious for their bloody and sometimes high maintenance forays into the halls of Four Corners Mercy Hospital...never had they had so many as patients.

It was a curse and a blessing. There was no concern about the possible hostilities that might erupt between the frantically waiting members of Team Seven in the waiting room. All had been wheeled in or limped in with assistance. The waiting room would survive the visit. The soda machine and candy machines would not fall victim to the normal brutality spawned by frustration and impatience. The magazines would not be flipped through or tossed in the trash. The cafeteria would actually have enough coffee for the rest of the hospital staff. Better yet there was no one demanding to know what was going on behind closed doors.

Unfortunately the interns and residents were getting a taste of what the nursing staff and receptionist had to deal with on a normal team seven visit. The impatience....the "I’m Fine’s....do that again doc and I’ll shoot ya where ya stand.....Ya ain’t stickin’ me with that Javelin...."etc. The bedside manners of the M.D’s was being sorely tested. Team seven would not sit still for anyone. Though some members were more immobile or less responsive then others....the alert teammates picked up the slack.

The Emergency Deptartment was in chaos.

Mr. Wilmington actually threatened to strangle Dr. Winston with his stethoscope if the good Doctor did not stop pestering him. Though Dr. Winston was new to the hospital, he found it within his best interest to heed Agent Wilmington’s warning. Buck hung onto JD’s blood stained hand until a surgical nurse forcibly separated the two.

Mr. Tanner was grinning quietly on his gurney until the anesthesiologist approached him with a tray full of needles and syringes. The films showed slight non-aligned fracture of the distal Radius and Ulna with no involvement of the joint. A simple nerve block and they could set the broken bones and cast the arm. Agent Tanner lost all his good cheer and tried to escape. Nurse Holbrook quickly and succinctly prevented the attempt.

Mr. Jackson scrutinized the intern who caste his broken ankle. Though the ankle was not actually broken the distal Tibia had a fracture. The ex-Army Medic felt compelled to point out the technical differences between an actual broken ankle and just a simple fracture of a long bone. Nathan further devulged to the young, over tired, doctor that the medical profession should take more time to explain itself to the public....namely their patients. The young intern wondered if he would have enough fiberglass to wrap his patient’s mouth.

Chris watched with some trepidation as the nurse dug through his seemingly impossible thick file for record of his most recent Tetnus shot. She could not find one. Though Agent Larabee insisted that he had one there was no evidence. With raised eyebrows the doctor could only nod for his nurse to administer the injection. Dr. Peters returned to cleaning and debriding the lacerated arm. The stitches would follow.

Orrin Travis stood over the proceeding’s on the floor. The privacy curtains were left open between the four men. Dr. Winston ,with the Judge’s non discreet help, actually managed to film Buck’s thorax to find three fractured ribs, all on the right side.

On the closest gurney Standish had sat quietly in a stupor while an Intern ran a quick physical Exam. Once left to himself the undercover agent simply toppled to the side and rested half sitting half laying on the rolling cot, his face half buried in a pillow. Sanchez had made an attempt to swing the undercover agent’s legs up onto the bed but Standish actually showed some life and pushed himself into a sitting position....only to fall back down to the side.

Travis removed his cell phone and called his wife. The Boy’s had survived their night at the Zoo and more importantly the Zoo had survived its night with Boys.

A few hours later the team wobbled and staggered out to Sanchez’s suburban. Buck and JD originally were to stay with Standish this weekend because their notorious apartment was being fumigated. Josiah was suppose to stay with Nathan this weekend because Sanchez’s little apartment had no running water...something about bad pipes. Apparently Josiah had apprenticed with a plumber for a year and diagnosed his pluming problems.....and fixed it. The apartments surrounding him suddenly flooded for unknown reasons. Fortunately the landlord called a professional to handle the situation. Vin’s apartment had no glass in the windows. It seemed some of the neighborhood kids wanted to get his attention by pelting the glass with small stones. Small apparently was a subjective word.

With some help from one another and alot from the Judge six of the seven were loaded into Sanchez’s truck. JD rode shot gun. The light anesthetic they had given him to suture his wounds left the young man in similar shape as the undercover agent.

Vin was forced to sit in the middle between Josiah and JD because he was the smallest and most conscious. Chris and Nathan had window seats in the back bench leaving Buck in the middle. That was fine with Wilmington he could keep a better eye on the kid from that seat. Standish had been stuffed and rolled into the very back compartment and a blanket dropped over him. Occasionally he muttered about Tigers.

The Judge watched Sanchez drive away. Evie was waiting at home with dinner. It had been a long Friday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 11

Chris and Josiah got JD settled in Adam’s old room. The room had somehow metamorphosed into a hybrid. Adam’s things still decorated and held their spots as if waiting for Adam to walk back through the door...but somewhere amongst a young boy’s dreams and clutter another presence was slowly sharing its space. A few extra articles of clothing belonging to the others hung in the closet. A razor rested on the bureau....adult sneakers poked out from under the bed. Small things but a change was slowly occurring. Larabee could not really say he minded the co-existence.

Buck watched from the door way. His ribs would not tolerate much more than just walking. The Painkillers were kicking in and it was difficult to keep his eyes open. He wanted to fight Josiah’s guiding hand from his elbow when Sanchez led him down the hall to the guest room. "Git some rest Brother. JD will be fine...I’ll watch him." Wilmington did not remember nodding in agreement or even laying his head on the pillow. One moment Josiah was talking to him and the next nothing.

Sanchez pulled Wilmington’s sneakers off leaving the knots in place and tossed a comforter over the sleeping man. Two down.

Nathan hobbled in with Vin’s help and sat on the couch. The Sharpshooter dragged the coffee table closer so Jackson could prop his leg up. Tanner fell into the lazy boy chair and extended the legs. He had no intention of getting back on his feet.

Chris and Josiah joined them. The foursome sat quietly in the living room with the T.V down low. The late afternoon slipped into early twilight. The long grey shadows of evening finally cast the room into darkness. Larabee was forced to switch on a few lamps.

"Anyone want a beer?" Josiah headed for the kitchen.

Collective No’s were whispered around the room.

An hour later Josiah changed the station on the TV. The Discovery channel was running a special on Tsunamis. When in Hawaii one summer with his father Josiah had the privilege of working with some researchers on Tsunami watches.

Vin had finally fallen asleep. He was worse than a little kid fighting a nap. Though he didn’t kick and scream he certainly did wage a battle. In the end the pain medication won and the Texan slept slightly curled in the over sized chair.

Chris unfurled Vin’s Styrofoam bed roll and sleeping bag. The Texan kept his camping gear in Adam’s room. They would not leave Tanner in the chair.

Nathan had already dozed off. The medic stretched the length of the couch. His leg had been propped up by numerous pillows as it draped over the arm. Sanchez had tossed a wool blanket and afghan over his friend. The only two who could stretch out comfortably on the couch were JD and Ezra.

Chris paused....Ezra?

"There a problem brother?" Sanchez tested the volume on the TV. He wonder if he would recognize any faces or names.

"You seen Ezra?"

Sanchez shut his eyes for a brief moment. "I’ll go get him." He left the TV and grabbed his coat.

Josiah dropped down the tailgate to his old but trusty suburban. The evening was dark and brisk. The gravel seemed to crunch loudly under his boots. Heavy clouds hid the moon and stars. A slight breeze kicked up, a biting reminder that winter still held a grip on the land.

The cargo light flickered casting a dim hue over the gravel drive. The light browned and finally fizzled out. Sanchez could see well enough in the truck. The undercover agent had curled himself under a blanket, his back flush to the spare tire.

"Ezra?" Josiah shook the exposed foot. He waited and was rewarded with some movement. "Come on brother lets git you inside." Sanchez reached in grabbing an ankle.

"Tigers," was the muttered thick response. The exposed leg curled back under the blanket.

The MD’s had no idea how long Standish would suffer under the effects of the unknown drug or drugs but it seemed like a general consensus that all should be back to normal by morning. Josiah hoped so.

"No tigers out here son. Come on let’s git you out of there." Josiah pulled a little on the ankle. The leg stretched out and then recoiled slightly. "Brother you can’t sleep in the truck all night...lets go." Sanchez was tired. He reached in and hauled the younger man into a sitting position. Standish swayed, listing heavily to his left.

"You in there?" Josiah watched the fogged eyes try and focus on him.

"Mr. Sanchez...." the slow, inebriated, southern voice paused, "where are we?" He tipped dangerously to the side while trying to sit up.

"We’re at Chris’s come on lets git in the house with the others." Josiah steadied him on the tail gate.

"The others?" Standish craned his head left and right. Confusion reigned.

"Yeah come on...let git inside and we’ll explain it all to you," Sanchez dallied with a little misdirection. They would explain it tomorrow not tonight.

With rubbery legs and an uncooperative sense of direction, Josiah pushed and pulled the Southerner into the house.

Chris gazed up from the second sleeping roll he unfurled on the floor and raised his eyebrows. The front door opened and closed. With Josiah’s help Ezra teetered back and forth on his feet as he was lead across the wood floor.

"He alright?" Larabee noticed the too wide eyes and exaggerated blinking. Reality was still just an arms reach from his undercover agent.

"Should be." Sanchez lead Ezra toward the second bed roll. Together Josiah and Chris eased the southerner down into the sleeping bag.

"Not tired," Standish muttered. He was not a little kid. He did not need putting to bed. No one had never done it for him in the past and he certainly did not need it now.

"Shut up Ezra," Chris admonished. Larabee pushed Standish’s head back onto the pillow, "Go to sleep."

"I’m hungry," the southern drawl was coarse and drawn out. His eyes had already closed but fluttered in an attempt to open.

"Go ta sleep.....you’ll be hungry tomorrow morning," Josiah answered.

Chris furrowed his brow at Sanchez’s remark but left it alone. Sometimes Josiah could be down right confusing with his honesty.

Sanchez tossed Standish’s shoes across the room and folded the top of the sleeping bag over Ezra. The preacher was careful not to zip it. Standish still had bouts of claustrophobia...thanks to Kara Billings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris woke to the sound of arguing. He listened trying to make out who it was...his mouth felt as if it were full of cotton balls. It took a moment for his memory to fill in the glaring gaps from yesterday and last night. Now as he rested comfortably under the comforter he listened with some irritation to the raised voices in the other room. The living room from the sounds of it.

It was JD and Vin.....Who else would be arguing whether or not Hong Kong Phooey could ‘Whup Ass’ on UnderDog.

Larabee shut his eyes and shook his head. Let someone else deal with those two. Then a Southern voice tiredly pointed out, "The Astute Scooby-Doo and sensible Shaggy would surpass both your less than stellar Canines in apprehending foul evil doers."

Buck’s scathing laughter interrupted further comments with a loud gwaff and announced, "Cat Woman would kick all their asses and then some."

"I don’t know Buck, Green Lantern had some nifty gadgets in his arsenal." Josiah’s seasoned voice rumbled through the house.

"You’re all out of your minds, Superman was the Man," Jackson answered from somewhere down the hall.

The argument then rose in volume and became heated. Six voices competed for supremacy.

This was ludicrous. Larabee’s anger boiled.

With a pounding headache, a nauseous stomach and muscle aches that ran throughout his body Larabee pushed himself from his warm bed. He cringed when his bare feet hit the chilled, hard wood floors. He would wring their ever lovin’ necks.

He stormed into the living room. His forearm was swathed in bandages protecting his forty odd stitches. Blond hair pointed in the direction of 64 compass points. Dark circles hung under his eyes. The stubble on his jaw was beginning to itch. Chris wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet.

"Will you all shut yer gawd damn traps....and keep it down!" His bellow rattled windows.

Heads popped over and around couches and chairs. The others stared at him in mute shock.

Larabee glared at each and everyone of them until they squirmed uncomfortably under his infuriated gaze. A bunch of ill behaved kids....every last one of them.

Without a word Chris left for his room, slamming the door for emphasis.

The silence lasted for all of maybe...possibly......8 seconds....most likely less.

Then it began.

"Wonder what’s got into him?" Buck tossed a questioning, small, shrug at the others as he swung his gaze back around to the TV.

"I don’t know but somethin’ sure did crawl up his butt n’ die." Vin laid back against his pillow to watch Thundar the Barbarian. He really liked Oogla.

"Ya think he’s mad?" JD shoveled more waffles into his mouth. Chris was running low on Maple Syrup...maybe he would wait to tell him later. Dunne balanced his plate on Nathan’s cast.

"It would appear our Mr. Larabee is a little on edge." a pause, "must not be a morning person." Standish sipped casually on his coffee while resting on one elbow. The sleeping bag was really not uncomfortable at all. How he got there was still somewhat a mystery.

"His arm might be bothering him....though it was only fifty stitches...really not that bad," Jackson reclined on the couch with his legs stretched over their youngest. Nathan would take a look at the suture line later today.

"Wonder where he got the boxers?" Josiah muttered stretching his feet out. He sat on the floor leaning against the arm of the couch. He raised his eyebrows in innocent query when the others all turned and stared at him. "What?....I use to work in retail...those are quality stuff."

"Is there anything you haven’t done," Nathan asked tiredly.

Sanchez thought about it for a moment, "I’ve never been a woman."

"ThankGod," Vin mumbled cringing..what an image.

"Amen," Standish replied with a grimace and slight tremor...apparently sharing Vin’s visual.

"Ya think Buck’s Animal Magnetism would work on Josiah if he was a woman?" JD sat up staring at the others. His orange juice leaned precariously over Nathan’s unprotected toes.

"No," Buck’s defensive answer raised eyebrows.

"I don’t know Buck yer pretty indiscriminate," Vin added with a smug smile.

"Josiah would make an awful ugly lady, though," Jackson pointed out. Josiah was not sure how that remark was meant. He almost felt insulted.

"Yeah, but I’ve seen some of Buck’s dates," JD added quickly. If the Animal Magnetism was real then it should work on all the ladies.

"So true, Mr. Dunne..So true," Standish laid back against the pillow. Mornings weren’t too bad if you had no place to be.

The argument ensued in earnest. Six voices rose and struggled to be heard over one another.

Chris lay in his bed and hid his head under his pillow.

Why? Why Me?