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The Promise
It was a dark and stormy night and somehow that seemed perfect after the day he had just endured. Eight long hours of dealing with questionably intelligent queries from the even more questionably intelligent folks of Internal Affairs. It would appear that was the thanks an agent got for a job well done.
Upon proving that the average criminal was not as smart as he initially believed, they tended to complain, and complain loudly. Those complaints often found their way to the higher-ups who then needed to find a scape goat. Today, it was his turn to be that billy. Sadly, this was a roll he had played many times before.
There was one marked difference. In Atlanta he was on his own, the sacrificial lamb served up hook, line & sinker.
He shook his head and grinned. It appeared he was mixing his metaphors. JD would appreciate that.
Where was he? Ah, the difference. The difference was he no longer felt alone. He now had six colleagues he could trust. While today had proven stressful he knew without a doubt that six friends had his back. He could literally feel them in the room as the hours passed. They were there not only today but for the foreseeable future.
A soft rumble raced across the night sky.
Well maybe it was not all that dark. Maybe it just seemed dark because of the lack of city lights, here at Chris’s ranch, that usually cast a never-ending glow across Denver. However, the stars weren’t casting their normal glow and the moon was mainly obscured due to the cloudy sky. Yes, dark did apply, but it wasn’t ominous.
Now as to stormy. It could be argued that it wasn’t exactly stormy…yet. However, in the west you could see the occasional flash of lightning followed by the low growl of thunder rolling through the clouds. It was actually a comforting sound with the promise of a much-needed rain.
A cool, damp breeze ruffled his hair as the door behind him creaked open. The muted sound of voices and laughter drifted out momentarily before being silenced by the click of the latch.
He felt more than heard the man approach.
“Love me a good storm rollin’ in. Mind if I join you?”
Ezra shifted to one side, accepted the proffered bottle, and nodded to the now empty space.
Vin gracefully lowered himself onto the wooden step.
“Beautiful night, ain’t it?”
“Why, yes,” Ezra sighed contently and lifted the cold bottle to his lips. “Yes it is.”