Part 4
Clark ran for all he was worth. He weaved across a busy street and narrowly escaped ending his life under a Ford Taurus. He could not believe he'd walked right into a store full of ATF agents. Glancing over his shoulder, he confirmed that 'the one' was still after him. He pushed more energy to his legs and looked for any available place to lose himself in a crowd. He could almost feel the piercing green eyes of his pursuer burning into his back. Clark growled as he pushed a slow moving shopper out of his path, frustrated that he didn't know the streets of Denver better. He only hoped the agent behind him was more familiar with sitting behind a desk than working on the streets.
"What?" Chris stood up abruptly causing everyone in the immediate area to stop what they were doing and listen to his side of the phone conversation. "Where are they headed?" He nodded and grabbed a pen out of Downing's hand. "All right, we're on our way. Stay there. No, JD, I mean it. I need you right where you are. Go inside and talk to the owner." Chris snapped the phone closed with an angry click.
"Well, I've got your confirmation," he growled at Schoolcraft. "Three of my agents are in a foot chase with Clark."
"You've got to be kidding me." Schoolcraft's mouth dropped open.
"Do I look like a kidder?"
The area was suddenly in motion as agents shouted and Schoolcraft started directing teams to go. Downing and Chris headed for Chris' truck.
"Hey, Larabee!" One of the network reporters yelled out. "What's going on?"
"Ask the FBI, they're in charge!" Chris yelled back as he climbed into his Ram. He tossed his phone to Payton who turned just in time to catch it. "Press speed dial 6 and get Josiah and Nathan to that hardware store."
Josiah screeched to a stop outside Chuck's Hardware, thankful to find JD still in place, pacing back and forth and holding back the small crowd that was gathering.
JD saw him and Nathan coming and cleared a path. "I'm glad to see you guys here," he said genuinely.
"What happened?" Nathan asked.
JD shook his head. "Buck and I were just walking into the store when some guy ran out. He knocked Buck down and took off that way. Ezra was after him, then Vin came out saying it was Clark. Buck went with him after them." He paused to catch his breath before he motioned them into the store. "Owner's in here. Said he was dealing with a customer when Clark came in. Said Ezra and Clark stared at each other for a minute like they knew each other, then the guy bolted, Ezra shouted something and took off after him."
Josiah listened as they entered the small store and followed JD down a narrow aisle. "Does he have surveillance cameras?"
"Yeah, he's getting the tape for me now." JD looked at him. "We're going after them right?"
"Chris is out there now." Nathan explained. "We need to get to work here." He added as the bell over the door rang and a half dozen FBI agents entered.
Chris took the corner faster than he intended and struggled to keep the truck in its own lane as the back end fishtailed wildly.
"Larabee!" Downing shouted his panic.
"Just hold on,Payton." Chris yelled. His siren was giving him a headache as he searched the sidewalk for signs of any of his men. He knew they were somewhere in the general area.
A black blur darted out in front of him and he slammed on his brakes.
"Was that?" Downing questioned as Chris started to go again, only to slam the brakes on a second time. He'd come so close to hitting Ezra that the Southerner actually had his hands on the hood as if he could stop the truck on his own. Ezra nodded once to Chris, checked traffic and took off again.
"It was." Chris finally answered Downing's question. Looking this time, he saw Vin and Buck, but was afraid they were too far behind Ezra to provide back up when needed. He could still see Clark and focused on the man as he started forward again. A quick glance in the rearview mirror assured him that Vin and Buck had made it across the street without a problem.
He easily caught up with Ezra and could see Clark in the distance. Clark looked his way once, before turning down an alley too small for the Ram to get through.
"Damn it." Chris braked hard and spun the truck to a stop, jumping out. "Try to cut him off!" he told Payton then ran into the alley.
"When did I put him in charge?" Downing asked himself as he put the truck in gear. He waved Vin and Buck down the alley, then, checking traffic, he did an illegal u-turn and started searching for a place to cut Clark off.
Clark's sides were burning and he wished for the first time in a year and a half that he was back in the Carolina woods. All he needed now was a high fence to flip over and this would be the perfect movie chase scene. Not only had he come roaring out of hiding, now he was being chased through Denver by four ATF agents. He almost expected to hear a helicopter, now that would be perfect. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of an open door and immediately ducked into the darkness. He didn't pause to see what building he'd entered or if the agents would keep running past him, instead he took the stairs two at a time and ended up in long hallway. Clark wasn't sure where he was but he thought it was a hotel. An elevator opened and he jumped inside, thankful it was empty. He pressed buttons 4 through 7 and held his breath until the doors slid closed, hoping the guy on his tail would think it a bluff and keep running back to the street. `
Ezra entered the hall in time to hear the elevator doors close and immediately turned back to the stairs. He checked each hallway for the elevator before running up another flight; just praying he wouldn't miss Clark and lose him. He knew the man was here. He could feel him. In the distance Ezra thought he could hear Chris yelling for him, just as Vin had earlier but he couldn't give away his location. He strained to run faster. On the fifth floor he caught sight of Clark's gray sweatshirt. Ignoring the sound of footsteps running up the stairs behind him,he sprinted into the hall as Clark hit the far stairwell full speed. It wasn't likely the man would get away. Ezra could hear the sirens getting closer and realized the FBI would have the hotel surrounded in no time, but he couldn't take the chance, so he ran into the stairwell after Clark.
Chris had reached the fifth floor of the hotel and saw the door leading to the stairs at the end of the hall close. His knee felt like it was ripping apart with each step, but the old injury didn't keep him from running. Vin and Buck were right behind him.
"Which way did they go?" Buck asked, catching his breath.
"Stairs," Chris called over his shoulder.
"We were just on the stairs," Buck pointed out.
"These stairs." Vin grinned as he followed Chris down the first flight.
Buck growled and followed. "I'm getting too old for this," he muttered.
Clark exploded out into another cluttered alley and heard the sirens. They were too close for comfort, or a getaway on foot. He hurled himself in between two dumpsters and squeezed behind the one furthest from the door, hoping it would provide him with enough cover to get away in the chaos of searching the hotel. "You might have just forfeited the game here, John," he thought as cars and trucks pulled up, and agents spilled out into the area. It took him just a second from his limited viewpoint to realize that they were setting up and waiting for him to come out the door. "Well, this is gonna be entertaining."
Ezra pushed through the emergency exit at full speed only to be forced to an immediate stop by twenty some agents all with their weapons trained on him.
"On the Ground!" someone shouted as he instinctively raised his hands.
"Drop your weapon, NOW!" another voice.
His fingers gripped his gun tightly, not obeying his brain's command to let go, his body now concentrating solely on breathing. The change between full pursuit and sudden stop making him dizzy and disoriented. Someone shouted again for him to drop his weapon and he felt himself tossing it away. No sooner had it hit the ground then he violently followed it. "I'm ATF," he finally managed to gasp, only to receive a knee to his back for the effort. The blow knocked what breath he had left out of him.
"Yeah right, shut up," he heard someone respond. His arms were wrenched behind him, his shoulder slipping out of joint with an audible pop, as a hand roughly drove his face into the ground. The impact jolted him into a stunned compliance.
Clark watched the FBI brutally subdue the agent and then carefully slid out from behind the dumpster on the far side of the action. It was easier to slink away than he thought it would be thanks to the satisfying distraction from the ATF agent who'd put him in this situation to begin with, but he didn't slow down to check if anyone was following him. It was time for another disappearing act.
When Chris, Vin and Buck came barreling out of the hotel's emergency exit they found a half dozen weapons turn on them instantly.
"Easy," Buck said between gasps. "We're ATF."
The weapons lowered slowly as the three men flashed their IDs. Chris noticed the three men pinning someone to the ground. "You got him?" he asked.
"Ah hell," Vin pushed past the first few agents, ignoring their protests.
"Yeah, we got him," One man answered, but Chris was now focused on what Vin was upset about.
"Get off him, now! That's not Clark!" Vin yelled hauling an agent off Ezra.
Chris blinked and felt the rage bloom instantly in his gut. "Who's in charge here?" he asked deceptively calm as Buck hurried to help Vin.
"I am, name's Kent Miller." A blond man slightly shorter and younger than Chris stepped forward. "What's the problem and what does he mean that's not Clark?"
"Are you an idiot?" Chris bellowed, leaning into the man's face. "Have you even looked at a picture of the suspect or read his stats?"
"Of course I have!" Miller shouted back defensively.
"Yeah, well did you notice," Chris' voice lowered to a level, making him sound more sinister, "that the man you just caught is a good three inches shorter than Clark, has green eyes instead of brown and is over twenty pounds lighter? Not to mention," his voice returned to a bellow, "he's one of MY agents?" Chris grabbed Miller by the front of his shirt. "Did you bother to listen when he told you he was ATF or did you knock him out before he could?" He didn't wait for an answer, knowing he wouldn't get one, instead he gave the agent a hard shove. "I'd suggest you get your men out after Clark and start thinking of a good explanation for letting him get away."
Buck angrily snagged the keys that were handed to him and knelt to unlock the cuffs on Ezra.
"You okay, Ezra?" Vin asked.
"I've been better I believe," Ezra muttered softly. Vin grinned in spite of himself, grateful to hear Ezra conscious and coherent. "Buck's gonna unlock the cuffs and we'll get you up."
"Shoulder's out," Ezra warned.
Vin checked to make sure Buck had heard. Buck nodded as he carefully eased the tight restraints off and helped Ezra move his arms, flinching at the Southerner's sharp intake of breath when he touched the bad arm.
"He okay?" Chris asked, still fuming.
"I'll live," Ezra groaned as Vin and Buck eased him onto his side and then let him push himself up with his functioning arm. Slowly, Ezra got himself up enough that Buck was able to get his arm around him and help him into a sitting position. Ezra pressed the back of his hand to his bleeding nose.
"Man, what did they do to you?" Buck whistled.
"I think it's commonly referred to as subduing a suspect." Ezra frowned. "Clark?" he asked looking at Chris.
"Gone," Chris answered.
"Damn!" Ezra's eyes flashed angrily and he struck out, but Buck caught his bruised wrist before his fist hit the ground.
"Easy there, I think you've had enough contact with the ground today."
"Let's get you to the ER.," Chris said, not trusting himself to address Ezra's anger. His own rage was just barely under control as it was.
"I'm not going to the hospital," Ezra stated emphatically.
"You can't move your arm and your nose might be broken, not to mention your concussion," Chris pointed out.
"Find Nathan and he can fix my shoulder, or there's this unique little trick he taught me to fix it myself."
"No way." Vin shook his head. "Nathan told you never to do that unless it was an emergency. You could screw up your arm worse, slamming it into a wall like that."
Ezra shot a scathing look at Vin and started to reply, but Chris stopped him. "We'll get Nathan."
Nathan arrived ten minutes later with Josiah and JD. The hotel scene was in a worse state of confusion than the hardware store they'd just left. Josiah cleared a path through the news crews so that they could get to the actual scene.
"Man alive!" JD exclaimed, tripping over a cable for the third time before ducking under the yellow tape barrier into the crowded alley. He kept his eyes on Nathan and Josiah, following them through the maze of cars and men until they reached the others.
"What happened?" he asked in unison with Nathan as Jackson went right to Ezra.
"FBI mistook Ezra here for Clark," Vin told them.
"What?" Josiah felt a flair of anger.
"A regrettable misunderstanding," Ezra's voice was a combination of bitterness and mockery.
"They said that?" JD asked incredulously.
"They Atlanta boys?" Josiah asked, watching as Nathan quickly examined Ezra's injury.
"Yup." Buck was watching Chris continue to rail Miller.
Nathan looked Ezra over in silence, asking only necessary questions. He could feel the heat of anger literally radiating off his friend even though the man had slipped back into his stoic mask. "You hurt anywhere else?"
Ezra shook his head, not wanting to meet Nathan's intense look.
Nathan waited until Ezra looked him in the eye and repeated the question in a tone that told Ezra he'd keep asking until he got the truth.
"Bruise on my back, a knee if I recall correctly." He heard Vin and Josiah both swear under their breath at his admission.
"Let's fix your arm first, then I'll check your back," Nathan said calmly.
"My back's fine."
Nathan ignored him. "You ready?" he asked, gently grasping the injured arm. Ezra didn't look at him but took a deep breath and nodded once. The sound the shoulder made caused everybody to jump and cringe. Ezra didn't make a sound but his eyes were still closed and his breathing very controlled when Nathan moved behind him. The EMT raised his shirt and checked the spreading bruise to make sure there was no serious damage.
"Thank you." Ezra eventually managed to find his voice.
"Sure, but you should really get to the hospital," Nathan pointed out.
"I don't need the hospital." Ezra's voice betrayed the hurt and weariness he refused to admit,but Nathan just sighed and backed off, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.
"Fine, but if I see any signs you're having trouble, I'm taking you in."
Before Ezra could respond he saw Brian Schoolcraft heading straight for him. He flashed back to several cases the two of them had worked together on in Atlanta and knew what was coming. "Here we go," he said softly causing the others to look from him to the approaching agent in confusion. He slid off the hood of the squad car Buck had commandeered earlier for him to sit on and slipped into an indifferent posture.
"He resisted arrest, we were just following procedure."
"He resisted arrest because he's an ATF agent and you let his suspect get away." Chris was tired of Miller's excuses. What he wanted to do was haul off and knock the man all the way back to Atlanta. Miller for his part, continued to stutter and offer weak apologies. Chris had been set to leave the man alone until he'd used the words 'regrettable misunderstanding.'
"Do you realize you are responsible for letting a serial bomber escape?" Chris leaned closer to Miller enjoying his power to intimidate. "A man that both our agencies have been after for almost four years?"
Miller grew a sudden backbone. "Look, I apologized to you. I apologized to Standish and I…"
Chris grabbed him and thrust him back into the unmarked car behind them. "What did you just say?"
Miller's eyes widened in complete fear. "I, I said I apologized."
Chris' voice dropped to a gravely whisper. "No, you said you apologized to Standish. I didn't tell you his name." He jerked Miller forward and slammed him back again. "If you know who he is, how the hell did you mistake him for Clark?"
"It happened so fast, we didn't know until after." Miller knew Larabee was going to hit him, but the blow never came. Instead he heard loud yelling and suddenly Larabee was gone.
"What the hell were you thinking,Standish?" Brian Schoolcraft didn't stop until Josiah blocked his path, but that didn't stop him from yelling. "I asked you a question." He glared at Josiah and stepped to the side so he could look at Ezra.
"I was pursuing a suspect, sir." The last word was spit more than it was spoken.
"Oh boy," Buck whispered.
"And you let him get away! Of all the men on this force it had to be you… the most incompetent, unreliable, worthless excuse for an agent."
"At your service." Ezra bowed mockingly as he interrupted.
"I'll make sure you and your smart mouth never work in law enforcement again," The FBI agent threatened.
"If I remember correctly," Ezra's icy tone matched the coldness in his eyes. "You tried that once before."
Vin winced. "Subtle," he mouthed to Buck.
"You little prick." Schoolcraft tried to get past Josiah.
"Schoolcraft!" Chris' voice brought the FBI agent's rant to a halt as the older man spun around to face him.
"Do you claim responsibility for him?" Schoolcraft growled, motioning over his shoulder at Ezra who had slumped back against the squad car. "For him and this fiasco? I've got agents combing the city with news crews on every corner thanks to him."
"He…" Chris also pointed to Ezra. "is responsible for connecting Clark to the bombings and making him a suspect. He is responsible for recognizing Clark and pursuing him." Chris turned toward Miller and the few FBI agents still processing the scene. "They…" he emphasized, "are responsible for arresting Standish, an agent they can all recognize if they took the time tosince they have worked with him in the past!" Chris was having trouble keeping his voice level. " Maybe if the FBI would teach their agents to think instead of jumping to blind conclusions you'd have caught this guy years ago!"
It was Schoolcraft who was stunned into silence.
"And another thing," Chris stepped uncomfortably close causing Schoolcraft to step backwards and bump into Josiah. "The next time you have something to say to Standish or anyone of my agents, you go through me first."
Schoolcraft obviously didn't want to give up the fight, but was smart enough to know when he was out manned. "I apologize for the misunderstanding," he said reluctantly.
"Yeah, well your apology isn't going to help you catch Clark." Chris stepped aside and Schoolcraft scurried away, the rest of the team watching in stunned silence.
Larabee's eyes met Ezra's. "Whatever he said to you…" Chris started.
"I know," Ezra cut him off, his voice sounding confident, but Chris wondered if he'd really seen the flash of doubt in his eyes.
"Whew, he was full of crap, Ezra," JD stated with an honesty that broke the noticeable tension.
Buck burst out laughing and grabbed JD in a headlock. "He's got a point there,Ezra."
Ezra smiled and chuckled lightly. "I trust Mr. Dunne implicitly."
Chris pulled to a stop at the second bomb site and paused a minute before he climbed out of the truck. He stared at the church building, half of it a skeleton of what it used to be. He wasn't sure how he felt about the latest developments of the case. He was angry that his team had been relegated to a research role, but relieved that he no longer had to deal directly with the FBI. He only wished that they could take a more active role in tracking Clark. They'd been so close to capturing the man that having him slip through their grasp and being almost removed from the case was like a double blow. Sighing, he shook his head to chase the 'what ifs' away and climbed out of the truck.
The media didn't recognize him right away and he was able to get past them without being bombarded with questions. He found Payton Downing at a table going over a large map with two other agents, while distractedly stirring a cup of cold coffee.
"How'd it going?" Chris asked.
"It's going." Downing motioned to the map. "They think he's headed for the mountains again."
Chris nodded. "He is a survivalist after all."
Downing let out a short laugh. "Yeah, no thanks to us Feds."
"Thanks for leaving my truck for me yesterday."
"Yeah, you're welcome. I got cut off by squad cars otherwise I would have been able to keep Miller from making a full fledged jackass out of himself."
"I'm not sure anyone could do that, Payton."
Downing laughed again, then grew serious. "Standish okay? Your team all right?"
"They're okay, angry but okay. Ezra's banged up a bit but he's been through worse." Chris looked at the map.
"Schoolcraft won't give him any more trouble."
"Oh, I know that," Chris assured him.
"You still on the case?" Downing took a sip of his coffee and scowled, quickly setting the cup on the table.
Chris half shrugged. "Not really. Now that they've confirmed it was Clark, the Southeastern Task Force has taken complete control. After what happened with Ezra and then Schoolcraft, the powers that be decided we'd do better in a research role."
"Yeah,I heard you were your normal diplomatic self." Downing smiled.
"I didn't hit him," Chris defended himself and Payton chuckled.
"Tell you one thing for sure..."
"What's that?" Chris asked, gathering up the files he had come looking for.
"If I need help out here, I'm coming to you."
"Thanks for the warning." Chris grinned, shaking his friend's hand. "You know where to find us," he added, heading back for the truck. He groaned seeing the small crowd of reporters waiting for him.
"Agent Larabee is it true that John Michael Clark was sighted here in Denver?"
"No comment." Chris moved past the first microphone.
"Come on, Larabee, we heard you and your team almost had him yesterday, but the FBI screwed it up." Chris glanced at the young man who was shoving the microphone at him. Their eyes met briefly and Chris smiled slowly. He winked at the reporter. "No comment," he said and pushed on to his truck.
"When's Chris getting back?" JD asked as he concentrated on flipping his pen across the back of his hand.
"Soon," Josiah answered. "He just went out to the church site to pick up some files we left there in the scramble."
"I still can't believe they took us off field work. This should be our case." JD tossed the pen onto his desk and sighed heavily.
"Yeah well, that's the way it goes, Kid," Vin told him. "FBI had jurisdiction on this from way back."
"Yeah, but we found all the info for them. The footprint they found on the other side of those dumpsters matched the one Vin found on the roof." He waved a file.
"Nothing we can do abut that now, John Dunne, except sit back and hope it helps the case," Josiah said calmly.
"Do you really think he headed for the mountains like they say? I mean they thought he was still in North Carolina."
"You never know, JD," Nathan answered. "He really could be anywhere."
Vin watched Ezra listen to the conversation but not participate. Finally the Southerner looked up, knowing he was being watched.
"Is there a particular reason I've earned your scrutiny?" he asked evenly.
"Just wondering what you're thinking."
"Nothing specific."
Vin smiled knowing his friend was lying. "You know it's not your fault he got away."
Ezra's head snapped up quickly. "I never insinuated is was."
"Didn't say you did but I can see you mulling it over," Vin answered.
Ezra paused and looked down at his hands, trying to ignore the aching of his body. "The scenario does keep repeating in my thoughts, yes."
"Nothing you could or can do to change it,Ezra."
Ezra sighed heavily and nodded. "I was so close,Vin," he admitted, letting his walls down momentarily. "If I had been faster, or more adamant with Miller."
"Ezra, if you had put up any more resistance then you did, they'd have shot you, and Clark still would have gotten away." Vin watched Ezra struggle with his statement for a minute then nod and run his fingers through his hair. When their eyes met, the undercover agent had his doubts under control again and Vin was no longer able to read him.
The phone rang and Buck answered it, a broad smile lighting up his face.
"Sure thing, Darling." He hung up and tossed the receiver back into its cradle.
"Where are you going?" JD asked.
"Janelle has that surveillance footage from the hardware store processed and enlarged for us."
"And she called you?" JD looked shocked.
"Of course she did." Buck smoothed his mustache.
"But she could see straight through you! She didn't fall for your flirting," JD insisted.
"Must be she was more impressed by my natural charm than she realizes. Subconsciously…" He winked at Nathan who rolled his eyes, "she wants me."
"Oh please!" JD protested, but Buck was already out the door. "Unbelievable," JD muttered shaking his head. "Unbelievable."
A clean-shaven John Michael Clark stared down at the Colorado landscape with a pang of regret. He ran his fingers through his recently bleached, pale blond hair and leaned back against the seat again. He would have liked to see the mountains, but was not ready to hide out in them.
He smiled contentedly as the 'fasten seat belt' light dinged off. He did wish he had more time to challenge Chris Larabee's team of agents. Somehow he could tell that with these seven men he'd just played the most challenging game since that first year in Atlanta, if not ever. Clark knew their names now, and had a picture thanks to tapping into some mutual friends and their resources. Part of him wanted to stick around and get to know this team a little better, but for as much as he enjoyed playing the game, he was not a stupid man. His time here was up and he knew there was a very high probability that he would never see Denver again. He focused on the unsettling green eyes that now haunted his dreams, chasing him around every turn. If he ever did return, Clark knew for certain what game he wanted to play. He wanted to challenge Team 7 and Agent Standish to a rematch.
The End