“Must you eat constantly, Mr. Tanner?” Ezra asked, sending an annoyed glance at the man in the passenger seat.
Grinning, Vin stuffed another handful of pork rinds in his mouth.
Ezra grimaced. “I don’t know how you can consume that swine by-product.”
“S’good, Ez,” Vin replied, unperturbed by the look of disgust being sent his way.
“I like ‘em, too,” JD piped supportively from the back seat.
Rolling his eyes, Ezra muttered, “Why am I not surprised.”
The three men were on their way to Billings, Montana to testify at the trial of Frank Garber, an illegal arms merchant they had arrested two months earlier while they were on loan to the Montana FBI office. The bust had occurred while they were making initial overtures to Garber. Ezra had gone undercover as a wealthy weapons dealer, with JD portraying his young nephew and assistant, and Vin in his usual role as bodyguard, or ‘personal security consultant,’ as Ezra preferred to call it.
Garber, impressed with their credentials, had invited them along to a deal he was conducting, ostensibly to display his own status as a high-end player in the arms trade. Ezra later called it “a fine example of miscreant stupidity,” since the hastily-arranged bust had resulted in the arrests of both Garber and the representatives of the gang he was dealing with. Hundreds of weapons and several kilos of cocaine were removed from the streets, as well.
As the only ‘friendly’ witnesses to the deal, their testimony was needed at Garber’s trial, which was the reason they found themselves driving down the highway toward Billings. They were traveling in an agency car, since Ezra refused to use his personal vehicle, JD’s car was too small, and Vin’s was notoriously unreliable. They would have preferred flying, but there had been a budgetary crackdown of late and, in an effort to cut costs, they were being forced to drive. A good-natured argument had erupted regarding who cost the ATF more: Ezra, who regularly charged suits and expensive dinners with bad guys to his expense report; Vin, who suffered the most injuries and required the most costly weapons; or JD, who was always demanding newer and better electronics. In the end, they conceded it was a tie.
“Hey, there’s a rest area with food up ahead,” JD said, pointing to a sign stating that fact.
“I could use some lunch,” Vin agreed.
Ezra gave him an incredulous look. “After all that you’ve already consumed, you’re still hungry?”
“I’m a growin’ boy,” Vin said with a grin.
“You’re a human garbage disposal,” Ezra retorted, stifling a sigh as he signaled his turn into the truck stop.
Vin refused to be baited and merely laughed at the put-out southerner.
“I’ll drop you by the door,” Ezra said. “I’ll join you after I refuel the car.” He gestured toward the gas pumps to one side of the rest area.
“We need gas already?” Vin queried. “We’ve only been on the road for two hours.”
“The car only had half a tank to start with,” Ezra explained.
“Want us to order you something?” JD offered.
“A salad and some coffee would be acceptable.”
“See ya in a few!” JD said, jumping out of the car to join Vin.
Shaking his head at the younger man’s energy, Ezra navigated the car toward the gas pumps, wincing at the inflated prices. “The cost of convenience,” he muttered under his breath as he parked beside the pumps.
Vin slid into a booth by the window carrying his bag of food from Burger King. He liked McDonald’s french fries better, but had to admit that BK made decent burgers.
JD joined him a few minutes later with his own bags of food. “I got Ez a chicken caesar salad. You think that’s okay?”
“Yeah, as long as it ain’t greasy, he’ll like it,” Vin replied.
JD unwrapped his burger and took a bite, turning to look out the window. His brow wrinkled in confusion when he spotted what appeared to be their car heading for the exit. “Hey Vin? I think Ez is leaving.”
Vin looked in the direction JD was pointing, frowning when he noticed that there was more than one person in the blue sedan that was accelerating toward the exit. With a muttered curse, he jumped out of his seat and ran outside, chasing after the vehicle, but it had already merged back onto the highway. “Shit,” he cursed aloud, pulling out his cell phone and dialing the state police.
His expression blank, Ezra gripped the steering wheel tightly, driving with great care down the middle lane of the highway. Some might have mistaken the white-knuckled grip for fear, but they would have been wrong. Ezra was furious. He had just finished filling the gas tank and climbed into his car, looking forward to lunch with his associates, only to be met with a gun in his face as he attempted to close the car door. His own weapon was in his suitcase, which was currently locked in the trunk. He had planned to wear his holster, but had been running late and decided he would don it later.
“Drive,” the man had said, he and his companion climbing into the backseat of the car. They were an odd pair. One was short, with shaggy hair, an unshaven face, and unkempt clothing. The other man – the one wielding the large-caliber gun – was tall and dressed impeccably in designer slacks and a polo shirt.
They weren’t a gabby pair, not speaking other than to direct him to “shut up and drive.” He glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowing in anger as he memorized the features of the two men in the back seat. Nobody kidnapped Ezra Standish and got away with it. The memory of Vin running behind the car brought a faint smile to his lips. There was no doubt in his mind that, one way or another, these miscreants would get their due.
Vin sighed as he clicked off his phone. Just once, he would have liked to complete an assignment without mishap. The state police were on alert for the car, and he and JD had been instructed to await their arrival. Vin was not one to simply sit around, so he scanned the area surrounding the gas pumps with a practiced eye. There had been no other vehicles at the pumps when Ezra had pulled in, and the only people nearby were the two young men inside the small cashier’s office. Vin sighed again. Leave it to Ezra to use the pumps furthest away from the only potential witnesses to his abduction. Not expecting much, he made his way toward the small office.
“Can I help you?” the young clerk asked cheerfully as Vin came through the door.
Holding up his badge, Vin said, “I need to ask you a few questions.”
This is becoming tiresome. Ezra glanced in the mirror at his silent passengers yet again. Other than the weapon that remained pointed at his back, they were not paying him much attention, more concerned with watching out the windows to ensure they were not being followed. His one attempt at conversation had been met with a hard cuff to the back of his head with the barrel of the .44 the taller man carried. Ezra frowned again. He had much better things to do than play chauffer to a pair of ne'er-do-wells. All he had to do was figure a way out of this seemingly impossible situation. He smirked to himself in the mirror. Piece of cake.
JD nibbled on a cold french fry, lost in thought. He and Vin had given a statement to the state police, using their badges to maximum effect in requesting aid, but so far, there had been no sign of Ezra or the car. The gas station cashiers had only recalled seeing some men near the car, but could give no useful description. Vin had scouted the rest of the area prior to the troopers’ arrival, discovering an old car parked behind the restaurant, steam still rising from the radiator. According to the police, the car matched the description of the getaway car used in a bank robbery in a town thirty miles away. The police had impounded and towed the disabled car away, dropping JD and Vin at a car rental firm at their request. Vin convinced him that it would be best to stay as close to Ezra as possible, but now he was starting to wonder if it was the right decision.
In his head, JD knew they would do little good racing down the highway, but he felt even more useless just sitting around, waiting for news. Vin had promised that they would stop and regroup if they hadn’t heard anything by five o’clock, since they still needed to get to Billings for the trial. He sighed and wrapped up the remainder of the lunch he had bought at the rest stop. His appetite had deserted him once he realized that Ezra had been kidnapped.
At first, he and Vin thought that it was some of Garber’s men who grabbed Ezra in a ploy to keep them from testifying. But now, it appeared to be simple bad luck that the escaping bank robbers had selected Ezra as their victim. He grimaced at that thought, hoping that Ezra kept his sharp tongue in check, for once. The suave undercover agent had proven to have a knack for annoying the bad guys with his sarcasm and extensive vocabulary.
JD looked up as a sudden thought struck him. “Did you call Chris before we left?”
“Nope.” Vin shook his head. “Ain’t gonna call unless I have to.”
“Chris’ll be pissed if he finds out,” JD warned.
“He won’t have to find out if we get Ez back quick enough,” Vin countered.
JD sighed, hoping Vin wasn’t just being an optimist in his assumption that they would indeed get Ezra back.
Ezra lifted his head off of the airbag, squinting to clear his vision. A smile slowly spread across his face as he surveyed his surroundings. The shorter of his two abductors lay in a bloody sprawl across the crumpled hood of the car, one leg dangling over the side, while the other lay at the edge of the smashed-out windshield. Turning his head carefully, Ezra noted with satisfaction that the other miscreant lay in a twisted heap on the floor of the backseat. He started to laugh despite the pain that coursed through him at the action. His plan had worked!
It hadn’t escaped his notice that neither of his abductors wore a seatbelt, while his own, out of habit, was securely fastened. At first, he had dismissed the idea of crashing the vehicle as too dangerous, the product of too many late nights watching bad movies. But as the long drive continued, it began to look like a more attractive option. It had to be better than whatever the two men had in mind for him at the end of this journey, he reasoned. All he needed was an appropriate place to put the plan into action.
The place presented itself sooner than he expected. Ezra spotted the bridge in the distance and prepared himself for action. His captors were still ignoring him, their attention firmly on the other vehicles surrounding them. Testing his seatbelt one last time, Ezra took a deep breath before turning the wheel sharply to the right, sending the car careening into the bridge abutment. The impact triggered the airbag, which abruptly halted his forward momentum.
“Are you all right sir?” The young man peered at him anxiously through the broken window.
Ezra laughed again, giddy with relief at being alive to answer.
“Just relax, help with be here soon,” the young man said anxiously, giving him a worried look.
Ezra’s mirth subsided as his head cleared. Fumbling in his pocket, he withdrew his cell phone, pressing one of the programmed speed dial buttons. “Vin?”
Vin snatched up his cell phone and snapped it open the moment it rang. “Yeah?” His shoulders sagged in relief at the sound of the familiar, but shaky voice on the other end. “Ez? You okay?”
“It’s Ez?” JD perked up, watching Vin hopefully.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Ez,” Vin said, his jaw clenching as he dropped the phone and stepped on the gas.
JD grabbed the phone. “Ez?” He sighed and shut the phone. “He hung up.”
“He was in an accident,” Vin said tersely.
“Aw hell,” JD said, frowning with concern.
“Yeah,” Vin agreed.
“I do not need any further assistance,” Ezra said, slapping away the hands that were attempting to remove his shirt.
“Sir, you’re bleeding,” the paramedic argued.
“They’re just tryin’ to help you,” Vin said, an amused smile playing on his lips.
Ezra looked up at the familiar voice, then said petulantly, “I don’t recall you being so accommodating the last time you needed such assistance.”
“You are bleeding, Ez,” JD pointed out.
Ezra looked down at his bloodstained shirt and frowned in distaste. “It’s not mine. Those miserable cretins bled on me.”
Vin and JD looked at each other and at the insulted expression on Ezra’s face and burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Ezra whined. “Mr. Larabee is already upset about the amount of clothing on my expense reports.”
Vin and JD laughed harder until Ezra finally gave in and joined them. The paramedic shook his head, moving his index finger in a circular motion at his temple to indicate insanity.
It took some time, but after settling things with the state police, JD and Vin bundled Ezra into their rental car and continued on their way. The paramedics had assured them that Ezra was only suffering from some cuts, bruises, and a mild concussion. They had wanted to take him to the hospital, just to be certain, but Ezra had stubbornly refused, insisting that he needed to testify. Vin and JD had reluctantly agreed, knowing that of all of them, Ezra was likely to have the clearest and most persuasive testimony against Garber.
“You okay back there?” JD said, craning his neck to look at Ezra, who had been dozing in the back seat for the past hour.
Ezra opened his eyes, gazing blearily at the younger man. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, and I got a bridge to sell ya,” Vin said with a chuckle.
Ezra glared at him, then leaned back with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “What did Mr. Larabee have to say about this incident?”
“Um, we didn’t tell him,” JD said, squirming slightly in his seat. “What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt us.”
Ezra chuckled. “Mr. Tanner, I think we’ve been a bad influence on our young colleague.”
JD shrugged, turning back toward Ezra. “Want some aspirin?” He held out a small bottle.
“Thank you, JD,” Ezra said, taking the offered medication gratefully.
“No problem.” JD started to turn around, then stopped and stared out the back window. “Geez, that guy’s sure in a hurry.”
Ezra turned to look out the back window, immediately spotting the red convertible that was rapidly closing the distance between them. “Perhaps it’s some more bank robbers,” he quipped.
Vin glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. He was getting a bad feeling about the approaching car. “Guys? Do me a favor and get down.”
Ezra met Vin’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“I got a feelin’,” Vin said simply.
Nodding, Ezra slid to the floor, pulling his weapon from the holster on the seat beside him. JD did the same in the front seat.
As the car drew closer, Vin’s frown deepened. “I think I saw that car back at the rest area.”
“Think they’re following us?” JD asked.
“We’re gonna find out real soon,” Vin answered, his voice tight with tension.
The convertible continued to close in on them, pulling right up to their bumper before moving suddenly into the lane beside them.
“Here they come,” Vin said. He glanced out the window briefly, catching sight of a gun being pointed in their direction. “Gun!” he yelled, veering into the next lane in an attempt to avoid the attackers.
The first blast shattered the driver’s side window. Vin managed to duck out of the way in time, but still caught several shotgun pellets in his shoulder. Ezra attempted to lower his side window, but that effort was rendered unnecessary by a second blast from the shotgun. Raising his own weapon, he fired several rounds at the attackers.
The gun battle continued for several minutes, until their attackers got in a lucky shot, taking out the left front tire of their vehicle. Vin fought to keep the car on the road, but they were moving too fast to easily regain control. It was only Vin’s driving skills that kept them from crashing into any other vehicles as they swerved toward the side of the road. They smashed through the guard rail and plummeted down an embankment, landing with a tremendous splash in the deep, slow-moving river at the bottom.
Dazed, the three men stumbled out of the car, crawling through the mud along the river’s edge.
“Our bags, Vin,” Ezra said softly.
Vin glared at him. “Your stuff ain’t that important, Ez.”
“Extra ammunition might be,” Ezra countered, displaying the nearly empty clip of his Beretta.
“Shit.” Vin quickly dove back into the water, popping the trunk and retrieving their sodden bags before taking cover with JD and Ezra behind the thick underbrush that lined the riverbank. The car slowly sank , disappearing under the murky water.
“Oh my god, they’re underwater!” a panicky female voice shouted from above.
“I called 911,” a male voice said.
“I’m going down there,” another male voice said. “We gotta get them out!”
The three agents looked at each other, but didn’t move out from under the bushes. Their pursuers were likely among the crowd above, and they couldn’t chance being seen.
“We should move away from here,” Vin whispered, “’fore anyone sees us.”
Nodding, JD and Ezra followed as Vin silently swam and crawled through the water, mud, and tangled growth that hid them from view. It was awkward, dragging their bags along, but they finally made it past a bend in the river, where they finally felt safe enough to climb out of the murky water.
“What now?” JD asked, once they had caught their breath and reloaded their weapons.
“Our cell phones are toast,” Vin said with a sigh.
“So is our clothing,” Ezra said, gazing forlornly at the sodden suits inside his wheeled garment bag.
“Chris is gonna be pissed,” JD said unhappily.
Vin chuckled, picturing their leader’s angry face when he heard about their latest misadventures.
“Indeed,” Ezra agreed with a grin that turned into a laugh when he met Vin’s amused gaze.
“It ain’t funny,” JD grumbled.
“We better get movin’,” Vin said, once his laughter subsided.
“You’re bleeding,” Ezra said, pointed to Vin’s shoulder.
“Just a scratch,” Vin said dismissively. “Let’s go.”
“You’re gonna lug that thing with you?” JD asked Ezra, who was dragging his luggage behind him.
“Our suits may be salvageable,” Ezra explained. “And we must look presentable in court if we expect to put Garber away.”
“He’s got a point,” Vin agreed, hefting his own pack. “They won’t believe anythin’ we say if we look like bums.”
JD sighed, not looking forward to carrying his dripping duffel bag. “Well, at least my camera didn’t get ruined.” He held up his digital camera, dry and watertight inside a sealed plastic bag.
“You foresaw this eventuality?” Ezra asked doubtfully.
“Have to be prepared for anything with this group,” JD said with a shrug. “Besides, I haven’t printed my Grand Canyon pictures yet.”
“Too true,” Ezra conceded.
“Say cheese,” JD said, snapping a picture of them before returning the camera to its bag.
“JD,” Vin growled. “You don’t need to be taking our pictures right now.”
“Mr. Larabee will be furious enough without photographic evidence,” Ezra agreed.
“I’ll erase it later,” JD reassured them.
“You better,” Vin warned.
As the three of them climbed up the steep embankment, Ezra chuckled at the irony of the ‘No Swimming’ sign.
After two hours of walking along sparsely traveled back roads, they eventually stumbled across a fast food restaurant. The hours of squishing along in wet shoes had taken its toll in blistered feet and aching muscles, and though it wasn’t Ezra’s first choice of places to visit in their current situation, he admitted to feeling a sense of relief at the sight of the Golden Arches beckoning in the distance. Both the food and the rest room were welcome sights to the bedraggled group.
It took some doing, but Ezra managed to find a nearby car rental agency and convinced them to deliver a car to the restaurant. Vin and JD had applauded his skills of persuasion when the three of them were finally able to get back on the road in the large, comfortable sedan.
“Did you get the insurance this time?” Vin asked.
“Of course,” Ezra replied.
“Maybe we won’t need it,” JD said hopefully.
Ezra and Vin both snorted in amusement at that optimistic thought.
Chris looked at the phone, sitting there silently, mocking him. They should have called by now. They were supposed to call when they arrived, and unless they took a very long detour, they should have arrived in Billings four hours ago. His fingers itched with the need to pick up the receiver and dial, but he knew it would do no good. He had been trying for hours and none of them was answering their cell phones. The hotel said they hadn’t yet checked in, either... and to please stop calling every ten minutes. Chris ran a frustrated hand through his hair. If they weren’t already dead, he was going to kill them.
“Aw hell!” JD cursed.
“What?” Vin sat up groggily in the back seat.
“They’re back,” JD said tersely, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
“Are you sure?” Ezra gazed doubtfully into the darkness.
“No, but there’s a pair of headlights coming up pretty fast behind us,” JD replied.
“How the hell did they find us?” Vin twisted around to look out the back window.
Ezra pursed his lips. “If it is indeed the same pursuers, they may be tracking our agency credit card.”
“That would take a good hacker,” JD said. “Especially if they managed to find out what car we’re driving.”
Ezra nodded. “It’s either that or they have placed a tracker on us, or perhaps our belongings.”
Vin turned around at that. “They bugged us?”
“Maybe,” Ezra said with a shrug. “There is little we can do about it at the moment, so I suggest we find a way to dissuade them from their path.”
“Ditch ‘em, JD,” Vin said with a grin.
“With pleasure.” JD floored the accelerator.
The chase was soon joined by the state police, but JD did not slow down until the red convertible was boxed in and pulled over by the police cars.
“All right!” JD whooped as he slowed the car and pulled into the breakdown lane.
They were soon surrounded by police pointing guns at them. Displaying their badges, the three agents climbed slowly out of the car, keeping their hands visible and leaving their weapons inside.
“You again?” one of the officers exclaimed, lowering his gun.
“Unfortunately, Officer Williams,” Ezra said with a grin, recognizing the officer as one who had attended the scene of his first accident.
“We’re having a bad day,” Vin said with a chuckle.
The officer shook his head, ushering the agents off the road and onto the grassy shoulder.
“So who are those guys?” Officer Williams pointed toward the red convertible and the two men being handcuffed beside it.
Vin shrugged. “We figure they’re working for Frank Garber. He’d be real happy if we didn’t testify tomorrow mornin’.”
After giving reports on both this incident and their earlier accident, the three weary agents were ready to be on their way. They started back toward their car, only to stop at the sound of a loud horn blasting behind them. They stared, transfixed, as the big tractor-trailer swerved to miss a deer that had suddenly darted into the road. The deer was spared, but the truck began to jackknife. Almost as if in slow motion, the three agents watched the truck head directly toward them.
“Move!” someone yelled.
JD, Vin, and Ezra ran, diving to the side in time to avoid being pancaked by the big truck. Their car, unfortunately, was not so lucky. With a sickening crunch, the truck plowed directly into the police car that was parked behind them. It, in turn, rammed into their rental car, which was shoved into the police car in front of it.
When it was all over, the three cars were nothing more than piles of twisted metal.
“Damn good thing we were over here,” Officer Williams said of the grassy area where they all lay sprawled on the ground.
“You think our stuff is okay?” JD asked a few minutes later.
Ezra groaned.
It was three exhausted and bedraggled agents who finally arrived at the hotel, courtesy of the state police, who decided it was safest for everyone involved to personally escort them to their destination. They received some odd looks from the staff, but after assurances from the police officers, they were allowed to register and retreat to the one room they were forced to share due to the dreaded budget cuts. Ezra immediately retreated to the bathroom with his bag, stating a desperate need to take a shower.
A loud spate of cursing brought Vin and JD rushing to the bathroom door.
“You okay, Ez?” JD asked in a worried voice.
“No,” Ezra replied curtly, yanking open the bathroom door. “Just look at my suit!”
Vin and JD took one look and burst out laughing. Ezra’s suit pants stopped short three inches above his ankle, and they were so tight as to be obscene. The jacket was much the same, no longer big enough to cover his broad shoulders.
“It’s ruined,” Ezra moaned.
By some miracle, their luggage had not been destroyed in the last accident. With the help of a crowbar, they had managed to pry their bags out of the mangled wreck. After arriving in their room, Ezra had thought it prudent to ascertain what, if any, damage their clothing had sustained. The results were far worse than he anticipated.
“Wool does not respond well to immersion,” Ezra said, glaring at his snickering companions. “You laugh, but yours are in much the same condition.”
The laughter stopped abruptly.
“So what are we gonna wear?” JD asked apprehensively.
“We shall have to go shopping tomorrow morning before the trial,” Ezra said with a sigh.
“The trial starts at ten,” Vin argued.
“Most clothing stores open at nine,” Ezra countered. “We’ll simply have to hurry.”
The trial was finally over. Their appearance in court had been the final blow to Garber’s defense. The man’s smug expression had disappeared the moment the three agents strolled into the courtroom and had gradually descended to despair as the evidence against him was solidified by their testimony. It was three relieved and happy agents who walked out of the courtroom.
“Man, I’m glad that’s over,” JD said, loosening his tie.
Vin was way ahead of him, having already removed his suit jacket and tie. “Me too.”
“We still have to face Mr. Larabee,” Ezra reminded them as he tugged at his ill-fitting suit.
Vin and JD groaned in unison. “You had to remind us.”
“Boys.”
The single word, uttered softly, stopped them in their tracks. They turned slowly to find their four older – and larger – teammates standing behind them, arms akimbo and grim expressions on their faces.
“Uh, we can explain, cowboy...” Vin began tentatively.
“Save it for Travis,” Chris said, cutting him off. He studied each of his three agents, noting the bruises and bandages. “Three cars. You totaled three cars. It was only an eight hour drive!”
“Wasn’t our fault,” JD said defensively, looking to his roommate for support.
Buck simply shook his head, giving him an evil smile.
“You boys look like hell,” Josiah said.
“Is that blood on your shirt, Vin?” Nathan asked, eyes narrowing as he studied the squirming sharpshooter.
“’S just a scratch,” Vin mumbled, backing away.
“An off-the-rack suit Ezra?” Buck inquired, shaking his head.
Ezra shrugged, edging away slowly. “It was the best we could find.”
“Really, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” JD said, giving the formidable group a shaky smile.
“We got a full report from the state police,” Chris said. “You boys had quite a ride.”
Vin, JD, and Ezra looked at one another, realizing they would not win this battle, then suddenly bolted.
“Think they’ll outrun us?” Buck asked, as the four remaining agents took up pursuit of their three youngest colleagues.
Chris curled his lips in a parody of a smile. “Not a chance in hell.”
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