The assignment had been simple enough when Chris Larabee announced to Team 7 what was taking place tonight.
Several sources indicated something was going down at the Beaumont Gallery involving a new player, equipt with hardware imported illegally from out of town. Usually, it would be an FBI matter or a customs job, but the nature of the imports was artillery, and that did make it the responsibility for the ATF. Unfortunately, other than the location and time, there were no other details and each member of Team 7 felt like they were going in blind.
They could have let this one slip by but Chris was eager to nip this in the bud before the following Monday when Team 7 would be under observation by a journalist for an entire week. Although she claimed she was not writing an expose on the workings of the ATF, no one including Chris, despite how obviously he was attracted to the stunning blond, was willing to let anyone have that much free rein over their operations. Treading on the side of caution, it was agreed the team would move in now despite the lack of information.
Chris implemented a full team alert, with all seven being present, armed to the hilt and staking out every exit point out of the gallery perimeter while Chris himself hid in the shadows in the entryway of a building across the street. The man was almost unrecognisable in the shabby clothing of a street vagrant. Huddling along the sidewalk, he reeked of alcohol and turned the stomach of anyone who happened past.
"I must commend Mr Larabee," Ezra Standish commented as he observed their team leader from behind the windscreen of Vin Tanner's Cherokee Jeep.
"Why is that?" Vin drawled, feeling as bored as Ezra at this moment and could not blame the man for shifting in his seat continuously throughout the length of the stakeout. Whatever was meant to happen had not gone down yet, and it was starting to look increasingly like it wouldn't. He supposed there were bound to be days when rumour and leads just didn't pan out.
"He really does make an excellent performance as a vagrant." Ezra said wishing to be anywhere but here at this time. It was Friday night, and there had to be a thousand things he could be doing with his time than being stuck here, waiting for an increasingly non-existent criminal to appear.
"I'll be sure and tell him." Vin smiled faintly but agreed with Ezra on that point when suddenly the first few bars of Carmina Burana sounded in the car. Vin glanced at Ezra since it was his ringtone and was coming from inside Ezra's perfectly tailored suit. The sharpshooter still marvelled at how the man could be so inappropriately dressed for occasions like this.
"Hello," Ezra spoke into the phone once he retrieved it from inside his jacket. He listened for a moment and then replied. "No, we have not sighted the felon at this time. Are you boys having any better luck?"
Ezra shook his head and indicated to Vin nothing had changed since the last time Buck Wilmington checked in with them. "What is our fearless leader's thoughts on the subject?" He listened carefully to the answer and then answered finally. "One hour then." He agreed and then terminated the call before looking at Vin.
"As you might have guessed, that was Mr Wilmington. It appears the evening is not going to come to fruition. Mr Larabee suggests we give it another hour and then we are to depart. Thank God."
"Good," Vin said with a smile glancing at his watch. It was just early enough for him to pay a call on Alex who was working the late shift at the hospital. If he left here in an hour, he would be in time to meet her when she came off duty.
"I suppose you will be rushing off to see Alexandra." Ezra teased, knowing it still irked the sharpshooter to no end to be taunted about the young woman when it was apparent how deeply he felt for her.
"Something like that," Vin shrugged uncomfortably, not really wishing to talk about Alex because it was still embarrassing how strenuously he denied his feelings for her.
"She must be worth it. After all, you did shoot me to acquire her."
"It was an accident!" Vin reacted immediately. "My gun went off."
"I am certain it did," Ezra chuckled.
Vin shoved him, not all impressed by the joke although, after a moment, he found himself laughing with the undercover expert. "Any luck with your mystery woman?"
Ezra stopped laughing and frowned. "Not at all.".
Just about everyone in Team 7 knew Ezra was still searching for the woman who purchased him at the auction and then mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Ever since that night, Ezra had been trying everything he could think of to deduce her identity but the lady whoever she was, revealed more skill hiding than Ezra ever possessed to find her.
"But it's just a matter of time. The lady will turn up. I know it."
*****
High above the building Chris Larabee chose for his performance as a vagrant, the woman stepped out of the shadows and took a view of everything transpiring in the street below.
She saw the cars and knew the stakeout in progress could not possibly be for the gallery. Something else was taking place here tonight, and it might work to her advantage if she was to get into the building quietly. In any case, there was no question the job had to be done. Tomorrow, the Monet would be moved to another city and would require the redrafting of an entirely new plan and wasted outlay in preparation for this one.
Reservations aside and she always had them, even in a worst-case scenario such as the activation of the alarm system, she knew she could escape without difficulty. The risks were worth the painting and the challenge even more priceless. Delaying no longer, she stepped out of the shadows and slowly made her way to the edge, before glancing at the watch on her wrist and set the timer to begin its countdown. She had twenty minutes to get it done and get out of the building. Anything more than that was just plain sloppy.
Nearing the edge, she reached the line taking her across the street to the building facing the one she was standing on. Earlier in the evening, she tethered the line linking both buildings using a stake tough enough to hold in concrete. The line had a tensile strength capable of withstanding half a ton of pull and was thin enough to be mistaken for electrical wire by anyone who saw it.
Clad from head to toe in black, she placed her gloved hands on the handgrips of the pulley slide and stepped off the ledge, feeling a sudden whoosh under her feet when her weight propelled her forward on the small length of slack provided by the line. Surveying the street below as she slid towards her destination, she tightened her grip. There was nothing worse than death by falling into the middle of a police bust, the humiliation alone would kill her if not the fall.
She crossed over to the other building when she saw a wall coming at her and pulled her legs up to stop herself against it. Her feet impacted softly against the concrete surface and allowed her a suitable grip to climb over the ledge onto the roof. Like the one she had been on earlier, this one was empty and quiet. A few birds resting on the ledge took flight at her arrival, and she bid them farewell with little more than a glance in their direction when they disappeared into the dark Denver night.
She ran softly across the rough bitumen ground, her eyes scanning the area for anything that might be dangerous to her and the job she had to do. As expected, the night ensured her anonymity as she moved across the roof, appearing like a shadow in her black jumpsuit and soft-soled boots. The only thing she carried was the knapsack across her back, containing a few tools she might need for this evening.
The door to the inside of the building was locked, but she anticipated this. The mechanism was expensive and state of the art. Obviously, the gallery was not averse to spending good money on security. She studied the device for a few seconds, having never seen one of these things before, although she was aware of its existence when she stepped onto the roof. She pulled up all the construction plans and blueprints on the building during the planning stages of this caper, including dinner with a somewhat naive programmer who worked at the security company. A quick whisper in his ear and a promise of incredible sex if he would just show her what he did, and he was willing to take her around the company headquarters. Not to mention she got him drunk enough to be unaware when she downloaded all information on the gallery's security system.
Within twenty-four hours, she devised a way around all its security measures.
It took her no more than a few minutes to bypass the mechanisms trigger device before moving into the innards where more delicate work was required. Finally, the system yielded in defeat when she heard a slight click indicating the locking mechanism had opened for her. Replacing her tools, she twisted the door handle gently, poised for trouble if her tampering had failed.
Nothing happened, and the door came open without any difficulty. A second later, she slipped into the darkness of the stairwell leading into the building. The corridor was dark, but she came prepared with a pair of night-vision goggles. The lenses turned everything green and gave her a clear view of the obstacles before her.
There were security guards around the place, but she expected it. These were bargain-basement cops who relied mostly on technology to do their work rather than actual skill. As she made her way to where the Monet was kept, she sidestepped them and slipped through their supposed net of awareness without raising even the slightest suspicion she was there. Still, she wasn't stupid enough to get cocky. Aware before she entered the premises where all the hidden surprises were, she took the stairs to the seventh floor where the Monet was kept and barely broke a sweat by the time she found the room in question.
Now it got interesting. The Monet was in a room with motion tracking devices, infrared and sonic detectors. She was surprised by none of it, and prepared for all of it, having invested a considerable amount of personal capital in acquiring the technology necessary to steal her prize. Pausing when she approached the entrance to the room, she removed the sonic emitter purchased in Germany from her backpack, shipped here under the tightest veil of secrecy. Flicking the switch on the device, the emission it sounded was not audible to human ears although anything canine would be losing its mind if it were anywhere within five hundred yards of the building. Aside from driving dogs insane, it also disabled the sonic detectors surrounding the Monet and allowed her to pass through that particular security measure without setting off any alarms.
With that task completed, she stepped onto the floor of the room. The Monet was on the far wall, hanging languidly against it, with almost supreme confidence no one could breach its velvet ropes to spirit it away. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at her watch and knew she had no time to waste. She needed to get moving. There was only one way to circumvent the motion detectors in the room, and that was to move four inches at a time, anything faster and the alarms would bring the entire security company down around her ears.
Time for some art appreciation.
*****
Dogs were barking.
Ezra looked at the animals at a nearby alley and saw them howling into the night. As he strained to listen carefully because there was nothing else to do, he could not understand the reason for this annoying display. There were not merely barking, they were howling, some even yelping in pain. Even Vin had started to wonder about this.
"Someone is really working overtime with their dog whistle." The sharpshooter commented.
"An extremely powerful whistle," Ezra added and could not help but feel as if there was something in that incessant noise he was missing. Producing his cell phone, he pressed redial on the face of the device and waited patiently for an answer.
"Mr Wilmington," Ezra started to say when Buck beat him to it. "Yes, I hear it too. No, Mr Tanner and I have no idea what is going on. What does Mr Larabee say?"
Ezra did not have time to hear his answer because Chris Larabee emerged from the shadows and was motioning them forward. The leader of Team 7 was right in the open and did not appear to care he might be blowing his cover.
"What's going on?" Vin leaned forward against his steering wheel, trying to discern Chris's intentions when Ezra finally turned to him, his expression somewhat shocked.
"Ultrasonics," Ezra exclaimed with a burst of inspiration. "Someone is using ultrasonics."
"Hell," Vin swore, starting to climb out of the car at that revelation. "You mean it's going down after all?"
"I do not believe so," Ezra did the same as he rounded the front of the jeep and joined Vin. Both men made fast tracks towards Chris, who was now striding purposefully towards the gallery. "However I think we might have stumbled onto something entirely different."
*****
The Monet was only a few feet away.
She could almost touch it. So far everything had gone according to plan, and if her luck held out, she would soon be on her way out of the country for another six months in St Moritz, enjoying a well-deserved vacation. She wondered if anyone had any concept of how difficult it was to move slowly when danger compelled the human animal to be swift. No matter, she was a professional who knew the virtue of patience. Her suit was made of the same material used by deep-sea divers for their wetsuits. Its ability to trap heat masked her body temperature from the infrared cameras, allowing her passage through yet another obstacle.
Three feet.
Two feet.
One foot away and she would be able to grab it with her hands.
Suddenly, she became aware of sounds. Voices becoming louder with each passing second. Had she been discovered? Impossible, she had tripped no alarms, and she knew them all. Yet despite this, those voices continued to get louder just like the footsteps approaching. She glanced anxiously at the Monet, wrestling with the decision to leave now and get out alive or continue her attempt to steal the painting.
The voices made the decision for her.
"Goddamn it!" She swore angrily and turned on her heels and started running. The moment she did that, alarms began screaming all around her, lights illuminated the floor and were no doubt doing the same all across the gallery. It hardly registered.
The only thing of importance now was escape.
*****
Chris was in the lead, with Ezra and Vin following close behind him. Buck, JD, Josiah and Nathan were covering all the alternate exits. The activation of the alarm system shut down the elevators. Now the only way to the cause of the alarm was by the stairs. They hurried up the stairwell, having left the startled security guards who had no idea at all what was happening until Chris dutifully informed them someone was using some kind of sonic disruption equipment in this building. Considering what was kept in here, it did not take a genius to deduce a robbery was in progress. While technically, this was not ATF jurisdiction, Chris could hardly see those Keystone Cops handling the situation with any efficiency.
"They probably going to go out through the roof." Chris barked. "If I'm not wrong the elevators shut down the minute the alarm went off."
"Hell," Vin snorted, wondering how an intruder could have gotten past them in the first place. They had seen no one approached the building. "Probably how they got in too."
"It appears we have a true professional in our midst," Ezra commented as they burst through the entrance and immediately saw a slender figure running across the floor away from the painting that was the centrepiece of this particular room.
"Hold it!" Chris, who had his gun out, swung immediately at the stranger's direction.
The figure reacted with almost lightning speed, kicking a leg out so fast the gun flew from his hand before the leader of Team 7 was aware of it. It clattered against the wall as another kick landed firmly in his chest. Chris stumbled backwards into Vin and toppling them both to the floor. The assailant continued up the stairs without looking back.
Ezra leapt over his comrades, not bothering to see if they were all right. Confident they were okay because no bullets were fired, Ezra was sure they would soon be behind him in pursuit. He sprinted up the staircase after the thief who was leaping over three to four steps at a time, making incredible progress with their ascent. Ezra managed to keep pace well enough though, determine not to let this person escape at any costs, especially after how the intruder managed to slip past all their surveillance to get inside this building virtually undetected.
"Stop!" Ezra shouted. "Do not make me shoot you!"
The intruder paid little or no attention to his demands and kept going, impossibly picking up the pace.
Ezra started firing, sending a barrage of bullets upwards. The sound shattered whatever serenity left in the staircase and filled the narrow space with the deafening roar of exploding shells.
*****
Damn, their response time was fast!
When the hail of bullets came flying at her, she had just enough time to jump to avoid them. Landing painfully on the stairs, she ignored the discomfort because she had to keep going. The bullets from her pursuer's gun tore through the wall behind her savagely. Plaster and concrete flew in all directions as she scrambled up the stairs. In the wake of gunfire, she could hear more footsteps coming up the staircase, joining the one who was following her. She turned a corner and saw the door to the roof only a few feet ahead. No sooner than she cast her eyes on it, another barrage of ammunition followed, sending more fragments of concrete in her direction as she kept her head down and tried to avoid being hit.
It suddenly occurred to her she was not going to escape the roof the way she planned. Her only choice was to delay her pursuer and use the narrow margin of time between her incapacitating him and when his friends got to the roof.
She had one chance at this, and she had no choice but to take it.
*****
Ezra lost sight of the intruder at the final corner of the staircase. Below him, he could hear Vin and Chris and felt relieved knowing he had back up. Ezra ascended the final length of stairs and saw the fire door emptying onto the roof. Without thinking twice even though he would kick himself about it later, Ezra went through the door without taking the precaution of looking behind it first.
The leg came out of nowhere. Ezra lost his grip on his gun as quickly as it was taken from Chris. The intruder stepped out and met him face to face. Ezra stared astonished because he recognised the person before him and felt gratified when he realised he was not the only one who was similarly surprised if the redhead's open-mouthed stare was any indication. It was the woman he had been chasing all week!
The one who had bought him at the auction and then disappeared without a trace!
Unfortunately, she recovered faster than he did, and swung hard with her fist. The blow almost knocked him off his feet, but he managed to stay standing. The same could not be said after she delivered the leg sweep that cut his own from under him. Ezra collapsed to the ground in an unceremonious heap. However, instead of turning to run, she dropped her knee on his chest while he was on the floor and pulled him up partially. He groaned as he felt the pressure against his sternum, and looked up to find himself staring at incredible emerald coloured eyes.
"You do pop up in the strangest places don't you Mr Standish."
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage."
"Get used to it." She offered him a faint smile before pressing her mouth against him in a hasty, but entirely satisfying kiss. Her tongue slipped past his lips, probing the roof of his mouth, devouring him until all he could feel was the bolt of electricity she had sent through his body. Ezra was barely aware when she released him.
"Ezra, are you okay?" Vin Tanner shouted as he and Chris burst through the door after him. By now, she had left Ezra and was nearing the edge of the roof.
"Freeze!" Chris warned again, this time aiming his automatic weapon at her and not intending to miss. "Move and we'll fire."
She stood at the edge of the stone edging and seemed to consider her options. She was not about to be arrested, under any circumstances. Shrugging as if this were all terribly inconvenient, she replied with a little smile. "I guess you'll just have to fire."
With that, she stepped off the edge into the night.
"Shit!" Chris swore as he ran to the ledge, with Vin and Ezra following behind.
Instead of a dead body on the sidewalk at the foot of the building, they saw a very live one, making good time as she proceeded to a motorcycle parked on the other side of the street. The fall should have killed her but fortunately, the row of windows below the ledge she stepped off, came equipped with awnings. Each one of the bright orange canvas covers was torn through the middle, reducing terminal velocity with each impact. By the time she broke through the last one, there was not even enough speed to tear the fabric.
"I don't fucking believe it!" Chris swore as they watched helplessly as she climbed astride the vehicle and revved the engines. As it roared to life, she directed the cycle to pass directly under them.
The last thing they saw was her smiling face as she waved goodbye and disappeared into the night.
"Who was that?" Vin asked no one in particular. "Catwoman?"
"You okay Ezra?" Chris asked, taking note of the gambler's stunned expression and was immediately concerned.
"I am fine," Ezra said, still staring into the darkness where she had gone. "I think I need to sit down for a while, I am sure you can handle things on your own here. If you do not mind Mr Larabee, I need to go home."
"Sure Ezra," Chris said uncertainly, unwilling to let him go because he did not seem fine at all, but could offer no objection to make him stay. "Take it easy."
"What's with him?" Vin asked puzzled.
Chris could only shake his head in answer. "I have no idea."
Ezra did not hear their ruminations as he walked through the fire doors, thinking to himself he had just caught a tiger by the tail.
And had no intention of letting go.
"Explain to me again why we are doing this?" Vin Tanner asked as he sat in the front seat of Ezra Standish's Jaguar.
Both men spent the better part of the morning keeping the art gallery under surveillance. While Vin did not usually have a problem indulging Ezra in his pet theories, he was becoming decidedly uncomfortable about expending any time in pursuit of a matter Chris Larabee deemed clearly out of their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, Ezra was not about to let this go. Against his better judgement, Vin allowed himself to be talked into joining Ezra on this venture.
"Because you know I am right Mr Tanner," Ezra repeated the same answer he gave Vin twenty minutes ago and an hour before that. While he admitted time was indeed dragging, Ezra was not about to concede defeat, not when he was sure he was right.
"You got a good hunch Ezra," Vin agreed staring at the art gallery and wishing he were anywhere else, "but that don't mean we ain't breaking procedure by not turning this over to the FBI boys."
Ezra stared at him mortified. "Mr Tanner, surely you are not implying we turn over what would be a most prestigious arrest to those glory hounds at the Bureau?"
Vin gave Ezra a withering look before responding to Ezra's expression of mock horror. "You ain't doing this because of any arrest Ezra, you're doing this because of a girl."
Ezra's jaw dropped. "Sir, I take umbrage at that remark. I am simply hurt you would think I would risk a reprimand from our esteemed leader for the foolhardy pursuit of a lady? Well, I am just beyond words."
Vin rolled his eyes, knowing Ezra's indignation and hurt was about as genuine as the story the gambler was attempting to feed him. If it were anyone else, they might be taken in by the performance but Vin and the rest of Team 7, were too accustomed to Ezra to be fooled.
"Save it Ezra," Vin gave him a look before facing front again. "You ain't convincing me. You're doing this for a woman."
"Fine," Ezra nodded, conceding defeat on this point before he threw a sly look in the sharpshooter's direction with a little smirk thrown in for good measure. "But let us not point fingers when it comes to extreme acts to win the affection of a lady."
Vin shot him a murderous glare.
"I told you that was an accident. It…was…a…misfire."
"I am sure it was." Ezra grinned, not believing him for one second and making sure Vin knew it too. "However, lest you want me to go into detail how maiming my derriere proved to your advantage with Alexandra, you will point no more fingers. Besides, you owe me big Mr Tanner."
Vin faced front and swore under his breath because Ezra was right. He did shoot the man in the ass, and as embarrassing as it was for both of them, Vin felt obligated to make amends. However, any more reminders about it and the gambler was going to get another bullet in the butt. This time it would have nothing to do with Alex.
"Fine, whatever." The sharpshooter grumbled, convinced he was going to regret this.
Ezra was revelling in his victory when he turned to the gallery again, certain his hunch was right.
Last week, the famous Beaumont Gallery was almost burglarized by a very agile and professional cat burglar, the kind one read about in books or those old movies with Cary Grant. Not only had the suspect escaped but also single-handedly managed to elude all three ATF agents hot on her trail.
Disarming Chris Larabee was nearly impossible. Just when they thought things could not become any more unbelievable, she had thrown herself off the edge of the roof to elude capture. She survived by cushioning her fall through the awnings under each window of the building. The escape was spectacular, even if the painting was not stolen.
Ezra had not told anyone the woman he encountered on the rooftop and the one who bid for him at a recent charity auction, were one and the same. Chris would have him skinned alive if he knew and Ezra felt compelled to keep her identity a secret for the moment, especially when the revelation would have hardly assisted in her capture anyway.
Just like his efforts to trace the woman when she bid on him, she was proving to be just as elusive when he searched her through her rather unconventional career choice. Ezra searched every US government database in existence for a possible match to the MO of this particular burglar, but nothing registered. In desperation, he resorted to reaching out to a poker acquaintance who knew someone at Interpol capable of acquiring information through unofficial channels.
Thanks to Interpol, Ezra got his first real intelligence about his mystery woman.
They had a file on a female cat burglar operating in Europe for almost 10 years who had not been sighted on US soil, even though she was believed to be a local. Beyond that, they had little information on the woman herself, but her modus operandi was clear. She was never caught and had a reputation for being absolutely relentless. On rare occasions, when a heist did not go her way, she was known to make a further attempt. In each case, she stole everything she set her sights upon.
There were no exceptions.
Ezra was sure the woman who attempted to steal the Monet last week and the cat burglar known as 'La Renarde Rousse' to Interpol, was one and the same. Ezra did not know why he was determined to find her, but he knew if she was this 'La Renarde Rousse' or Crimson Fox, then she would come back for the painting. And she would do it soon.
"If she tries for it, she's gotta be crazy," Vin commented, having been appraised of this much of Ezra's theory if not the part about the auction. "It's broad daylight."
"Yes, but the owner is rather eccentric. He insists on taking the painting out of the state on his own and keeping it very close to him."
"That him?" Vin gestured at a rather short man with dark looks who was carrying the painting in a leather case surrounded by private security as he headed towards a Rolls Royce parked in front of the gallery. In front and behind the prestige automobile, were nondescript cars waiting for him to proceed on his journey.
"How Marilyn Monroe," Ezra stared at the woman at the owner's arm. She was a leggy blonde who was practically spilling out of her low cut blouse, capturing everyone's attention with her cleavage as she sauntered along. To Ezra, she looked vulgar, with big red lips leaving no imagination where her talents lay to acquire such a wealthy paramour. Even her walk on stiletto heels seemed ungainly and lacking grace, serving only to remind Ezra what a lady of class could achieve in the same footwear.
"I suppose some guys like that sort of thing," Vin remarked with a hint of distaste guessing Buck would be tripping over his tongue about now.
"Not I," Ezra stated firmly, and the two ATF agents observed quietly for the next few minutes the departure of the Rolls Royce with its entourage. When the cars had travelled far enough away, Ezra brought the Jaguar's engines to life and followed the convoy discreetly as it made its way to the airport.
"If she's going to try for it, I'd like to see how." Vin glanced at Ezra, not wishing to come right out and say Ezra was wrong, but he certainly believed the gambler's usually formidable hunches might be inaccurate on this occasion. No burglar would be so brazen or foolish enough to attempt a robbery in daylight with that much security around the target.
"She is going to try for it," Ezra said confidently, uncertain how he knew but was absolute on this fact. "I know she is."
****
The journey to the airport took place without incident. Whatever Ezra was expecting to take place had not, and Vin held his tongue knowing this was important to the gambler, understanding why they maintained the surveillance. Vin could appreciate what it was to be so completely enraptured by a woman that all good sense dried up like a well inside a man's head.
At the airport, Ezra was starting to doubt himself.
Perhaps he was wrong. Maybe she was not the Fox after all and that he had made a damned fool out of himself in front of Vin even though Ezra knew the sharpshooter would never say a word about it to anyone else. Vin was good at keeping confidences. Still, they were at the airport, and since they had already stuck their necks out this far, Ezra saw no reason to disengage the surveillance now.
"We might as well follow this unfortunate situation through," he hid his disappointment. "I apologize for leading you on a wild goose chase Mr Tanner."
"Don't worry about it Ezra," Vin patted his back as they both emerged from the Jaguar and made their way to the terminal. The painting was still in view because they were professionals and were much better about keeping a low profile than the rent-a-cops surrounding the owner. "I would have thought she might have turned up too with what we know about her."
"Thank you, Mr Tanner," Ezra replied, genuinely touched as the two men crossed the street and passed through the glass doors of the airport terminal.
The owner of the Monet was standing near the check-in counter while his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. For a few moments, the ATF agents lingered about uncomfortably, wondering what the group was waiting for and hoping they had not been spotted by the man's security.
Chris would give them all kinds of hell if he knew they were here right now and after his lack of success, Ezra was not in the mood to endure the man's stern reprimands. Fortunately, no such calamity took place as the girlfriend made her emergence from the ladies room. Both agents let out a sigh of relief when they realized she was the reason for the sudden pause.
From the minute she stepped out of the ladies room, Ezra knew something was wrong.
For a moment, he could not imagine what it was. He stared at the blond walking towards her lover, her hips moving sensuously, legs striding forward with complete grace and eye-catching poise while her modesty was concealed in a tight-fitting leather skirt. Ezra was somewhat surprised, considering he had not thought much of the woman when he first laid eyes on her at the gallery. Back there, her walk had been uninspired, and she looked like any blond with a rich boyfriend. Now she was something beautiful and heart-stopping.
It hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Vin!" Ezra called out bolting forward. "It's her!"
"What?" Vin called after Ezra as the gambler was already running. "What do you mean it's her?"
"A switch!" Ezra returned as he pulled out his gun from inside his jacket. "She pulled a switch in the ladies room!"
The commotion attracted the attention of the security guards who immediately sprang into action. Ezra was ready for them, brandishing his badge for them to see as they converged upon him.
"ATF! That woman is a suspect! She's the one who tried to steal the painting last week."
Immediately, all eyes turned to her direction only to find she had kicked off her heels and was running through the terminal, putting as much distance between herself and the men who would soon be in pursuit. No one attempted to interfere with Ezra following her flight, and the gambler found himself running after the lady faster than he had ever run before. People immediately moved out of the way, knowing some kind of arrest was transpiring and not wishing to become caught in its crossfire.
The Fox leapt onto a turnstile ejecting baggage and moved across the obstacles with surprising ease, marvelling Ezra with her agility as she leapt up the conveyor belt and finally disappeared through the opening. Vin was a few paces behind him, trying to move through the chaos created in the wake of the chase between Ezra and his cat burglar. While the travellers stepped out of Ezra's way, they only succeeded in hampering the efforts of Vin and the security guards who were a short distance behind him.
Ezra took the same path she did, clambering up the conveyor belt leading into the baggage area of the airport. No sooner than he passed through the small opening, he felt a sharp kick to the side, throwing him off the conveyor belt. Ezra spun in the air and flew several feet before impacting against the concrete floor. The landing made Ezra drop his gun, and he heard the sound of bone snapping upon impact. Ezra let out a cry of pain but somehow managed to get to his feet.
She dropped to the floor directly in front of him while he was searching for his gun. This time, there was none of the surprise present at their initial encounter. She was almost caught, and she knew it. For her to escape, she had to go through him. With the same astonishing speed, she planted a high kick straight in his sternum and sent him reeling.
Ezra slammed against the wall, groaning in pain as the hard impact aggravated the broken ribs created by her initial kick. He could feel the sharp sting of injury stabbing at his sides and knew he was not in any shape to fight her. Ezra grunted slightly and tried to retaliate, but she had the advantage and intended to use it. Another fist struck his jaw, and if he had been standing before, he was not by the time she was done with him. His head spun as he went down hard against the concrete.
"What is it with you?"
Ezra looked up at her through the haze of pain and saw she discarded her blond wig and beneath it was that amazing copper coloured hair. "You are a criminal."
"No, that isn't it." She leaned over him and took his aching face in her hand. "You're taking this awfully personal. If I didn't know better, I say you were tracking me."
"I have a penchant for red hair." He found himself admitting, uncertain why when she had just kicked his ass. "And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
Her surprised showed and then she smiled at him, and Ezra found his insides melt because those incredibly red lips and emerald colour eyes were playing the strings of his heart like a harp. Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth against his. Once again, when she kissed him, Ezra was never more aware of anything in his life. It was not a kiss of passion like before but soft and lingering, paralyzing his mind with the idea, this was a kiss designed just for him.
"Oh, you are sweet." She sighed, looking at him with a bemused smile when she pulled away. "I'd love to finish this with you, but I'm a little press for time. Just do me a favour," she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Don't get in my way again, I don't like hurting you."
With that, she released him and vanished once more.
*******
"What part of 'not our jurisdiction' did you not understand?" Chris Larabee glared furiously at the two of them the next morning.
After the Fox made her escape, Vin found him and opted not to go after the woman when he realized just how hurt Ezra was. After the other security guards caught up with them and then dispersed to continue the chase, Vin had taken him to the hospital where Alex treated his two cracked ribs. Still, that pain was nowhere as acute as the one they were presently facing, when they fronted up to the office the next day and learned Chris was privy to their hijinks at the airport.
"It ain't Ezra's fault," Vin spoke up, knowing Ezra was injured enough and did not need to bear the full brunt of Chris's wrath as well. "He had a good hunch, and I thought it was worth following up."
"Mr Larabee," Ezra quickly interrupted not about to let Vin fall on his sword for him. "I alone convinced Mr Tanner to accompany me on this escapade. He had nothing to do with it except to aid me in satisfying my foolish theories."
Chris watched the love fest being displayed by the two men in their efforts to exonerate each other and decided he needed a stiff drink or a gun, whichever came first.
"SHUT UP THE PAIR OF YOU!"
Their chattering voices immediately fell silent, and Chris stared down the duo like they were two little boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
"I don't care whose fault it is. You are lucky Mr Costanza, the owner thinks you two single-handedly saved the Monet from being stolen again. His girlfriend was knocked unconscious in the ladies room as you guessed Ezra, and the switch was made there. Even though they searched the airport and found no trace of your suspect, he still thinks you did a great job."
Vin and Ezra exchanged looks of relief until they saw Chris's dark expression.
"I, on the other hand, ain't apart of this mutual admiration society you've both got going so I'll tell you this only once, you pull this crap again, and I'll see to it you both end up in airport security, permanently. Do I make myself clear?"
Affirmative responses came rather contritely, and Chris let out a sigh of resignation. His anger was focussed on the fact they had gone it alone without backup, not the jurisdictional violations he was still explaining to the bureaucracy. If either man had underestimated the situation, they could have been caught in a life-threatening mess without help.
That, in Chris's opinion, was an unacceptable risk he expected none of his men to take with their lives.
"You're dismissed." He waved them out of the room.
Both turned to leave when Chris stopped them with one last word. "Oh Ezra, one other thing."
The gambler turned to Chris, wondering what else the man could say to make him feel any worse. "Yes, Mr Larabee?"
"Next time, wipe the lipstick off your face."
She could not get him out of her mind.
How is this possible?
There were men before. So many men, some more beautiful, more pliant and certainly less trouble than this one, and yet she could not shed him from her mind. He lingered there, like cancer taking root, eating away at her. She paced the floor of the apartment she should have vacated weeks ago, staring at the city below her aware there was no reason to remain. Still, she could not walk onto the plane, leaving him behind forever. Instead, she found herself trapped in Denver of all places, trapped like a fly in amber and slave to an emotion she swore she would never fall victim.
She managed to get her hands on the Monet, able to fend off the invisible pull keeping her here long enough to steal the painting and satisfy some rather insistent clients. Her reputation as the best was still hers to keep but for some reason, being the best no longer felt enough. Following the completion of the job, she lingered in the walls of her plush penthouse apartment, determined her temporary lease would remain that, temporary Except she was absent-mindedly scouring the real estate pages, searching for something she refused to acknowledge she wanted.
She had more than enough money from ten years in the game to last her a dozen lifetimes. Her services never came cheap since the advantage of being the best was the ability to name one's price. Now her numbered Swiss bank account ensured she would never have to worry about money again. Not like the early days, when she was a child struggling to get by on clothes bought from disposal shops. Always working hard for scholarships and a little extra money. She remembered delivering pizzas, turning over hotel beds and flipping so many burgers, she could no longer stomach the smell of the things because the scent of fat cooking under intense heat was branded into her mind.
No, money was never going to be a problem.
But she never did this for the money. She did it for the rush. The sheer joy of knowing there was no lock she could not pick, a trap she could not escape. She enjoyed breaking out of cages and proving they were not invulnerable. There was no such thing as an unworkable problem, just more challenging ones. Now, she was contemplating the idea perhaps it was time to walk away.
She was at the head of the game and no longer needed to play.
It infuriated her she could be even considering such a thing! This was her life, what she was born to do. Now thanks to one stupid ATF agent who had this strange propensity to turn up at the most unexpected times, she could barely concentrate on anything! While her nights were usually spent travelling under the rooftops, placing potential marks under observation to study their security, her days were uneventful. She only knew one person in town and her oldest friend was busy at work during the day, having troubles of her own.
And what was she doing with her spare time? She was scouring the commercial section of the newspaper, looking for a business to invest her considerable fortune.
This morning she had gone so far as to visit a small art gallery on sale in the city. She walked through the marble halls, listening to the drone of the owner as he informed her he was quitting the place to take up residence in New York. She even studied the books and discovered it was doing good business, supporting local artists, a pursuit that appealed to her. The insanity of it all was while she was walking through the corridors of the Spanish styled building, she could envision all sorts of possibilities in the place.
She stopped pacing and stormed over to her rosewood desk. The papers for the purchase of the gallery lay there, mocking her with its presence. The ink where she signed her name on the dotted line had sunk into the paper, creating an indelible impression she could not escape. She was now the proud owner of the Calliope Gallery. She owned a business! How could she manage a business? She was a frigging thief for Christ's sake!
This was his fault. He had done this to her. He and that stupid remark of his!
You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
Who fell for a line like that in this day and age? It was so contrived! Not only contrived, but it was also pathetic and so typical of the smarmy charm she ought to be utterly disgusted at being swayed by it. Instead, she felt her heart leap when he said because it was the most sincere compliment anyone had ever given her. When she had kissed him, she felt it down to her toes and knew much to her chagrin, this was the kiss. The one you waited all your life for.
Arghh! This could not go on.
He was threatening her entire existence, and she would not have it. Her life was excellent as it was, she needed no disruption or alteration, no matter how strongly she felt for Mr Ezra Standish.
**********
Ezra was glad to get home.
After spending the entire day watching Chris Larabee and Mary Travis doing their impressions of mating tigers from an episode of Wild Kingdom, he and the rest of Team 7 were more than relieved when the clock finally struck five. The entire group except for their leader, of course, shared a moment of complete solidarity when they all rushed out the door, no longer wishing to be involved in the carnage that was the fledgling courtship of Chris and Mary.
As it was the day had been a fruitless effort of phone calls and paperwork, a duty whose tediousness had no words to describe. It left Ezra daydreaming of more exciting chores, like watching paint dry or grass grow.
To make matters worse, on the way home, the Jaguar decided to get a flat tire and Ezra who was usually meticulous about such things, realised he used his spare during that shoot out a week ago and forgot to replace it. After spending an hour on the freeway waiting by the side of the road while Nathan picked up a tire, he finally made it to his apartment and decided the safest place for him after a day like this was firmly beneath the covers of his bed.
He was in the process of opening his door, lost in thoughts about an evening listening to Caruso while partaking in leftover Chinese takeaway with a nice bottle of wine, when two voices greeted him.
"Hello there, country boy. Long-time no see."
Suddenly Ezra realised his estimation of a bad day was about to get worse.
Only one person he remembered in recent years called him that, and the realisation told Ezra he was in a great deal of trouble. Three years ago, he was involved with an illegal gun-running operation, that went to trial with the case evidence resting solely on his testimony. The criminal received a ten-year sentence which amounted to just about nothing it seemed since the man was now standing behind him.
"Why Mr Bertinelli. What a pleasant surprise."
Ezra could not see the man because his back was still to the door, and the gun kept him from turning around. Nevertheless, he was sure it was Johnny Bertinelli behind him. Bertinelli was a part of the family in New York until some indiscretion with a godfather's daughter sent him to the wilderness of Colorado. When Ezra infiltrated the organisation, Bertinelli had been attempting to claw his way back into favour with a massive weapons shipment, until Ezra's involvement permanently ended Bertenelli's ambitions.
Yep, he was definitely in trouble.
"Not for long," Bertenelli's voice became menacing and sent a chill through Ezra's bones as he spoke, his voice sounding like crushed glass. "Not for long."
******
She was breaking into his apartment.
She was an international cat burglar, who was the bane of museums and art galleries with million-dollar security systems. Now a goddamn ATF agent had driven her to break into a place whose idea of security was a tenant's poodle patrolling the grounds for its evening walk! There was no dignity in this, she told herself as she dropped into his balcony. As the soft soles of her shoes touched the terracotta tiles of the patio, she had to admit he had a beautiful view.
She had no idea why she was here. When she was driving here in her red Masserati, she told herself it was a bad idea. However, she could not deny that she felt something for this man and in making the admission realised she knew very little about him. And coming in through his window was a lot less embarrassing than perusing his Facebook page.
Dressed in soft black leather, she was a shadowy figure moving along the balcony until the voice she heard coming from inside the apartment made her freeze. She hadn't expected Ezra to be home and wondered if she ought to withdraw and try this some other time until the voices stopped, replaced by a sound she knew well.
Knuckles against flesh.
Pressing her face close to the glass, she peered through the slight part in the curtains to see he was tied to a chair. His face was bruised and bleeding as two men, both armed with 45's, one tucked away, and the other brandished, stood over him. The one not holding his gun was armed with a cutthroat razor and intended to do some serious damage. Ezra's coat and shirt were splayed open, and his chest exposed clearly indicating his death when it came, was going to be slow and painful.
"By the time we're done with you," the big, heavyset one with the pinkie ring and the expensive yet appallingly ugly suit threatened. "You ain't gonna be so pretty any more."
"Considering you have only yourself to base that comparison," Ezra retaliated with complete dignity, even though blood was oozing from his split lip. "I am not overly concerned."
The agent was determined not to show fear to this fat, stupid slug of a man who reeked of bad odour and was massacring the English language, playing the caricature of a Brooklyn born mobster. Clearly, he knew these men were going to kill him but was not leaving this life begging.
"Always with the mouth." The mobster was unimpressed by the sarcasm and reacted by throwing another jewelled fist at the ATF agent's face.
****
Time to put a stop to this, Julia decided as she prepared to throw herself into a situation she was not confident she would ever walk away from.
And she didn't mean dealing with Stupid Mario Bros inside the room.
The balcony doors were unlocked. Since his apartment was almost six floors up from the ground, it was hardly surprising. Fortunately, her entry made no loud sound and did not attract the attention of the men whose victim had their undivided attention. The big guy was still working Ezra over pretty good and judging by the new bruises, her ATF agent could not take much more of this abuse.
Besides, she was the only one allowed to pummel him silly.
"Well, hello darling." She stepped into the room and immediately brought things to a standstill. "Started without me?"
Ezra's jaw dropped open while Bertinelli and his companion merely stared at this mysterious creature dressed in black leather (what else?) before them, sauntering into the room with the sleek grace of a cat. What was she doing here? Ezra wondered and felt his heart leapt with excitement until it dawned upon him, she just walked into an extremely hazardous situation.
"Perhaps my dear," Ezra said sputtering blood as he tried to speak. "You should depart the way you came. Now is not really a good time." He looked at her with a silent plea to leave while she could. These were dangerous men who would kill her if they had a chance. He would gladly endure the dying if he knew that she had not jeopardised her own safety because of him.
"Of course, it is." She moved deeper into the room. "I'm sure your friends won't mind." She flashed them a dazzling smile and continued approaching Bertinelli. Still, she was touched by his genuine concern for her, even if she was not leaving him here to suffer at the hands of these brutes.
"Who the fuck are you?" He growled as she moved in closer, pressing her body against his.
Ezra watched in horror as Bertinelli appeared unswayed by such feminine wiles and was preparing to act. What was she doing here? Ezra wondered and wished she could have picked a less inopportune time to make her entrance.
"Miss Fox..." Ezra spoke up again because he did not know what else to call her since their relationship, such as it was, had not progressed far enough for them to be on a first-name basis.
"Hush now darling," she held a finger to her lips. "I was speaking to your friend..."
"I ain't got nothing to say to you sister," Bertinelli growled. "Now sit the fuck down before I give you some of what I'm giving him."
He started to swing the gun in her direction when all of a sudden, she caught the arm holding it with her own and slammed her elbow with practised force into the midsection of his forearm. The ugly squelch of snapping bone ripped through the air as Bertenelli dropped the weapon immediately, screaming in agony as jagged edges protruded through broken flesh.
"Johnny!" His friend jumped to his feet, closing in with the razor blade.
The mook was too damn stupid to go for the gun, and since he was not going to do so, she decided she would not give him a chance to later. Throwing her leg out in a sidekick, the ball of her foot met the soft part of his stomach, causing damage immediately. She closed the distance between them in seconds, grabbing his hand and snapping the wrist so far back that it brought tears to Ezra's eyes just hearing the crunch of bone.
The other man let out a high piercing cry of pain as the blade clattered to the floor. His scream was soon cut short when she yanked him forward by his injured wrist and cut short his progress towards her with a palm strike that swept him off his feet and dropped him to the floor. He fell down, back first and she wasted no time retrieving the gun tucked in his trousers. However, she heard movement, coupled with Ezra shouting.
"Behind you!"
She turned around to see Bertinelli coming at her, crimson rage in his face as he clutched his broken arm, determined not to be beaten by a woman. She threw a back kick, aiming this one a little lower and struck the man where she was sure he was not going to get up again. Bertinelli let out a second scream as he collapsed onto the ground, clutching his groin in agony as she searched the floor for the second gun. His friend recovered enough to get on his knees when she retrieved Bertinelli 's gun and whirled around swiftly to face him.
"Take him and get out of here." She ordered both guns aimed squarely at him as she made her threat. "Before I really get mean."
Ezra watched with his jaw agape as he saw the smaller man crumpled under the demand. The fool was not about to argue with the beautiful woman who just kicked both their asses so efficiently that it was nearly art. Even though he was bleeding and aching from the beating inflicted by Bertinelli, Ezra sighed wistfully, just as entranced as he was the first moment he saw her at that fundraiser.
What was she doing here? Not that he was complaining, of course. She just saved his life.
Bertinelli's savant compiled immediately, picking up the groaning man off the floor before they both staggered out of the room, tail tucked between their legs and ice packs soon to take its place. Within seconds, they were gone, and it was just Ezra alone with the Fox once again. She looked at the guns in her hands with distaste before emptying the bullets in both chambers. The unused projectiles scattered across the floor upon making contact, disappearing under furniture and other places as she tossed both weapons onto the nearby sofa and started towards him.
"You don't look so good, Agent Standish." She dropped to her knees and examined his injuries.
"I have been better." He admitted, finally allowing the pain he had been trying to hide show in his face. He did not want to display weakness in front of her. Still, the bruises in his side, the old injuries inflicted by her and the newer ones, delivered courtesy of Mr Bertenelli and Co, had culminated into a throbbing ache he could no longer ignore.
"I can see that."
"What are you doing here?" He finally demanded, almost bursting to ask the question.
She went silent for a moment, and the look of confidence that was her trademark expression evaporated. "You, I'm here because of you. You've been driving me insane."
Ezra maintained his poker face, pleased to know he was not the only one whose life had been turned upside down by their meeting. "Is that a good thing?"
"Not for me." She remarked and let out a heavy sigh. Instead, she turned her attention to his split lip and started dabbing the blood with the corner of his shirttail. "I do not like emotional attachments."
"Then, why are you here?" He asked, wishing she would untie him. He felt decidedly ineffectual as it was already, with her charging to his rescue like some kind of damsel in distress.
"I can't answer that." She said with a frown. "I thought I might get to know you. See what it was about that's gotten under my skin."
"Your timing was impeccable." He replied, taking the opportunity to express his gratitude after what she had done. "Thank you, Miss Fox, for saving my life."
Her brow arched, recognising what he had been calling her and smiling coyly. "I think you can call me Julia."
"Julia." Ezra found himself smiling, happy they were progressing to a point where she trusted him with a name. "Is that truly your name, or is it some alias you used in your nocturnal activities?"
"It's about as real as it's going to get for us now. I am sorry about hurting you." She replied, feeling genuine regret about that.
"I think you have made up for that with tonight's performance, Julia." He replied, pulling at his restraints as an indication to be freed. "Would you mind undoing these ropes, I am feeling a little vulnerable at the moment."
"No," she stated firmly. "I think we need to talk."
"Talk?" Ezra stared at her.
"Yes,” she nodded, “I am what I am, I will never change. You said I am a criminal."
Ezra frowned, wishing he had not made the comment, but then again it was true. The law stood between them like a line a thousand miles wide. "You are 'La Renarde Rousse' are you not?" He was sure she was the elusive cat burglar so wanted by Interpol, but he needed to hear her confirm it.
"Yes," she nodded, sitting in front of him like a glorious feline, her green eyes meeting his. "I have been called that."
"I should arrest you," Ezra replied, "but considering the circumstances...'
"You can't," Julia smiled. "I have committed no crime in the United States, for that matter in Europe. They have suspicions but no actual proof. I am very good at what I do, Agent Standish."
Ezra had no doubt about that, their first encounter proved it. Getting past himself, Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner was no easy feat. Yet not only had she done it, but she also did it with extreme flair and executed one of the most spectacular escapes he had ever seen.
"I can see that. Could we talk about this with my hands untied?"
"No, I rather like you tied up," she winked. "And bruised."
"Lovely," he rolled his eyes.
She laughed, and like everything else about her, Ezra thought. It was perfect.
Instead, she raised herself to his mouth and planted a long, passionate kiss where her tongue explored his and drove away from the stinging pain of his split lip. He felt her hands resting gently on his chest before moving away, but he hardly noticed it because, since the first, her kisses had the power to make him forget everything. When she pulled away, he found himself breathless.
Julia smiled at him and got to her feet. "I've got to go."
"Now?" He exclaimed disappointed, wanting her to stay, wanting to continue this. "But...."
"You are not in any shape for the main event, as much as I wish it were otherwise." She winked at him starting towards the balcony again. Before Ezra could say anything to stop her, she swept out of the room, and he was alone once more.
Ezra started to contemplate how he would get out of this chair when he noticed the ropes around his wrists were untied.
"Lord, she's good."
Suddenly, the moment was broken by the sudden arrival of Buck Wilmington and Nathan Jackson. The two men burst into the room, having seen the door ajar and knew instinctively Ezra was too careful to allow his front door to be open for just anyone to enter unannounced.
"Ezra are you okay!" The big man demanded before stopping short at the sight of Ezra covered in bruises and blood.
"Good lord, they worked you over good!" Nathan hurried to him.
"We just got the call about twenty minutes ago that Bertinelli was on the loose. Seems he used his family connections to wrangle himself early parole. Chris called Nathan and me cause we were nearest to your apartment."
Buck approached Ezra with less anxiety than Nathan. Ezra may talk like a Sunday school teacher all the time and more pernickety than any man had a right to be, but he was tough as they came. He would recover from his bruises, Buck was certain.
"Come on, talk to me," Nathan asked because Ezra had not spoken. Of course, with the beating he must have endured getting these bruises, it was understandable if he did not feel particularly verbal but hell, this was Ezra. Ezra being silent was a very rare happenstance at any point and naturally concerned the healer. "It ain't like you to go all quiet on us now."
"I'm fine.' Ezra responded, wondering just how much he was going to omit when he was required to explain this. "Just fine. I do not suppose that either of you gentlemen have a cigarette on you?"
Buck looked at him. "I thought you quit."
"I did," Ezra said with an unusually satisfied smile on his face. "but under the circumstances, I think I earned one tonight.
"Can't say I blame you, I suppose getting the crap kicked out of you qualifies as reason enough to take a smoke." Buck could not fault him for that, after all, Ezra did look like he was put through something of an ordeal at Bertenelli's hands.
"Yes," Ezra mused, letting out another deep sigh of longing before he answered Buck's question. "It was quite unpleasant."
Nathan and Buck shook their heads in puzzlement, unable to understand the strange smile on his face as they drove him to the hospital.
It was purely by chance while Ezra Standish was strolling through the local Art Museum almost a week after his encounter with Julia, aka the Crimson Fox, he noticed the familiar red of copper-coloured hair moving through the crowd.
At first, he was uncertain it was indeed the object of his passions and tried vainly to keep her in his sights as he shoved people out of the way in a most ungentlemanlike fashion to prove it was indeed her. Unfortunately, as always, she was too quick for him and once again, Julia vanished into thin air with the same spectral trail he was becoming begrudgingly accustomed to finding, whenever he tried to find her.
Fortunately, Ezra did not believe she saw him despite his fruitless attempts to give chase. This afforded him something of an advantage for their next encounter. Since the woman was a professional thief, not to mention an international cat burglar, there could only be one reason she would be at the museum.
Knowing this allowed him a little bit of leverage when he approached museum security and identified himself, alerting the somewhat disgruntled security chief there was the possibility of a robbery being planned. Although the man was unhappy at the involvement of an ATF agent in what should have been exclusively his domain, Ezra bartered his information well enough to procure himself a view of the museum's security footage.
It did not take long to find her even despite her disguise of dark glasses, and a dull tan coat sold in a thousand different shops across the country. It was the kind of apparel that allowed her to fade into the background if seen by anyone other than Ezra Standish. As he watched her glide across the screen, appearing so tantalisingly mysterious she occupied his thoughts almost night and day, Ezra remembered their last encounter with a smile.
The only thing of interest at the museum at present was a new exhibit from Europe, featuring one of da Vinci's lesser paintings but the famous Italian's name on any piece of oiled canvas was enough to send its value through the stratosphere. The picture would be on display for another two days, and Ezra was convinced the Crimson Fox should, no, when she decided to make a move on the priceless piece of art, would do so before its removal from the museum. For the first time since he met her, Ezra had some idea where she was going to appear next. He wanted to find her more desperately than anything in his life, and Ezra feared if he did not see her soon, she would vanish forever.
Instead of going it alone like he usually did when attempting to catch her, Ezra decided to play it smart by requesting help. It would undoubtedly avoid incurring the wrath of Team 7's leader, Chris Larabee if an inevitable foul-up landed on his desk. Surprisingly enough, instead of receiving a stern reminder this was out of ATF jurisdiction, Ezra was astonished when Chris agreed it was time to put this matter of the Crimson Fox to rest for good.
In retrospect, Ezra could see why Chris would have agreed to their involvement since the woman slipped out of their fingers on two occasions already. Failure was not something Chris tolerated well and after so many arrests of the worst characters imaginable, allowing a cat burglar to get away twice would have inspired the man's hostility to no end.
Julia was about to learn what a dangerous thing it was to injure Chris Larabee's pride.
"I hope this ain't another wild goose chase." Vin Tanner drawled as he and Ezra waited inside a maintenance closet down the hall from where the da Vinci was being exhibited.
Whatever manner, Julia intended to make her entry into the premises, she would have to pass by this room to get to the painting. Chris and the others were stationed discreetly at every possible entrance into the building, leaving Vin and Ezra here to drop the net once the quarry had arrived. Since on every occasion, Ezra had run into the Fox, he had been beaten senseless, Vin who was Team 7's resident expert in hand to hand combat, was to see to it this did not happen again.
Apparently, Chris was sick of filling out injury reports for just one person.
"I assure you, Mr Tanner," Ezra said trying to keep his own impatience in check at their less than glamorous surroundings. "She will be here."
Of course, it was tough to be optimistic about this when he was surrounded by brooms, mops and the distinct stench of ammonia, cramping the scent of his cologne (which he was still telling himself he had worn only for Vin's benefit). It was almost two hours since the sunset and the various security team assigned to conduct their regular patrols on the hour faded away, leaving automation to take care of the painting for the rest of the night.
"She's really got under your skin, hasn't she?"
"Like a man who discharges his firearm to get rid of a rival." Ezra quipped
"It was a misfire!" Vin hissed in exasperation. "Why DOESN'T anyone believe me?"
"Because it is a load of horse manure."
"You seriously think I would shoot you in the ass, on purpose?"
"Do you seriously think that anyone would believe you had a misfire when you are the most proficient person we all know with a firearm?"
Well, Ezra had him there, Vin had to concede defeat. "Keep it up, and you'll be getting another dimple on your cheek, and I'm not talking on your face."
****Julia emerged from her hiding place in the museum vents, having been there since closing this evening. As far as she was concerned, the best way to get into a museum with this kind of security was through the front door. She prepared her way out but decided to save herself the trouble by entering the museum as a tourist and then hiding out until the doors were closed. Slipping out the vent leading to the floor of the da Vinci exhibition room, Julia quickly took a moment to change into her work clothes. She'd hidden a small bag containing her tools and clothes behind a large pot plant in the corner of the corridor earlier in the day.
Once she was in her familiar leather bodysuit and more suitably attired for the task ahead, Julia went to work. First, she took the precaution of disabling all the security cameras in her immediate vicinity before donning on a pair of night-vision goggles and turning her attention to the more sophisticated security devices in place. It took her almost a good half an hour to bypass the laser sensor, motion detectors and sonic equipment in place to protect the valuable painting before she could even start towards the da Vinci.
The painting sat in the middle of the room since it was the showcase piece of the exhibit. Julia sidestepped the crisscrossing beams of laser sensor running across the floor and knew there were probably more surprises waiting when she reached the object. A da Vinci made a Monet look like pocket change and could understand why most would rather keep the thing than sell it on the black market. She would not have minded keeping it herself if it was not so damn dangerous. With a sigh, she told herself with some disappointment, it was simply not meant to be.
Reaching the velvet ropes surrounding the painting, Julia took a moment to admire the beauty of the Maestro's work. The observation lasted no more than a second before she crossed the ropes and got to work.
****"Mr Tanner," Ezra tapped his headset and hissed quietly at the sharpshooter who was at the door, poised for action. "Mr Larabee has just informed me that all the cameras in the northeast corridor is no longer operational."
Vin tensed immediately at the realisation. "She's here."
"I believe that was what I was attempting to say. We should make our move now."
"Good idea," Vin agreed. "Tell Chris to disable all the security devices. We're going in."
Ezra nodded, hating to trap Julia this way but he had no other way to find her. He was trying not to let his conscience get the better of him as he was reminded of how she had saved his life only a week ago. Suddenly, Ezra felt like an utter cad for orchestrating her capture like this. However, he had set into motion events that could not be stopped and would have to see it through.
"Mr Larabee, Mr Tanner and I are moving in. Please disable any remaining security devices, so this establishment does not become a Fourth of July parade when we tackle the Fox."
"Taking care of it now." The leader of Team 7 answered before a short pause followed. "Okay, security is disarmed. We'll be in position when you acquire the target."
"Understood," Ezra replied and then turned to Vin. "It appears we have a go."
Ezra saw Vin nod and slowly twist the handle of the door. The mechanism made a little sound as it unlatched before the door swung open and Vin slipped out first, with Ezra following close behind. Outside, the corridor was dark, and Ezra allowed Vin to take the lead since when it came to stealthy approaches, there was no one better than Vin Tanner.
The sharpshooter moved across the floor without making a sound. Their advance was further aided by the inert state of all the security devices in the place. Somewhere in the darkness, Ezra knew Chris Larabee and the rest of Team 7 were closing in. He wondered how Julia would react when she knew the trap about to be pounced upon her was entirely his doing.
Suffice to say, there was probably not going to be a kiss this time.
Vin reached the exhibition hall first and paused at the doorway. Ezra could hear nothing and his confusion mirrored that of Vin's because they both assumed she would be well into stealing the painting by now. All signs indicated the Fox was in the building. Yet as they peered over the edge of the doorway, the space she would have been occupied to remove the painting, was vacant.
"What the hell..." Vin started to say as the barrel of the gun in his hand sagged a little.
Suddenly, a foot kicked out at him from the corner of the doorway and sent the weapon flying across the room. Julia stepped out then, prepared to make another kick but this time Vin had some idea of what he was dealing with and was ready for her, despite the loss of his weapon. He grabbed her foot before it could strike and break several bones in his sternum and twisted it viciously, spinning her in mid-air. She came crashing down on the hard floor.
"Julia, give it up!" Ezra called out as he saw her lying on the floor dazed as Vin moved to retrieve his gun.
His voice sent a surge of clarity through her disorientation, and she immediately got on her feet and faced him briefly before she realised what Vin was doing. Knowing she could not allow him to retrieve his weapon, Julia slammed her body into the sharpshooter, knocking him off his feet as Ezra hurried forward to help his fallen comrade. Julia swung a flying kick at the gambler, kicking his gun from his hand and smashing her palm into his throat, which more or less destroyed any resistance he was going to put up.
"You son of a bitch! You set me up?" Julia glared at him through narrowed eyes with no sympathy whatsoever for his injury as he staggered backwards, clutching his throat in pain after she had nearly crushed his windpipe. "After I saved your ass that night?"
"Get over it, lady!" Vin declared, ending his response with a full-body tackle of his own. Both of them tumbled to the floor as footsteps started pounding towards them. Both combatants broke free of each other and got to their feet before immediately launching themselves at one another in a series of high kicks and defensive blows.
Through the haze of pain, Ezra saw Vin giving as good as he got, but there was just a little bit more power behind Vin’s blows to gain the advantage. She was fighting him with everything she had, and Ezra could tell that Vin was struggling to keep her at bay. Her legs moved at lightning speed, sending kicks in his direction Vin was able to fend off with the barest fraction of a second to spare before impact. The sharpshooter delivered strikes of his own that had to hurt.
Suddenly, Ezra saw the realisation in her eyes there might not be only two agents in the building but more. In fact, staying to fight had robbed her of precious time she should have used to escape.
She broke away from Vin abruptly, pausing long enough to cast a look of betrayal and hurt in Ezra's direction before she ran out of the room and down the corridor. She was just about to turn down the hallway when she ran straight into Chris Larabee.
"End of the road," Chris said simply and emphasised his point by the gun he pressed against her heart.
Julia had to only look at those steel coloured eyes to know that moving right now would be a fatal mistake. Behind him, she could see the rest of the ATF agents swirling around her, closing off any other avenues of escape. With a loud sigh as her shoulders slumped slightly, she knew she was done.
She was caught.
"I guess it is." She said with complete dignity and would not show anyone how deeply Ezra's betrayal wounded her.
Julia could deal with being caught. She could even deal with the fact these ATF agents were the one to apprehend her, but Ezra's taking part in this had hurt more than she had expected. Of course, Julia could hardly blame him for being what he was any more than she could help herself for what she did for a living, but it still hurt.
She cared about him a great deal and could not deny that she might even love him. Nothing else could explain the changes she was going through since their meeting. Begrudgingly, Julia was forced to admit she was in love with Agent Standish just as she knew her anger with him was not permanent. Still, she was going to make him pay for this in sweet agony when she extricated herself from her present difficulties. Capture always an aspect of the game even though it did not happen to her very often.
Besides, there was still that trump card up her sleeve the ATF did not know about.
The lights came back on illuminating the entire room, and Julia saw there were ATF agents and security guards surrounded her. Their total numbered in the dozens, and she realised there would be no miracle escape this time. Fine, she was caught, she could live with it, but she was still furious with Ezra.
"Vin, Ezra, you okay?" Chris shifted his gaze long enough to see the sharpshooter and the gambler approaching. Vin was limping a bit but seemed all right for the most part while Ezra was turning a shade of blue as he clutched his throat, barely controlling the pain her attack had caused.
Julia saw him suffering and thought to herself. Good .
"I'm fine, but I think Ezra needs to go to the hospital," Vin replied, looking at him with concern.
Goddamn it, Chris swore under his breath. Not another one of those damn forms!
"We got your girl though," Buck said exuberantly as he moved to snap handcuffs around Julia's wrists. She seemed more amused by the notion than anything else.
"I would not waste my time, Mr Wilmington." Ezra managed to say as he approached Julia when Buck made the attempt. "The lady is a professional thief who unlocks safes for a living, I doubt she will find any difficulty extricating herself from a pair of handcuffs."
"He's right," Chris agreed, not removing the gun from her chest before he looked down at the titian-haired beauty who was quite diminutive now that he had a chance to observe her. Not to mention, Chris recognised her. "You were at the fundraiser."
"What can I say?" Julia gave him a sarcastic smirk then had to begrudgingly admit she could now see why Mary was driving herself to distraction over this man. He was without doubt utterly magnificent if dark, brooding sombre sons of bitches were one's cup of tea. "I like auctions."
The rest of Team 7 stifled their sniggering before Chris gave Ezra a look that said 'we'll talk about this later' and turned back to her. "Get her out of here."
"What for?" A new voice suddenly spoke out, one that no one recognised and was not part of either teams, security or ATF.
They all turned to a man dressed in a tuxedo who appeared to have come from a formal event. He was accompanied by two other suits and did not at all look impressed with what had happened.
"Thank you for arriving so quickly Mr Packard," Julia called out with a smile, astonishing everyone with that action. "As you can see, I have encountered difficulties."
While Ezra and the rest of Team 7 did not recognise the new arrival, the security men employed by the museum certainly did and gulped immediately at his presence. Packard marched straight up to Chris Larabee with an unhappy expression on his face and not at all intimidated by Chris's usually overpowering demeanour.
"I am Roderick Packard, Director of this museum." The man said sharply before allowing his gaze to sweep over the rest of the people present. "Who are you?"
"Agent Larabee. ATF. We just caught this woman attempting to steal your painting." The leader of Team 7 stiffened at the man's behaviour, particularly since he and his men just busted their asses to save this museum from a multi-million dollar art heist.
Ezra stared at Julia, unable to comprehend what was happening or why she appeared so unperturbed about being in custody. Earlier, he thought her anger was about getting captured, but now he realised it was directed at him on a more personal level. She was glaring at him with nothing less than outrage, but her ire was only for him, not anyone else. About the situation she presently found herself in, Julia was decidedly composed, and Ezra started to have an awful feeling about this.
"What you did was interfere with a contracted employee of this facility in the process of doing her job!" Packard barked back not caring at all for the impressive credentials wielded by these men. His eyes blazed with fury, and Chris began to share the same feeling of foreboding Ezra was experiencing right now.
"Doing her job!" Buck cried out in disbelief. "She was stealing a painting!"
"It's fake!" Packard exploded as if he were talking to a bunch of moronic children. "The original was moved this morning!"
"Aw hell....." Chris started to groan, suddenly understanding. "Let me guess, that painting in there is a fake and she was hired to test the security system?"
Chris knew of operations like this, where some museums hired people who were capable of bypassing the internal safeguards to correct any blind spots in their security system. No doubt, after she had taken the painting tonight, she would have reported to Packard and his people, just how she managed to accomplish the feat for them to correct the oversight and prevent such an incursion from happening again.
"That's right," Julia pulled herself away from the reach of Chris's gun and gave him a triumphant smile. "When I heard you ATF idiots stumbling around here like a pack of wild elephants, I called Packard on my cell phone anticipating I might need his help if you assholes actually got lucky and caught me."
"You mean you knew the painting was a fake?" Ezra looked at her with confusion.
"Of course, I did." She stepped up to him. "I was planning on staying in town for a while and thought the job might prove interesting."
The rest of Team 7 started to groan at the spectacular bungle this was turning out to be, but Ezra had only eyes for Julia at this time. "I thought..."
"I know what you thought," she said sharply. Her voice might have been angry, but her eyes were filled with hurt and Ezra cursed himself for a fool. Here she was, preparing to make a life-changing decision by going straight of all things, for him, and he had repaid it by turning her in. He did not think it was possible to feel so miserable in his entire life.
"You can kiss my ass you son of a bitch." She flattened Ezra with a single blow before brushing past all of them. He reeled backwards from the punch, feeling blood gush out of his nose and wondering whether he was ever going to get past the sadomasochistic relationship he had with this woman.
"Julia, wait!"
"Go to hell!" She swore and rounded the corner, not waiting for him.
Ezra let out a deep breath and decided to give up. Besides, if he knew Julia, she would be dropping in on him soon enough probably to make him bleed some more. Turning around, he saw Chris arguing with the museum director and besides, by the time Chris got through with him, the injuries he sustained at Julia's hands would be slight in comparison to what the ATF team leader was going to do to him for this mistake.
Sometimes, he wondered if it would be simpler to go home and hang himself with a tablecloth.
Ezra Standish was bored.
He glanced at the screen for the hundredth time, trying to be interested in what he was typing but his mind kept wandering, despite his best efforts to concentrate on his work. His thoughts seemed to be in a state of flux today, unable to focus on any one subject. He looked away from his screen and rubbed his eyes, hoping the digital clock on the edge of his immaculate desk would tell him it was time to go home. Unfortunately, the LCD timepiece did not offer him respite but did let him know it was nearing lunch. While not entirely as liberating as going home for the evening, Ezra was not about to quibble over small consolations.
Outside, it was a beautiful warm summer day. It was the kind of day that made one question the need for walls and air-conditioning and being pent up inside four walls for too long a time. He eased back into his chair, considering how he would spend the hour of freedom from this place and entertained the quaint idea of lunching outdoors, perhaps in the balmy surroundings of a local park or an arboretum he knew not far from here.
Allowing his sea coloured eyes to sweep over the room, Ezra saw the rest of Team 7 wearing the same look of boredom. All except Chris Larabee, who was gazing at Mary Travis over the stack of papers he was supposedly working on while the journalist was typing away at the computer screen at a vacant desk.
Of course, the man was doing everything possible to hide the fact he was basking in the loveliness of the blond woman who had undoubtedly captured his heart, no matter how Chris may deny it. Ezra rolled his eyes, wondering why the leader of Team 7 just did not tell the woman how he felt. Instead, they behaved like the pair of mating alligators Ezra once chanced to see during a trip to Florida.
The others were just as enthused about being here today. Vin Tanner was at his desk, with his back faced away from the rest of the team. The sharpshooter was cradling his phone between his ear and shoulders while speaking in soft tones to someone who could only be Alexandra Styles, while Buck was reading a magazine with his feet on the table. Ezra gave it about another ten minutes before Chris emerged from his office, and shouted at his old friend to get back to work since the magazine in question happened to be the jumbo edition of Sports Illustrated.
JD’s eyes were fixed firmly on his computer screen. Still, Ezra had no doubt that what had captured the youth's attention was not at all a report, but the umpteenth level of Red Dead Redemption which he was helping the deadly John Marston traverse. Nathan and Josiah were at the coffee machine in the hallway, lingering there and staring longingly at the clock, waiting for it to strike twelve just as he was.
Ezra turned back to the screen and frowned because he still had not managed to put more than three words to the report chronicling the embarrassment of two days ago when he mistakenly dragged all his comrades to the Denver Museum. Ezra was sure Julia, the mysterious thief who captured his heart and affirmed with every encounter he was well and truly head over heels, was attempting the possible heist of a priceless da Vinci painting on display at the premises.
Team 7 had staked out the place, mobilised museum staff and coordinated with their head of security in preparation for her arrival and arrest. Unfortunately, after they apprehended her, it was discovered Julia, or the Fox as she was called by Interpol, was gainfully employed by the museum director to test their security measures. Not only did they come out of the experience with egg well and truly on their faces, but Chris Larabee had found himself with a great deal of explaining to do to just about everyone.
Ezra had not believed that anyone could scream for an hour straight, but Chris managed to prove once again he was capable of any feat, especially that one. Ezra could hardly blame him of course. The leader of Team 7 had spent half the night apologising to the museum owner, Mr Packard and then the other half of it explaining it to the Assistant Director, assuring the man they were not going to be slapped with a lawsuit. Needless to say, when he came to work the next morning, the first person he wanted to see was Ezra.
The ATF agent flinched just remembering how furious Chris had been during that interview, and was in a foul mood for the rest of the day until he volunteered to take Mary Travis to her son's baseball game. Secretly, Ezra wondered what had happened at the game to assuage such a foul mood because Chris was smiling when he returned.
However, enduring Chris Larabee in a foul mood was not as bad as seeing the hurt in Julia's eyes when she realised it was he who had set her up. Considering how she saved his life when the mobster Bertinelli had come gunning for him at his apartment, Ezra felt like a cad for his betrayal. Unfortunately, there was no way to make reparations because he had no idea where she would turn up next. The woman was like a jack in the box, appearing just long enough to throw his entire world into disarray.
Like now.
"Julia!" Ezra gasped in surprise as he saw his lady fair walk through the front door of the offices occupied by Team 7. Unlike the previous times where she wore soft figure-hugging leather, on this occasion, she was dressed like a woman out and about for the day. She was wearing an expensive dark blue suit with capri pants and heels and still managed to look utterly spectacular.
When Ezra had seen her previously, she moved with the stealthy caution of a cat. However, in broad daylight, she was a woman of the world, exuding bold, confident sexuality as she moved, capturing the attention of every man she happened by. Julia strode into the office, completely ignoring the fact only two days ago, everyone in this room had been poised to arrest her. Her arrival sparked astonishment from his comrades as she entered their private bastion, supremely confident and oblivious to the history that existed between the Fox and Team 7.
The stir caused by her appearance rippled through the room like the swell of a wave. Vin immediately hung up the phone; Buck actually tore his eyes from the curves of Barbara Palvin in a thong, while John Marston met a grisly end at the hands of some gunslinger when JD forgot all about the game. It drew Josiah and Nathan away from their conversation and caused Mary Travis to forget about her story.
Finally, the effect reached its climax at the door of Chris Larabee's office as the leader of Team 7 emerged from behind his desk at the sight of this interloper, who dared to intrude upon his exclusive domain. Ezra swallowed as he saw the storm forming on Chris's face as he strode out of his office towards the woman who barely gave Ezra a second glance as she passed by his desk. If things could not descend any further into the unexpected, Mary Travis rose from her desk at that moment.
"Julia, what a surprise!"
The jaw of every man in the room dropped collectively.
"You know this person?" Chris sputtered in astonishment as he saw Mary and Julia exchange the warm hug reserved by those who had been friends for a long time, followed by the customary kiss on the cheek.
"Of course I do," Mary looked at him when she and Julia parted, with an expression that alluded to what business it was of his. "Julia's my oldest friend."
"We sure are," Julia gave Chris a smug wink while Mary's attention was focussed in Chris's direction.
"Well darling," Julia said regarding her best friend. "I thought since we are going to be occupying the same postcode for some time, we can do the catc- up thing and go grab some lunch."
"That sounds great." Mary smiled, although she was somewhat confused by all the bewildered expressions around her, particularly on Chris and Ezra's faces. Chris mostly because he could not believe this criminal had allied herself with a woman he cared for deeply and Ezra because Julia had been under his nose and within reach all the time and he had no idea of it.
"I'll just get my bag." Mary started towards her desk when suddenly Chris found his voice.
"You can't go to lunch with this woman! She's a goddamn thief for Christ's sake!"
Mary whirled around, staring at him as if he had finally gone insane. "What are you talking about? Julia's an art dealer!"
It occurred to Ezra at this point, Mary had no idea what Julia did for a living and debated whether or not to press the issue. It was apparent Julia and Mary had been friends for a very long time and such friendships, considering Julia's vocation, appeared to have been maintained. Obviously, because Mary meant a great deal to her. He was not about to break faith with Julia a second time although he could not say the same for Chris who switched into protective mode and could not be reasoned with to hold his tongue on the subject.
"That's right, an art dealer with a few little security jobs on the side," Julia said quickly, prepared for the outburst and had covered all her bases before her arrival here. She expected them to try revealing her secret to Mary and was ready for them. She gave Ezra a look of warning to take cover because by the time she was done with Mr Larabee and him, there was not going to be much left standing. "I'm afraid Mr Larabee and I have had a previous run-in."
"Run in?" Mary stared at them both blankly. What on earth an art dealer would have to do with ATF business and defied Chris to explain it to her.
"Ezra?" Chris folded his arms and glared at Ezra who was the real culprit of this mess. "You can do the honours." He commanded, and it was not a request.
"It's somewhat embarrassing really," Ezra cleared his throat and tried to articulate into words the fiasco that was their stakeout of the Denver Art Museum. After much deliberation and carefully placed words to ensure he would not have his friends or Julia head hunting when he was done, Ezra explained what happened, softening the brutal truth as much as possible. Still, even Ezra had to recognise no amount of erudite speech was going to accomplish this to any satisfaction.
"Unfortunately," Julia added once Ezra concluded the tale, spearing him with sharp points of her emerald eyes because she was still very angry with him. "These Keystone cops can't get it through their heads they made complete jackasses of themselves by harassing a professional trying to do her job."
"You are a professional all right," Chris hissed, not about to let this woman get the upper hands or squirm out of being what she was, especially in his own department. "A professional thief."
"Unless you have the evidence to prove that Mr Larabee," Julia took a step up to him, not at all affected by the Larabee glare that would have sent most men fleeing. "I suggest you keep those remarks to yourself before I have a lawyer slap you and your team with a lawsuit for slander and wrongful arrest. I have committed no crime in this country, so you might consider taking a walk around the block to explain that to yourself, or will we need books with pretty pictures?"
Ouch. Ezra thought to himself and fought to stifle the smile that was threatening to steal across his features as he watched the woman he loved give Chris Larabee as good as she got. The reaction was shared by the rest of Team 7 who found to their astonishment, they were starting to like this fiery redhead thrust into their midst, and that liking was beginning to include a feeling of respect as well.
"You're guilty, lady!" Buck declared though, still determined to uphold their honour and interject before Chris did something they would all regret because the expression on the team leader's face was surpassing smouldering and quickly reaching critical mass.
"Oh yeah?" She regarded the tall man and said with a smirk of defiance and cocky self-assurance. "Prove it."
"Give us time," Chris bristled having come to the firm conclusion the woman had come here to rub their noses in it, and he was not about to give her any more amusement at their expense. "We will."
Julia offered him a cold smile with a brow raised when she turned back to Mary, who was very confused by everything going on and wanted to get Julia out of here so her old friend could explain.
"Oh, by the way, Mary, do you know who I saw this morning?"
Ezra failed to understand what Julia was playing at by coming here, not to mention this game of cat and mouse she was engaging with Chris Larabee. The leader of Team 7 was not the person to toy with mostly because Chris's reactions could be extreme and yet as he watched the sparing, Ezra had the oddest feeling Chris was not the feline in this little drama.
In truth, the gambler had hoped she had come to see him, to give him a chance to explain he was doing his job and part of his reasons for setting her up was so he could see her again. Yes, it was hardly the most gentlemanly way of capturing a lady's attention, but she had the consistency of smoke. Julia was the most elusive and utterly compelling woman he ever met and was willing to go to any lengths to find her again.
Even setting her up for arrest.
"Who?" Mary asked, coming to the conclusion she was going to get Julia out of here before Chris became any angrier. She had no idea what transpired to cause such venomous sentiments between Julia and the ATF, but she did know the ATF leader well enough to be familiar with that temper of his. Right now, he was about to blow a gasket.
"Gerard Whitman, the accountant you recommended," Julia replied and then shifted her gaze long enough to give Chris a look of utter villainy to let the man know what was coming.
Ezra Standish and the rest of Team 7 suddenly bore witnessed to the most fantastic thing.
Chris's eyes widened in nothing less than absolute terror. The emotion surfaced briefly, followed by a guilty twitch anyone who did not know him might miss, but to his comrades, it was unmistakable. The stony expression on Chris's face wavered and left Ezra wondering what on earth brought on such fear because nothing ever shook Chris Larabee, not as long as the gambler had known him anyway.
If that was not amazing enough, Ezra then saw Chris starting to withdraw, no he corrected himself, retreat. Chris was taking one slow step backward and then another, slowly shifting himself out of Mary Travis's reach with Julia enjoying every second of it.
"How is Gerard?" Mary asked, glad they were moving onto a less volatile subject.
"Oh, he is just fine but somewhat disappointed," Julia lept her eye trained on the prey now she had him in place for the kill. Chris was visibly squirming, and everyone but Mary could see it.
Ezra exchanged glances with Vin who would know better than anyone why Chris as behaving like a cat on a hot tin roof about to leap off the edge into an abyss. The sharpshooter shrugged, unable to answer but just as transfixed by drama as he was.
"Disappointed about what?" Mary inquired, noticing the interplay taking place between Julia and Chris. There was a moment when she thought there was something deeper than just animosity at work here and felt a stab of jealousy thinking Julia might have captured Chris's interest.
"About you being gay and dating an office girl in this building," Julia revealed with relish.
"What?" Mary stammered almost stupefied with shock, nearly as much as the men around her. It was a full second or two before she could react enough to speak.
"Where the hell would he get an idea like that!!?" She demanded, mortified by the full implications of such an allegation if it got back to Evie, Orin and….
OH GOD! Billy!
With a look of utter innocence as she saw Chris Larabee trying to make it back to his office in one piece, Julia answered Mary with saccharine in her voice. "Why Mr Larabee of course, during some baseball game I believe you two attended. Apparently, Gerard thought you and I were involved, can you imagine that?"
As Team 7 began to understand what had happened, their feelings were mixed, but they were in agreement about one fact.
Chris was a dead man.
"Of course, I set him straight that you were not that way inclined, although he took a bit of convincing." Julia continued the massacre and Ezra saw Chris flinching with each word she uttered. "It seems Mr Larabee told him you wanted it kept a secret."
Mary Travis said nothing.
Her eyes were another thing entirely. Ezra watched in morbid fascination like a man who was witnessing a terrible automobile accident and wanted to see the bodies left in the wreckage. He saw her blue-grey eyes went ballistic, then nuclear and then fusion, all in the space of two seconds before she spoke very calmly as her eyes narrowed.
"Don't you dare take another step, Mr Larabee," Mary growled in a low voice and then turned to those in the room with a smile almost as sweet as the one Julia had offered just before she threw Chris to the wolves. "Gentlemen, I would like a word alone with Mr Larabee?"
"I am so out of here,"
"I'm going to MacDonalds."
"I'm going to church to pray for a friend."
"I'm going to get fresh bandages."
"I want to watch." Buck Wilmington grinned, always one to enjoy it immensely whenever Chris was in a state of discomfiture. It brought balance to the man's universe to know Chris was just as human as the rest of them. However, this time it was not meant to be, because Ezra wrapped a hand around Buck's shoulder and towed him out of the room, despite his vocal protests.
"I'll leave you two alone," Julia said to Mary even though Julia was sure her old friend was not listening. As she started to leave the room, she paused long enough to sing out to Chris. "Oh, Mr Larabee?"
Chris looked up and delivered a glare that would have incinerated her on the spot if he had the supernatural ability to make it so. He was rewarded with a smug smirk that made him want to go find his gun, although judging by the sound of Mary's voice, he might need one anyway just for his own safety.
"Have a nice day." Julia grinned before turning on her heels and walking out of the room.
The men had been watching her building the moment Interpol stumbled across the information the Fox had a permanent address in Denver. The task force sent to retrieve the suspect knew they had a very narrow margin of time in which to act. They had no extradition order so snatching a suspect who committed no crime in this country, could be interpreted as an attack upon the sovereignty of US soil.
Unfortunately, the Fox made many enemies in Europe who wanted her in custody one way or another. Thus when inquiries about La Renarde Rousse originated from the ATF office in Denver, Interpol converged upon the town quickly, monitoring the movements of the person who had made the queries until their surveillance led them to a name.
Julia Pemberton.
Until that point, they had a partial identification but not a name to which they could attach a face. With the name Julia Pemberton, they were able to glean far more than that. They were able to place the woman in all the cities where robberies were committed in Europe through customs records and visa permits. While it was hardly enough evidence to justify an order for extradition, it was enough to convince Interpol, they had their woman.
By the time the Fox returned to her penthouse apartment, preparations were made by the men keeping her under close surveillance, to take her out of the country, back to Europe.
****
That will teach him to mess with me, Julia smiled as she returned home after her very successful lunchtime meeting with Messrs. Larabee and Standish respectively. Although she felt slightly guilty about using Mary's relationship with the leader of Team 7, she knew part of her motivation was to let Mary know just how much the man felt about her.
For the past two years since her husband's death, Mary had been living in a vacuum, afraid to reach out. Julia cared too much for her old friend to tolerate this situation from continuing any further. Chris Larabee and Mary Travis needed to confront each other about how they felt and if it meant Julia could get a little vengeance on Ezra Standish, all the better.
No doubt, Mary would call her later with all the details, but for the moment, she enjoyed seeing Ezra squirm. Of course, he would be mad, but after setting her up at the museum, Julia had a feeling his anger would not last long.
She entered the main lobby of her penthouse, greeting the doorman who tipped his hat after opening the door when she entered the building. Making her way across the marble floor towards the elevators, she did not have long to wait until the doors slid open. Stepping inside, Julia wondered if the card she left on Ezra's windshield would bring him here. After all, she was a so-called private citizen, not to mention a business owner and there was no reason to keep her identity a secret from him.
A part of her still could not believe the changes she made for him but Julia, unlike Mary, did not have trouble with intimacy once she made the decision to let Ezra into her life. She cared for him. She had no idea what this would mean to her future but for the moment, knowing she could feel this way about someone was a nice feeling indeed. The elevator opened at the very top of the building, and Julia felt grateful to be home.
Opening the door, she stepped into the front hall and knew immediately something was wrong.
She could not explain how she knew, relying on instincts that saved her life on more than one occasion. Instead of retreating, she continued up the hallway, trying to imagine how anyone could break into a penthouse apartment, beside herself that is. Fortunately, she left nothing incriminating to cause any legal complications. After her encounters with the ATF lately, Julia did not believe in taking chances with her freedom. She had a clean slate in the States, and she intended her record to remain that way.
She no sooner reached the end of the hallway when suddenly; she heard a sound she could not immediately identify. It was like an explosion of gas, but it was not a gun. There was no time to ponder what it was because something stung her leg. The tranquilliser dart penetrated the fleshy part of her thigh, digging straight into her skin and sending its poison into her blood.
"Damn!" She let out a small cry of pain as she felt the dart do its work.
By the time the three men emerged from separate corners of her home, the fog descended over her brain robbing her of focus. Dressed in black, they converged upon her like a pack of dogs, about to tear their prey to pieces. As the first one reached her, Julia threw a flying kick in his face, knowing she had to get out of here immediately. She had no idea who these men were, but they obviously came prepared, choosing to drug her before any confrontation. The man staggered backwards, but even Julia knew her delivery was sloppy and he would recover quickly. With anguish and a sudden burst of fear, Julia did the only thing she could.
She ran.
She did not even reach the door. One of the men slammed into her in a full-body tackle that knocked her off her feet. Her head hit the marble floor hard, and once again, she felt a wave of nausea and disorientation as the drug started to take full effect.
"I've got her!" The one who was pinning her down cried out to his companions.
Their footsteps seemed to pound louder in her head when they ran towards her. Julia blinked trying to concentrate, but she could not command her limbs to cooperate. She did, however, recognise a French accent.
"Who the hell are you guys?"
"Interpol." One of them answered. "You are going to Paris for trial, La Renarde Rousse."
"Paris?" Julia gasped out loud because she was helpless and could do nothing to stop them. "You can't do this! I haven't done anything in this country! You're kidnapping me!"
"By the time you are awake," the man looked at her with a triumphant smile as the black started to blanket everything around her. "It will not be a problem."
******
Ezra found the card on the windshield of his Jaguar after he left the ATF building, vowing never to return or at least, until Chris Larabee stopped talking to Ezra With a gun in his hand. Ezra was still unable to believe what he had walked into at Chris's office. He wondered if he was ever going to live down the embarrassment of seeing Mary Travis and Chris Larabee in a such an awkwardly compromising position.
Well, at least they were not arguing anymore.
Ezra decided to make a prudent departure after interrupting Chris and Mary, who were well on their way to sorting out their differences until his sudden interruption.While Ezra had offered a wealth of apology, it did not change things, and he came to the quick conclusion the most sensible thing to do at this time was to make himself scarce.
Just when he thought the day could not get any worse; he saw Julia's card under his windshield wiper, giving him the details of her new address. Even though he was still very annoyed by what she had done, Ezra could not blame her for wanting revenge. After all, he set her up at the museum. Worse yet, Ezra did it after she saved him from Bertenelli's goons. Despite the situation she ignited with Chris Larabee, Ezra felt he was the one who misbehaved.
Pulling the Jaguar along the kerb, he was about to make his way towards the building when a man emerged carrying a rolled-up carpet with two others in his company. Judging from their conversation as Ezra headed towards the front door, he gathered they were French. While his French was rusty and not well learned mostly because he and Mademoiselle Pascal, his tutor, were doing more than conjugating verbs during their lessons together.
Nevertheless, when he walked past them, he heard them mention a word that froze him in his tracks.
La Renarde Rousse.
Ezra continued to walk towards the doorway so as not to arouse suspicion, reaching into his cell phone as they rounded the corner, no doubt heading toward a vehicle. No sooner than they slipped out of sight, Ezra spun on his heels and ran towards his Jaguar once more. He climbed into the car and started dialling, just as he saw a white van drive out of the visitor's parking lot with one of the men behind the wheel. Accustomed to tailing cars without being noticed, Ezra immediately revved up the engine of the British piece of engineering and began following it as the van pulled out onto the main street.
"Tanner." The sharpshooter's voice spoke through his cell phone.
"Mr Tanner," Ezra sputtered. "I need help. Someone is attempting to kidnap Julia Pemberton."
"And this is bad, how?" Vin asked sarcastically. Ezra supposed he could not blame the man for his ambivalence. Julia had not endeared herself to Team 7, especially after today.
"Vin," Ezra took a deep breath. "I think Interpol or some European law enforcement agency has come for her. They're attempting to remove her from this country illegally. Unless extradition procedures have changed radically, I do not believe the process involves taking away the suspect disguised as a Persian rug. Please," Ezra made an impassioned plea to the sharpshooter with more emotion than he liked to reveal and hoped it was enough. "I cannot do this myself. I require your assistance."
"You really like this girl, don't you?"
"Yes, I do." He confessed, keeping the van in close sight as it took the turn onto the highway. "Enough to shoot someone in the posterior."
"Okay, first up," Vin started to bristle. "I didn't shoot you in the ass on purpose, it was a misfire and secondly, this ain't the way to get me to help you."
"Vin..." Ezra started to get exasperated.
"All right, alright," the sharpshooter groaned reluctantly. "What do you want me to do?"
*****
Once the van took the turnoff to Anderson airfield, Ezra had a rough idea of what was happening. If the kidnappers intended taking Julia out of the country, they would not be able to utilise conventional air carriers. She was being sneaked out, which meant they had a private jet waiting at the airstrip.
By the time the van arrived at its destination, local police had surrounded the airfield, and the jet was going nowhere. Vin notified the FBI of the situation and the men, who refused to name from what agency they represented, were soon taken into custody.
For Vin's help, Ezra promised never to mention the incident where he was shot in the rear ever again. For saving Julia, they were finally even.
******
WARNING: ADULT SCENE
Julia opened her eyes, expecting to find herself in a French jail. Instead, she was in her bed.
She still felt a little groggy and as she sat up in the dim light of the room, noticed Ezra was fast asleep on the sofa. For a moment, she tried to understand what happened. She remembered the men in her house and instinctively searched the place where the tranquilliser hit her leg, trying to make sure she had not dreamed everything. The tender flesh and the red mark on her skin proved it did.
"Julia?" Ezra called out, roused from his sleep by her movements in bed. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," she nodded, still somewhat confused. "What happened?"
"I manage to stop those men from taking you out of the country," he sat up in the chair. "They were Interpol."
"They said so," she remembered, rubbing the bridge of her nose before her eyes met his. "Thank you, Ezra. It would have been unfortunate if they took me back to Europe."
"It was my pleasure. After saving my life, it was the least I could do."
"Is that all?" Julia replied, disappointed if repaying a debt was his only motivation.
"You know better than that." Ezra stared into her eyes so she could see just how much she meant to him.
Julia smiled at him, comprehending his feelings completely because she felt the same, before disappearing under the covers for a few seconds. Removing the nightdress she assumed he put on her when he had brought her home, Julia dropped the flimsy piece of material to the carpeted floor and pulled the covers back in clear invitation for him to join her.
"Coming?"
Ezra grinned as he came forward and slipped next to her on the bed, feeling his body mould into place beside her like he was always meant to be there. Kissing her for the first time, instead of the other way around. she responded immediately, her lips parting for his tongue to enter. Ezra accepted the offer, tasting and savouring the sweetness of her lips before engaging her tongue in that most ancient dance of passion. Kissing her was everything he remembered, and as his mouth became more demanding, he moved atop her soft body and felt a surge of arousal when she hooked a leg over his hip, while the other stroked his calf lightly.
Cupping her face, Ezra delighted at the feel of her soft skin and he took charge of her mouth stroking her tongue with his own. He sucked her lower lip past his and treated her to the richness of a truly sensual kiss. He could feel Julia pushing up against him with growing urgency, her legs parting as he moved to a more comfortable position between them. She ground her pelvis against his and sent a surge of fire straight to his groin. Her hands glided across the smooth skin of his back coming to a halt at his briefs, tugging them insistently over his hips.
Ezra closed his eyes at the sensual movements of her palm against his skin. He pulled away from her mouth and looked into her eyes, basking in the hunger he saw there. Ezra started kissing her neck, drawing a slow moan from her lips as he traced a line of seduction down her collarbone and then to her cleavage. He admired the suppleness of her breasts, at the nipples contracted to a rosy colour and smiled before lowering to taste them.
Ezra licked one tight plateau and drew a soft cry of pleasure from her. His tongue teased them, feeling another rush of sensation to his cock. Her body was arching against him, her thighs spreading wider until he could feel his hard length pressing into the soft heat between her legs. She was guiding him to slide inside her, but Ezra was not to move the seduction to that level yet. He continued to tease her with his tongue until she was beside herself.
"Please..." she uttered a frustrated whimper.
Hearing her plea broke his resolve. Ezra opened his mouth and took her nipple in one deep breath, sucking the node of flesh deep past his teeth and forcing a cry of pleasure to escape her as her hands began clawing at his back, through his hair, until she was utterly his creature. His hand pulled hers away and was able to pin them both above her head, arching her back and tightening the beautiful covering of flesh on her body. Without warning, he thrust his fingers between her legs and found his way inside her.
Julia was very wet, and there was almost no resistance when he nudged past her folds and pressed her insides with his fingers. The surge of wet from that one action almost made him come undone. She bucked hard against him, riding his hand thanks to his exceptional manipulations. Julia wanted to touch him, but Ezra kept his grip around her wrists, pinning them down as he suckled her nipple deeper into his mouth in rhythm with his questing fingers.
"Oh God, Ezra." She whimpered as he worked her relentlessly, determined to bring her to surrender because he had waited so long for this moment. He could feel her becoming more unhinged, just by the way her thighs were encircling his body, rubbing up and down and sensitising his skin to the point of madness. Ezra could not believe how hard she made him and was panting from the sheer need to bury himself deep within her.
"Julia," he whispered, lowering his mouth to her ear as the savage hunger started to overtake him. "I am going to fuck you until you scream."
"Oh, God, yes!" She arched harder against him, Another digit forced inside her wetness, pressing against the moist walls while his thumb found an even more sensitive spot and gently caressed the tiny pearl of flesh that forced her immediate surrender. She let out a soft cry as Ezra filled her with an ache she could barely contain.
Christ, Ezra thought to himself feeling her heat as she rode his hand, her hips pushing back and forth, driving herself harder against his cock and then pulling back, performing sweet torture even though she had no idea she was doing it. He continued to ravish her breasts while at the same time renewing his devastating manipulation of her clit until she was so moist he could stand it no more
"Please Ezra," she opened her eyes suddenly and looked at him with nothing less than naked lust. "I want you inside me now. Please, I can't wait...."
She enjoyed having someone else in control, this much Ezra guessed. For a woman,so self-assured, there was one thing in life where she wanted to be dominated, and Ezra's hunger for her was such he was happy to comply. He wanted to be brutal; he wanted to indulge his ultimate fantasies about her.
Giving her no warning, he withdrew and flipped her onto her stomach. She glanced over her shoulder through a tangle of hair and almost uttered a scream when he grabbed her hips and pushed his way into her, giving her no quarter for warning, not that she needed it. He filled her so completely, Julia could do nothing but hold still as she felt the incredible sensation of his cock entering her brutally. She groaned and delighted in the feeling of every inch of him being driven into her. By the time he was all the way in, Julia was so aroused she hardly knew where she was. His hand dug into her head and held cheek pressed against the pillow.
"Is that how you like it, my dear Julia?" He grunted as he started thrusting hard into her, his hand holding her hips against his as he ground his pelvis into her round derriere. He illustrated the point by slamming inside her forcefully until obstruction of flesh allowed him no further.
"Yes!" She almost sobbed. "Oh please, don't stop!"
Ezra had to bite down to maintain his control because he was never so out of it in his life. He wanted to plunder her body, to ravage it with a thousand pleasures and drive into her as hard as he could. Holding her head down with one hand as the other grabbed firm hold of her hip; Ezra began pumping into her with hard, powerful strokes. Each time he felt the barrier at the end of her, she cried out in pain and pleasure, he could not say for sure, aware only she begged him not to stop.
Ezra had never felt so aroused. His cock was so hard it must surely be hurting her, but when he even considered slowing down, he would hear her cry for more. Each whimper from those luscious lips, begging him not to stop had more power over him than all the sensation in the world. Later on, their lovemaking would be sedate in contrast to this experience, but for now, they were both aware of what each other needed, had needed since they first laid eyes upon each other. Ezra had never loved a woman as much as he loved Julia Pemberton, and his need for her was like a fever.
He rode her hard; pumping her with such intense rhythm all sense was being driven from him. There was nothing gentlemanly about this, but he hardly cared. His body was covered in sweat, and all he could feel was her nubile flesh preparing him for the most intense orgasm he ever experienced in his life.
The roar of climax began to fill his ears, with blood rushing to his head as the pull in his groin became more intense until ecstasy became a scream forcing him to keep going. He no longer had any control left. The next thing he knew he was pulling her hips against him with both hands, impaling her with such relentless rhythm her head was flung back, covering the alabaster skin of her back with a cloak of red.
Julia was crying out with complete abandon, begging him to go faster and harder and in his efforts to comply, pushed her over the brink. She dropped her head violently, a cascade of auburn hair tossing about as she began her descent. Her muscles contracted in response and with that exertion strangled his cock with a parting gift of such tension, it dragged him over the edge with her.
"Oh, good Lord Julia!" He grunted out loud as he felt it explode out of him, his eyes filled with colour as Ezra emptied into her still pumping into her body, drained completely. He kept pushing because his mind was not ready to let go of what they had just shared together.
When he was finally done, he collapsed on top of her, feeling his sweat mingling with her own as they both lay in a tangle of sheets, breathing hard.
"Oh my God Agent Standish," she said out of breath. "Do they teach you this at the ATF?"
Ezra let out a soft chuckle through his exhaustion. "Yes, right after weapons training. The oral exams are the hardest."
"I look forward to seeing what else you learned." She giggled as he covered the skin of her back in gentle kisses.
"Miss Pemberton," Ezra asked after a moment. "Do you think we will ever have a normal relationship?"
"What's normal?" She looked at him through the mane of red hair. "Just be grateful I'm not kicking your ass any more."
"You turn a lovely phrase." He spooned against her.
"Mr Standish," she rolled onto her side so that she could look into his eyes. "I love you. Is that better?"
"Much," he replied and then added. "I have a feeling I am going to regret this, but I must say that I love you too." He smiled and leaned over to kiss her, once again becoming lost in the incredible sensation of her lips, thinking to himself there were worse things in life than catching a tiger by the tail.
Sometimes, you could also catch a fox.
THE END