Betrayal
Chapter Nine
Half-an-hour later; Chris, Vin, Nathan, JD, Josiah, and Buck were at the office,
along with Orin Travis. They had had to call him and explain everything to him.
Now, they were waiting for Ezra to show up. Chris was pacing back and forth on
the floor, growling at anyone or anything that got in his way. Vin was leaning
against one of the desks, his blue eyes clouded with worry. JD was biting his
fingernails, a clear sign that he was nervous and worried.
Nathan was sitting in a chair, not saying anything, just hoping that Ezra was
alright. Buck was trying to comfort Chris, but wasn't making any progress.
Josiah had his head bowed in a silent prayer, praying for the safe return of
their teammate. Judge Travis was sitting in a chair, watching everyone and
hoping that the best undercover agent he had ever met could make it to the
office.
They heard the ding of the elevator, and all turned toward it, hoping to see
Ezra walk out of the elevator. Instead, they saw Mary Travis walking toward
them. Judge Travis stood up, to greet her. "What are you doing here, Mary?
Where's Billy?"
"I was talking to Evie when she mentioned that Ezra's in trouble, she was really
concerned. So, I thought that I should come down here to offer my support. I
left Billy with Evie."
Chris growled as his top lip lifted in a sneer. He knew why she was really
there, she was there so she could gloat in front of him about what she had done.
He didn't know how she was able to find out where Ezra was or how she was able
to blow his cover, but he knew that she had done it. All of his anger,
fear, and guilt reached boiling point and, before anyone could move, Chris was
in front of Mary.
He grabbed her by her throat, with his right hand, and slammed her against the
wall. Not hard enough to cause any damage, but hard enough to rattle her. He
lifted her up, so that only her toes were touching the floor. He got right into
her face, his green eyes as cold as ice, and growled out, "You blew his cover
didn't you?" He ignored everyone as they gasped in shock, he kept his gaze on
Mary.
Her eyes were widened in surprise and a tear escaped her eye, to roll down her
cheek. She looked like she couldn't believe that Chris had dared to treat her
like he was. She remained silent and Chris tightened his hand around her throat
just a fraction of an inch, to let her know that he meant business. "Didn't
you?!," he ground out between his teeth.
Judge Travis grabbed Chris's right arm, trying to get him to let go of Mary.
"Chris! Stop it! What are you talking about?"
Chris forced himself to let go of Mary. So sudden was the release, she dropped
to her knees, gasping. He saw that everyone was looking at him and knew the time
had come to explain.
He faced them all and began the tale. He told them all about how, after Buck had
dropped him off at home, Mary had shown up. About how they had ended up sleeping
together and, then, a couple of days later Mary had shown back up, threatening
to blow Ezra's cover if he didn't keep having sex with her. "I don't know how,
but I know she blew his cover. She's the reason Ezra's in danger!" Chris
finished as he pointed at Mary, a look of disgust on his face.
She stood up, having regained her composure somewhat, and denied it. "I did no
such thing!"
All eyes turned to her and she could see the disgust and questions in all of the
members from Team Seven. She couldn't tell if Orin believed Chris or not. "Is
this true, Mary?," Orin asked in an even voice.
Mary's eyes widened and she asked, "You believe him?"
"I'm inclined to. You've always been the type to get what you want, and I've
often wondered what methods you use to succeed in getting what you want."
"You can't be serious! Orin..." Mary started. Judge Travis held up a hand,
effectively shutting her up. "You will stay here until we find out exactly
what is going on. If what Chris said is the truth, you're facing serious
charges, Mary. Now sit down and shut up."
For once, Mary did as she was told.
"After this is all over, you and I are going to have a talk, Brother Chris,"
Josiah said. They all knew his tone meant that Chris would be lucky not to end
up with at least some bruises.
"About me and Ezra, Sir," Chris started.
"That's not important right now, Chris. I don't care who sleeps with whom as
long as it doesn't interfere with work. Right now, we need to get Ezra to
safety." Just then, Chris's cell phone rang.
"Ezra?" he questioned.
"Chris, I haven't been able to hail a taxi and the three men are after me. They
are pursuing me ruthlessly, I'm not going to be able to make it to the ATF
offices." Just then, a shot rang out and Chris heard Ezra grunt in pain. "EZRA!
Ezra, are you okay?!" Chris frantically yelled.
"I'm sorry, Chris. I love you." With that, the call ended.
"EZRA! NOOO!" Chris yelled at the dial tone as he fell to his knees.