Magnificent 7: ATF
Written for our Chat Challenge: Pandemic/Quarantine
As usual, my muse took a slightly different twist on the theme of quarantine/isolation, but mainly I just couldn't put the boys into a long term confinement. Technically, I think they would fall under the category of first responders and have to be out and about in our current pandemic, so I came up with another reason why one of them might be isolated from everyone.
Ezra sat down, then stood up and paced the hotel room. If he didn't get out of here soon, he might go mad.
The undercover agent spotted a deck of cards and picked them up, unconsciously beginning to shuffle them one-handed as he walked over to the window. At least he'd been able to get a room with a nice view.
While not the penthouse, the room was large and equipped with a small kitchen. Ezra shook his head, wishing, for once, that he could step outside and enjoy the sunny, Atlanta day. But the room with a view did not have a balcony.
He was six floors up, overlooking downtown Atlanta, a sight he had not ever really expected to see again. Ezra had been surprised to find himself just the slightest bit nostalgic over the city skyline, when he'd first arrived, but after two weeks, he was ready to head home.
Unfortunately, he had no idea when his isolation would end. A slime ball from his past was on trial for a number of crimes. One of Ezra's undercover personas was an associate of the defendant and he'd been called to give testimony. Due to the nature of Ezra's work with the ATF and some heavy handedness from Judge Travis, the judge overseeing the case had agreed to allow Ezra to testify anonymously.
While not the norm, it wasn't unusual for undercover agents to be granted this boon. The defendant, the lawyers, and jury would know Ezra only by his cover identity, and Ezra would not be seen by anyone in the courtroom. He had not been told which method would be used for that, as yet. But, to facilitate keeping his real identity secret, the judge insisted that Ezra be confined at a local hotel with no contact, no news, and no personal phone calls, nothing that could give him information about what was going on with the trial or allow someone related to the defendant to discover Ezra's true identity.
The defendant had evidently graduated from hired thug to a truly big somebody in the world of illegal contraband and for some reason, Ezra's testimony, from events of over four years ago, was needed.
Ezra sighed. At first, he'd been pleased to have a little downtime, a vacation of sorts. He'd enjoyed having time to catch up on some reading and binge watched a few shows on Netflix. He'd gotten into an exercise routine, practicing his martial arts skills after moving the furniture out of the way.
He'd requested groceries so he could cook some of his favorite dishes, a luxury his job seldom allowed. Four days slid by, then five and six, and Ezra was starting to get bored. He wasn't allowed to call anyone and found himself missing his friends. He'd even be happy to hear JD's worst joke.
The rest of the team was in Denver. They had to keep up appearances, just in case there was suspicion about Ezra's real identity, although it seemed highly unlikely. And, since the case was being covered on a national scale, the others might see something on the news that could influence Ezra's testimony, so no contact was allowed.
He'd floundered for a few days before he decided to set up a schedule of things to do. That grew stale within forty-eight hours, so he cut the list up into slips of paper and put them in a pot to draw randomly. When he ended up with 'cook this' three times in a row, he gave up that idea.
If he could only get online or talk to his friends, he might be able to help with a case or do some digging on a lead. Right now, he felt useless, like he was wasting time and he couldn't figure out what to do.
The DA's office did call in daily to let him know that they were still waiting for him to be called to testify. At first, it had been a young lady who called. Ezra had been able to get her to talk to him, just small talk and that helped ease his loneliness a little. But someone must
have found out and the contact changed to a gruff, older man who said his piece and hung up, not even giving Ezra a chance to engage.
Ezra sat down on the couch and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. The phone only called out to someone who would take his requests and pass them along. If they were granted, he would get a knock on the door and a box or bag was delivered.
He felt as though he were the criminal, locked up in solitary confinement. Granted, he had better accommodations, but it was still solitary. And, Ezra realized, no matter how much he griped and complained about the others always invading his space, he had grown used to them being around.
Okay, he missed them.
Even just one of his friends' presences would be welcome right now. JD was never boring, always some new gadget to talk about, a new computer game, or a something he'd seen or read. The younger man was as eager to share what he knew as he was to learn from the rest of the team.
Nathan, too had many interests that he enjoyed sharing. He and Ezra had exchanged many a recipe after they'd discovered a mutual joy of cooking. And dancing. Ezra chuckled, remembering their surprise when they both ended up in the same dance class last year. Of course, at first Nathan had blamed it on Rain, but it was hard to deny when Rain had to bow out of the class due to a shift change and Nathan kept showing up.
It had been fun getting to know Nathan better through that class and the subsequent night's out together to keep in practice. They'd both helped teach Rain the various steps when she was available and had a lot of fun.
Buck would be a never ending source of amusing tales. Somehow he never seemed to repeat the same story twice, at least not that Ezra had heard. But the ladies man was also a surprisingly good listener. He knew when to be quiet and not force a conversation, something Ezra had never suspected of the garrulous man. The two had spent some quiet evenings talking and sharing less embroidered stories about their childhoods and their mothers.
They didn't just talk though, they usually played cards, other than poker, or board games. The two men who had been only children, raised by single moms found that something missing from their childhoods had been family or friends playing these games together. Anything from spades to Battleship, Yahtzee and Monopoly. Anything was fair game, and sometimes they pulled one or more of the others into a game as well.
Josiah appreciated the strategic games. His psychology background and profiler training made it natural for him to second guess his opponents, but more often than not, he preferred the games where more chance was involved.
He also liked to read, a lot. And the stranger the better. Ezra had found himself reading about some of the oddest things over the years, when Josiah insisted he should borrow this book or check out an article. There was no telling what the ex-preacher turned profiler would come up with. Literature, politics, religion, space travel, the mating habits of toads... Ezra had learned a lot from Josiah's recommendations... most of it not very useful, but you never knew when some odd fact might come in handy.
Vin was Ezra's excuse to get out and do things he usually claimed that he wouldn't be caught dead doing. Of course, they both loved to ride horses and when time permitted they rode for pleasure and also a little competition. They didn't have a lot of time to do sports like jumping or barrel racing or anything that required the horses to be in peak physical condition, but they enjoyed training the horses and connecting to the animals through that training. So, he and Vin had a little competition going amongst themselves to see who could teach their horse the best trick. So far it was a tie, with Vin and Peso doing a lovely pirouette with Peso on his hind legs and Ezra and Chaucer doing a sort of country line dance side by side, Chaucer kicking out his front feet and side stepping in time with Ezra.
Chris had laughed so hard when he saw the men and their horses 'dancing' that he fell off the fence. Ezra grinned to himself. His relationship with Chris had taken a while to work itself out. First of all, Chris was his boss. So he'd found it strange to consider a friendship with the man deeper than that of a fellow agent. And Chris was not the type to open up and let people in quickly either.
Quite by accident, the two of them had found a joint fondness for plays. Broadway, musicals, off Broadway, local theatre, it didn't really matter. Chris had seen Ezra at a production one evening and asked him how he'd liked the performance the next day at work. Needless to say, Ezra was surprised, something he really should learn to overcome when it came to his friends. They'd spent a few minutes discussing the play over their first coffee of the day. Ezra thought nothing of it until a few weeks later when Chris asked if he had tickets to see Hamilton. He hadn't, but Chris did and they went to see it together. It had been the first of many enjoyable outings and the two formed a close friendship that puzzled the others.
"How much longer can this go on?" he sighed dramatically, then chuckled and sobered again.
He could do this. He was a highly trained, intelligent, good-looking man, if he did say so himself. He could figure out something to keep himself occupied and sane. His stomach and the clock said it was about time for dinner. Ezra pushed himself up and wandered toward the kitchen, wondering if he wanted to cook or get room service.
A quick look in the fridge and he decided to order something. About an hour later there was a knock on the door. Ezra looked through the peephole and saw one of the hotel staff. He opened the door and turned to get his wallet from the counter so he could give the man a tip. "Just leave it on the table, thank you," Ezra said extending his hand with the money as he faced the door again.
Ezra stopped, hand still hanging in mid-air as the familiar figure waved him off and closed the door behind the server.
"I already took care of that, Ezra," Chris Larabee said with a grin, enjoying the quick display of emotions that flashed across his friend's face. Confusion and a little annoyance warred with a happy grin as Ezra tried to figure out what was going on.
"I must assume you are here to release me from my gilded cage?" he said finally.
Chris tilted his head in acknowledgment. "I came to take you home, but if you want to eat first?" he asked tipping his chin toward the table.
Ezra eyed the covered tray thoughtfully. "I am hungry... but perhaps we could find a more suitable location to dine, some place not within the confines of this hotel?" he asked hopefully.
Chris chuckled. "Sure, there's a steak place around the corner and we have a few hours until our flight."
"Good," Ezra said. "Allow me a few moments to pack and we can be on our way." He strode into the other room. "Do we need reservations?"
"Already made them, Ez," Chris said, moving over to the window to look out over the city. It was a nice view, but he preferred Denver and the mountains there. "Need any help?"
"No, thank you," Ezra replied, his voice drawing near as he entered the living area with a suitcase in one hand and a suit bag in the other. "Just a few things around this area to grab and I'll be ready to go."
He paused, meeting Chris's eyes. "I am glad to be going home."
Chris nodded. "It was getting a bit boring without you," he said with a grin.
Ezra grinned back and continued to pick up the few personal items that littered the room. After a moment and a quick double check, he nodded to Chris who grabbed the suitcase, leaving the suit bag and smaller carryall for Ezra.
As they exited, Ezra stopped in the doorway and gave the room one last look before pulling the door closed and moving down the hall beside Chris. "You have to fill me in on what's been going on," he said as they headed home.
The End
Feedback is greatly appreaciated. JudyL
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