DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders is the creation of Ed Spielman, and the property of Ogiens/Kane productions in association with MGM/UA television. The characters from the television program The Magnificent Seven are the property of Trilogy and The Mirisch Co. I am making no money from their use.
This Story is created for entertainment purposes only, no infringement intended. Not to be copied without permission from the author.
RATINGS: PG - violence, mild language
WARNING: This Story contains an alternative Universe theme, if this type of story is not to your liking or will somehow offend you please delete this mail immediately and do not read any further. In addition it is a The Young Riders/The Magnificent Seven Crossover, so if crossovers are not your cup of tea, please go no further. Furthermore this story contain semi graphic images of a terrorism nature, if you feel this may disturb you please find a different story that you will enjoy.
NOTES: The song that inspired the Title is by Garth Brooks on his fresh horses album. Eternal thanks to Mog for letting me play in her ATF AU sandpit. Thanks heaps to Enid (known affectionately here as my font of all knowledge) for all the brainpicking I have done. Thanks to my net sisters Lyn and Dayna for all the collaboration and characterisation help, couldn’t have done it without you.
Chapter 6
As long as one heart still holds on
Then hope is never really gone
And I hear them saying
You’ll never change things
and no matter what you do its still the same thing
But its not the world that I am changing
I do this so
This world will know that it will not change me
She wasn’t sure how long they stood like that in the corridor, but she gratefully absorbed the comfort that he gave her, feeling secure in the arms of this almost stranger. Of course none of the men on Team 7 were strangers to them. Their FBI had been introduced to Team 7, in profiles at least, earlier in the week when Teaspoon had approached Orin Travis for assistance.
It was amazing what you could learn about people from reading between the lines of their profiles and asking a few well placed questions. Lou was sure that they were going to have trouble adjusting to working with the men in Team 7, a hunch that she was sure was right when she met their formidable team leader. However, when the rest of the team arrived she had known that she might be able to find an ally within their ranks. The calm acceptance in the cool green eyes of the man who had accepted her challenge and now the comfort in the arms of the teams ladies man had confirmed to her that she would be able to work with these men, and trust them almost as much as she trusted her own team.
Footsteps further down the hall drew her from her reverie and she turned to see Ike and the one they called JD walking towards them. She pulled herself from Bucks’ loose embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes before she had to explain her embarrassing tears.
Ike watched Lou’s face closely, something was wrong with the young woman he thought of as a sister and if the man in front of her had anything to do with it, he would see that he paid. As Lou looked up at him he searched her face looking for some cause of her tears. Lou smiled at him realising that he was ready to protect her and shook her head at him with a grin. Reaching out to him she clasped his hand quickly letting him know that she truly was fine before she turned back to Buck.
“Buck I would like you to meet Ike McSwain” she introduced watching as the two men shook hands “Ike this is Buck Wilmington” she smiled
“Ike’s the best communications man in the game” she spoke quietly explaining his place in the team to Buck
“I reckon JD here could challenge him at that” Buck replied gesturing towards his partner.
“Find anything” Lou asked Ike
“Not Much” Ike stated with a shrug
“We think we know who she is though” JD spoke
He waved the stack of papers in his hand at them as he continued towards their offices. The four of them moved into the conference room together, none of them missing the way that Kid’s eyes narrowed when he saw the affectionate way Buck led Lou into the room. Lou noticed his jealous look and couldn’t help letting his temper grow, leaning into Buck’s embrace. She was not Kid’s possession and refused to be treated like one.
JD waited until everyone was seated again, before he spoke.
“When we had an image that appeared almost normal, we ran it against the missing persons but we didn’t get anything.” He paused and gestured toward the bald agent “Ike thought we should run it against anybody who has been picked up soliciting in the last twelve months. There was only one match” he pushed the papers around the table to the other agents.
“Damn” Buck swore under his breath
“Spit it out Buck” Chris spoke to his oldest friend
“I know this girl” he looked at the picture in front of him. Elspeth Martin. A pretty brunette, about 5’2” tall with a light of humour always in her eyes, her only real crime being born to a family of 14 children and falling in with the wrong crowd. Time and again he had tried to talk her off the streets, but she kept coming back.
“If he’s taken her, she knows him” he scanned the faces around the table
“Why do you say that?” Jimmy asked
“She’s a part time hooker” he spoke “Only turns tricks when her boyfriend needs crack money” he shook his head at the waste of a young life, knowing that the boyfriend who subjected her to prostitution would not waste a moments sympathy on her “She’ll only see regulars.” His eyes blazed with his fury “She knew him” he stated again firm in his convictions. “Only works out of one location too – a little ”
The group of agents knew that this was perhaps their best lead, in fact it was their only lead, now they sat together heads bent over the table and thrashed out a plan that just might work.
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