Work Text:
Title: Coming Back To Now
Author: Lopaka Tanu
Disclaimer: I do not own The Magnificent Seven or Without A Trace.
Characters: Chris, JD, Buck, Ezra.
Words: 1109
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven/Without A Trace
Pairing: None.
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Angst, Language.
Summary: Chris finally wakes up from getting hit by the clue-by-four.
Author's Note: Summer - 2000.
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Drumming his fingers over the desk, Chris watched the screen saver on his desktop. It was some form of morphing flowers that JD had created. The kid was always working on his last good nerve with these things. Speaking of JD, Chris looked out the window to the younger man's desk.
JD had been working at his computer for the past fifteen minutes. Every couple of seconds he would take a sip from his bottle.
Whatever was in that bottle Chris was pretty certain might be illegal in some countries. From the way the tech twitched when he was working, it should have been outlawed by the FDA. If it got him to work faster, however, Chris was willing to look the other away.
He still couldn't believe that it had taken him a full month to realize what was going on. Never had he felt so stupid in all his life. Every night like clock work, it had happened and he had ignored it. Then, last night, out of anger he had decided to track them down.
Only while he had been raging on his way to work did it occur to him that it might be something else. May be it wasn't some kid cranking him in the middle of the night. While that was a good possibility, this was a bit excessive. Every night at the same time for a month? That took dedication a kid just didn't have.
A shout from the outer office drew his attention.
"Got it!" Rising up from his chair, JD rushed over to the printer. A sheet started out as he waited. Snatching it before the printer had finished completely, he turned and rushed to Chris' office. "I got the location, it's a public phone in Seattle!"
Chris was already on his feet before the kid reached his door. Snatching his jacket off the back of his chair, he moved around his desk. As he stormed out of his office the others stood up. "Josiah, you and Nathan hold down the fort in case we need backup or this is a setup. Everyone else is with me!" He stopped when a hand reached out and snagged his wrist.
"Give me just one moment." After releasing their leader, Ezra quickly ran through a website on his computer. As he finished typing out the information, he smiled. Confirmation appeared on his screen a few seconds later. "All done. I have taken the liberty of booking us accommodations along with our mode of travel."
Nodding, Chris turned away from the other man and headed for the elevator. He didn't have to glance over his shoulder to know that they were following him. As he stepped on the elevator, he prayed that Vin would hold on. He was coming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting with his window cracked, Chris sucked deeply on his cigarette. He checked his watch with a sigh. They had been sitting here for two hours already. He shifted in his seat.
Flicking through the chips in his bag, Buck searched for another solid one. He smiled when he found it. Bringing it out of the bag, he examined it in the light from the street lamp behind their car. Satisfied, he stuffed it in his mouth.
Chris narrowed his eyes. Glaring at the other man out of the corner of his eye, he exhaled through pursed lips.
The radio on the dash crackled. "Hey, you guys see anything yet?"
Reaching for the receiver, he slapped Buck's brilliant orange fingers away from it. He cleared his throat and clicked it on. "Nothing yet here. What about you, Ezra?"
"Aside from several miscreants that might interest our dear Mr. Wilmington, I fear I too have had no luck." Ezra's voice dripped with disdain even over the crackling speaker.
Buck mouthed 'fuck you' at it, then stuck another chip in his mouth.
Snorting, Chris clicked the speaker button. "JD are you sure this was the right one?" He glanced up at the phone in question. It sat there as it had the past two hours, covered in graffiti with the lights broken.
"Positive. The phone directory didn't lie. I ran every call log three times just to make sure." Sighing, JD caused the line to crackle. "This was the exact location of the calls."
"All right." With more than a little disgruntled annoyance, he put the speaker back on the hook. He knew the Bureau would want their cars back in the morning or there would be questions he couldn't answer without getting trouble for wasting resources. Checking his watch, he mentally agreed to wait another hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Checking his watch, Chris closed his eyes. It was twenty minutes past the hour he had promised to wait. Despite what he had hoped, it was obvious that the person who had been calling wasn't coming.
Some time over the last hour, Buck had thankfully fallen asleep. The large man lay in the passenger seat with his head lolling against the window. Every so often, he paused to snort and shift.
With great reluctance, Chris reached for the CB handle. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Guys, pack it in. We're not going to find anything. It was obviously just a prank."
"Sorry, Chris." JD's shrug could be heard in his voice. "I'll meet you guys back at the hotel."
"I too shall take my leave. Until you see fit to join us, do nothing rash, Mr. Larabee."
Ezra's parting shot made Chris smile. Exhausted, he checked his watch. Two hours past the cut off point. The caller was not going to show up. Sighing, he put the CB back.
Chris adjusted his seat back in to a comfortable position to drive. Turning on the car, he glanced over to see that Buck hadn't even so much as twitched. A quick check of his mirrors revealed that the road was clear of anything but parked cars. He tossed the cigarette butt out the window and put the car in to gear.
Time to go back home empty handed.
Pulling out in to the street, he headed for the corner. Once at the stop sign, he had to wait for a car coming up cross wise.
The car's blinker indicated he was making a turn. The blond at the wheel took his precious time, checking on Chris' car several times.
Glaring at the man, Chris didn't wait for him to complete the turn. He hit the gas the moment the tail end of the sedan cleared his lane. Shaking his head, he reached in to his shirt to get another cigarette. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to drive.
THE END.......................