Synchronization in Chaos

by Cindy Combs

  Sam barely registered the sound of gunfire from the other side as Ezra yanked him out of the ditch. Practically throwing the taller Sam through back door, Ezra jumped in after him. Before Sam could lift his head, the truck was moving.

  "How many, Ez?" a concerned voice in the front seat asked.

  "I believe three, though we didn't get a good look at this group."

  "This group?" a rougher voice asked. "How many damn militia men do you have after you, Standish?"

  "More than enough, Mr. Larabee," Ezra replied.

  Sam glanced at the blond hair of the driver. So this was the Larabee that had made Standish tense up. He couldn't see the face, but the voice certainly sounded mean enough.

  "Well," inserted the first voice, a man slightly older than Sam with long, light brown hair, "they certainly went to ground fast enough."

  "The whole lot is comprised of cowards," Ezra confirmed.

  Sudden realization hit Sam. He turned to Standish. "Phone."

  Before Ezra could hand it to him, Larabee demanded, "Just a minute! Who in the hell are you?"

  Damn, where is Jim when you need him to intimidate someone? "Sam Malloy and I need to warn my brother."

  "What makes you think your brother's so special?" Larabee growled ferociously as he continued to drive.

  Sam wasn't backing down with Blair's life at stake. "Because those idiots hold a grudge against him and now they know he's in the area."

  "His brother is Blair Sandburg from Cascade," Ezra smoothly interjected. Sam noticed how the other guy in the front seat immediately turned to face him.

  Larabee spared a glance at the civilian through the rearview mirror. "You don't look like Sandburg."

  "We're half-brothers; Blair looks like his mom's family while I'm more like our Dad."

  A soft drawl slid through the growing tension. "Then he probably told you about his first solo arrest."

  Sam met the blue eyes from the front seat, realizing it was a test. "No, Jim told me because Blair was too embarrassed."

  "Embarrassed?" Ezra repeated, surprised.

  The other agent smirked. "Hell, it ain't every day you catch the Whipped Cream Bandit."

  "The who?" Larabee asked, sure he hadn't heard that right.

  "A dumb crook who covered his face with whip cream, then stood in line at the bank intending to rob it, because it was too rude to cut ahead of everyone," Sam explained, fighting back his own smile.

  "With a bubble-gum pink water pistol in his pocket," the other man added, his grin growing wider.

  "Who finally had to cut to the head of the line because he'd miss his bus otherwise," Sam continued, no longer able to hide his own smirk.

  "Bus? The miscreant intended to escape by bus?" Ezra couldn't believe what he was hearing. Larabee also had a disbelieving look on his face.

  However, the agent in the front seat tossed Sam his phone. "Ellison told me about it, too. He was my C.O. in the Army."

  Sam shot him a grin as he closed his hand around the cell phone. He immediately started to dial as Ezra asked again, "A city bus, Vin?"

  "Hell, Ez, why ya think Blair don't want to talk about it?"

  Back road, Uncompahgre National Forest, CO

  Buck frowned as he surveyed the area. Between the various county vehicles and employees, it would be hard to check for prints. Then he glanced over the side. Damn, Ezra must have been shaking in his boots when they crashed. Especially if those guys were pursuing them. Buck was just grateful none of the bodies in the truck were his friend's.

  Of course, the questions now were, where did he go, did he have company, and did they leave under their own power? Buck sighed, thinking he was going to have to contact Chris and Vin again. Vin was the best on their team for tracking.

  Then he heard JD's shout of surprise. "Buck! You'll never guess who rented this Jeep!"

  In three long strides, Buck joined his partner who was leaning into the vehicle. "Who?"

  "Remember Blair Sandburg?"

  "Sandburg?" Buck replied, startled. He easily remembered the young detective who, along with Jim Ellison, had helped Vin when he had been targeted nearly a year ago. "But he lives up in Washington state. What he'd be doing around here?"

  JD was practically bouncing. "He mentioned something to me about his great-grandpa's cabin being in Colorado. Maybe he's visiting and Ezra recognized him."

  Reluctant to dash his friend's hopes, Buck slowly shook his head. "But the description Vin gave me was someone with short hair, brown eyes and just under six foot. Sandburg's your size, has long hair and blue eyes." The older agent gently cuffed his partner's head, easily remembering Sandburg's calm blue eyes as he confronted Chris. Buck had never seen anyone handle one of Chris' rampages so well and he had been dealing with them for years. Though after meeting Ellison, he suspected Sandburg had nearly as much practice in dealing with hot-tempered, ornery partners as he did.

  "Maybe the description's wrong," JD suggested.

  Buck lifted his head when he heard a commotion nearby. "Or maybe we can ask him in person."

  As he followed the blonde deputy's SUV around a mountain curve, Jim spotted several people surrounding a Cherokee that had slammed into the embankment sideways. Hearing his partner's sharp intake of breath, he knew Blair had seen it, too. Jim silently prayed that Sam hadn't been hurt as he parked the rental. Blair didn't even wait for Jim to shut off the engine before he practically leaped out of the Explorer.

  Blair was rushing towards the Jeep when a deputy stepped in his path. "Stop! This is a Federal crime scene."

  "Federal?" Jim asked behind Blair. When did Sam's disappearance become a federal case?

  Blair didn't even hear Jim. "I don't care. I'm going to see that Jeep!"

  The deputy puffed himself importantly. "You can not go past this point."

  Jim lifted an eyebrow, recognizing the deputy. "I believe you should remember me, deputy. Detective James Ellison?" The deputy suddenly paled, remembering the man who had lifted him off his feet to threaten him without breaking into a sweat. "I don't think you want to get me angry again."

  The deputy immediately stepped to the side. Blair sent Jim a strange look, but decided to ask later. As he turned around, they both heard a voice shout, "Sandburg! Ellison!"

  "Wilmington?" Surprised, Jim walked forward to shake Buck's outstretched hand, then JD Dunne's who stood behind him. "What are you doing here?"

  "Yeah, I thought your home office was in Denver," Blair added, also shaking their hands.

  Buck tipped his head towards the Jeep. "We think this might be related to a case. Though we were surprised to find out you paid for it, Blair."

  Blair's face turned grim. "I was delayed getting out of Cascade this morning, so my brother picked it up."

  "Damn," JD sympathized.

  "Any evidence that he..." Blair paused, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

  "No," Buck told the younger man firmly. He led the way to the Jeep. "What's your brother look like?"

  "Straight brown hair and light brown eyes," Jim reported. "Lanky, shade under six foot." He pulled out a picture from his wallet.

  "Wears a leather jacket?" Buck asked as he took the picture. It was of Blair in front of a cabin with two taller men, one an older blond with a touch of gray at the temples, the other a younger, brown-haired man with similar features. He passed the photo on to JD.

  "Yeah, he has one," Blair confirmed.

  "How'd you know?" Jim inquired, his suspicions aroused.

  Buck and JD exchanged looks. "We had a report on the driver of the Jeep," Buck explained slowly. "You guys remember Ezra Standish?" Jim and Blair both nodded. "Well, he was undercover and something happened this morning that made him run. We believe his cover must have been blown. Anyway, Vin suspects Ez may have caught a ride from a Jeep matching this description, and the driver matches your description of your brother."

  "Like nails to a magnet," Jim muttered to himself, shaking his head as he stopped by the Jeep. He an
d Blair swiftly surveyed the vehicle's interior. Out loud, Jim noted, "That's Sam's duffel, but no backpack or camera case." Silently, Jim also noticed the muddy prints on the passenger's side and through the center. Sam did have company and they climbed from the back seat.

  "Camera case?" JD asked.

  Blair forced a smile. "Sam never goes anywhere without his camera. He's a photojournalist."

  "What's his name?" Buck asked worriedly. He could relate all too well to the fear lurking in Sandburg's eyes. He felt the same way for Ezra right now.

  "Sean Malloy," Blair quietly replied as he stared at the smashed back window. "But he prefers Sam."

  JD's face wrinkled a moment in concentration. "Wait a minute. Those pictures I saw of the Indian earthquake last week. They were by a S. A. Malloy."

  Blair couldn't stop the proud smile he shot towards the young agent. "That's him."

  "Cool," JD commented, impressed. "That was a fantastic report."

  Jim had been scanning the road where it curved above them. Blair had almost subconsciously drawn closer to him, lending support as the sentinel filtered out the more recent tracks. "Damn it, Chief, we're going to have to work on Sam's mountain driving."

  "What?" Blair asked, turning to his partner. "How come?"

  "Sam did two doughnuts down this slope before hitting the embankment."

  As both Buck and JD's jaws dropped, Blair peered up the narrow road. "How'd he manage that?"

  "There's a lot of sliding, so he probably was going at a high rate of speed. I'm guessing they were being chased."

  "Damn," Blair softly mumbled, gut twisting as he pictured the ride.

  "If it makes you feel better, I believe their pursuer's truck didn't make the curve," Buck assured them.

  "Wow," JD interjected. "You can see all that from here? Your eyesight must be as good as Vin's."

  Blair slowly turned towards JD. "Vin has good eyesight?"

  JD nodded. "He's always seeing stuff before the rest of us. Plus he's the best sniper in the ATF. He's won just about every competition he's been in."

  Seeing the speculative gleam competing with the worry in Blair's eyes, Jim could easily read the battle within his partner's mind. Before Jim could give him a cuff to the head, Blair's interest in sentinel matters was overwhelmed by his concern about his brother. "Considering Sam took his stuff with him, it's a good bet they weren't captured here."

  Buck nodded thoughtfully, studying Ellison. "I don't suppose you learned to track in the Army like Vin did?"

  A slight smirk lifted a corner of Jim's mouth. "Who do you think taught him?"

  "Hallelujah!" Buck enthusiastically whapped Jim on the back. "Just let me call Chris and we'll see if we can find our lost boys."

  Chris' truck

  "No answer?" Vin asked sympathetically as Sam slowly closed the phone.

  Sam shook his head. "Both Blair's and Jim's are 'out of range'."

  "Not too surprising," Chris commented.

  "By what route are they traveling to your paternal ancestor's dwelling in Ouray?" Ezra inquired.

  Before Vin could translate the 'Ezra speak', Sam replied, "Not sure. Jim was going to take the back routes to avoid some of the worst avalanche zones."

  "Does Detective Ellison share your misgivings about your brother's map reading skills?"

  A reluctant smile broke across Sam's worried face. "Worse. Jim doesn't trust Blair to know which way's north."

  "So that's what that was about," Vin commented.

  At Sam's puzzled look, Ezra explained, "Before he aided my teammates and I in gathering perpetrators, Detective Ellison made a point of indicating the direction of 'North' to your brother."

  Sam snickered. "Sounds about right."

  At the squawk of the radio, Vin grabbed the receiver. Once he identified himself, he smiled when he recognized Buck's voice come across the air waves. "Hey partner, we've got some news."

  "Yeah, we got some news, too. We've picked up our Ace." Vin figured Buck would understand.

  "Hallelujah!" Buck cheered. "By the way, we've run into an old C.O. of yours, Junior."

  Ezra and Sam traded looks with Vin. Vin shook his head in amazement. "The way things are going, Bucklin, I can't say I'm surprised."

  "Have him tell Indy that you have Olsen, and Indy needs to watch his six," Sam quietly suggested.

  As Chris gave Sam another look via the mirror, Vin asked, "Hey, Buck, could you tell Indy that we got Olsen, and Indy needs to watch his six?"

  "Let me check."

  As they waited for Buck's reply, Ezra lifted an eyebrow at Sam. With a faint blush, Sam explained, "Blair calls me Olsen, short for 'Jimmy Olsen'."

  "As in Superman's sidekick?" Chris asked, finally understanding. "And Indy?"

  Sam chuckled. "Blair's master's is in Anthropology. He's always telling these big tales about his trips to other countries, so I started calling him 'Indy', short for 'Indiana Jones'.

  Buck's excited voice broke in. "Tell Olsen that Indy and his partner will catch up with him later."

  Sam breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  Bennett, CO

  MacGyver stretched back away from the table. After several hours of cataloging the colorful, tangled piles of wires, detonators, switches, tools, and other bomb-making paraphernalia, it felt like his neck had a permanent crick in it.

  Nathan, too, pulled away from the table. "There's a lot of stuff here," he commented.

  "Yeah, but there's a lot missing, too." Mac turned his head as far as he could to the right in an attempt to work the muscles back into place. "Most of these are the leftovers or broken pieces."

  "You think he made another bomb?" Nathan's eyes grew wide at the implications. "He's already planted three others."

  Mac twisted his head the other way. "There's more than just four bombs' worth missing."

  "Meaning this guy isn't done with bombing yet."

  "Right."

  "But WHY?" Nathan threw up his hands. "I just don't get it. What does a police station, a truck of apple cider, and a guy named Morris have to do with each other? It's got to be random."

  "No, there's a connection. We just haven't figured it out yet." Done with the stretches, Mac picked up his pencil and flipped to a clean sheet in his notebook. Concentrating on the bombs, he hadn't worked the cases from the victim's side. "The police station has too many enemies. We need to look at the other two victims."

  Nathan leaned back in his seat. "Well, the truck was from an Oregon firm named Freshness Trucking."

  "Anything on the driver?"

  "Just a devoted husband with two kids. Does mission work for his church. Your basic nice guy. I'm glad he didn't go up with his truck."

  "The trucking firm?"

  "They've checked out okay, too. Hell, one of the owner's cousin's is a well-known prosecutor."

  Mac tapped his pencil against the pad. He would have to look at all their evidence later. "What about the other victim?"

  "The Morris guy was the exact opposite. He was new to town and didn't have any friends as far as we can tell. His reading material seemed a bit extreme, but no evidence he belonged to any group in the area."

  "Extreme how?"

  "Oh, the old, 'the government is the root of all evil', 'the cops are dopes working for the government, not the people', that sort of thing. Not hardcore white supremacy, but definitely anti-government. Hell, Ezra said that if he hadn't been the bombing victim, he would have made a good suspect."

  "Hmm," Mac thought a moment. "Could it be a falling out with an old group?"

  "We thought of that." Having walked in unnoticed, Josiah shrugged. "We've been digging and just found out he came from a place called 'Oak Dale' near the Canadian border."

  A twinge nicked MacGyver's mind. The town was close to Cascade. "There are a few militias operating in that area. The Sun Rise Patriots and the Washington Freedom Fighters, to name a couple."

  "I don't think we've checked those two." Josiah tapped his chin thoughtfully.
>
  Nathan eyed their consultant. "How do you know them?"

  "My son's in Cascade which is near Oak Dale. Unfortunately, we've had a few run-ins with the local militia."

  "We?" Josiah softly questioned.

  MacGyver gave him a smirk. "Let's just say I don't take too kindly to anyone who abducts my son."

  Josiah nodded, noting the strength and determination boiling behind the normally calm eyes. He decided that messing with MacGyver's sons would be a bad idea.

  "Have you found out anything upstairs?" Nathan asked his partner.

  Josiah sighed. "Not much. It would appear that our bomber left town a few days ago."

  "Good for Denver. Not good for anyone else," Nathan observed.

  "We did finally find a couple of names. Which one's his true name is hard to tell at this point, but it gives us something to work on."

  Nathan tilted his head. "What are the names?"

  "Dean Kane; Kade Eckers; Decker Kincaid--"

  MacGyver shot upright in his chair. "Kincaid?" Josiah nodded. Mac jumped up and started to pace.

  Nathan exchanged a look with Josiah. "I'm guessing that name means something?"

  Mac rubbed his neck. "Garrett Kincaid was the leader of the Sun Rise Patriots. He's the one my son Blair and his partner testified against this week."

  "The case that was rough on your son?" Josiah remembered.

  "Yeah." Mac continued to pace.

  "Did they win?" Nathan asked.

  "Yeah."

  Nathan softly swore under his breath. "So the Sun Rise Patriots would be rather upset with the government, your son, and the world in general."

  "Enough to try something?" Josiah suggested.

  "They tried something right after the verdict. Blair hasn't given me details yet. Just said that he and Jim suspected something, so the feds and the Cascade PD were ready. However, no one knows just how many friends they might have."

  "Wait a minute." Nathan gazed at MacGyver in puzzlement. "Cascade detectives. Blair. Jim. We aren't talking about Blair Sandburg and Jim Ellison, are we?"

  Mac stopped pacing and stared at Nathan. "You know Blair and Jim?"

  "Blair Sandburg is your son?" Josiah asked, trying to keep his jaw from dropping. He still had a lot of questions about Blair Sandburg. The thought that he was MacGyver's son shocked him.