 DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters. "The Magnificent Seven" belong to MGM and Trilogy Entertainment. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d be a happy woman if Vin belonged to me.....but no such luck. I have not made any profit out of writing this, so please don’t sue me. It would not be worth your while.
 Chris stared at Buck’s pale face. “What do you mean they’re missing?!” Chaos reigned around the men. The evacuation siren wailed. Police and SWAT were racing about in a frenzy double-checking the shopping centre was empty.Outside, more than 100,000people milled after being removed from the building. All of that faded into an abyss as the terrifying words gripped Chris’ soul. The boys are missing.” Buck’s face was twisted with horror and helplessness. He’d been shopping with the children when... “got Travis’ call about the bomb so I handed the kids over to Pete. Told him to get them out of here while I coordinated the evacuation... but Pete said the boys took off in the confusion.Oh God.”Buck ran a trembling hand over his face. Chris gripped his friend’s arm as he scanned the thousands of people collected outside the glass doors. J.D. and Vin were lost somewhere out there in the crowd... or worse, were hiding inside somewhere. Ezra appeared from the stairwell and shouted over the noise, “I have acquired a copy of the security tapes for this sector and located the point when Buck handed the boys over to the security guard.Perhaps we can discern the direction they took after extricating themselves from their chaperone.” Ezra held out his cell phone and the three men crowded around the downloaded video. Chris frowned, his heart pumping furiously.On the screen he watched Buck crouch and wave the boys away with the guard... all the while still speaking on the phone. Chris’ eyes narrowed. Both boys looked concerned, but not scared, and were totally focused on Buck as they were ushered away through the panicking people. Buck had had no option - that much was clear. He’d acted to ensure the boys safety, handing them over to an ex-law enforcement colleague now working as a security guard at the mall - and then focused on the safety of all of the other men women and children in the mall.This was the second bomb in the city in as many days so the threat was real. It was ATF 5’s case. The lives of thousands depended on Buck doing his job. Chris studied Vin’s face. It was then, he saw something... the slightest indication of a nod before the child and J.D. disappeared from view in Pete’s care. Chris’ brow furrowed. Something Buck had said had triggered the reaction from Vin. “Buck, what were you saying on the phone?” Buck swallowed. “Huh?” “THE PHONE. What were you saying when the boys were being taken away?” “I... I was speaking to the police. What does this have to...” “Tell me exactly what you said,” Chris demanded. Buck concentrated. “Ummm... that the bomb had been located but the bomb squad was sitting on the fence about how to deal with it.I told the officer to tell the bomb squad to wait for your arrival and under no circumstances were they to move until they received word from me. I wanted to make sure the shopping centre was clear before they attempted anything. Chris, what the hell has this got to do with...” Chris’s eyes widened and then he shot out through the doors into the parking lot, disappearing into the crowd. “Chris!” ********* Larabee shouldered through the people. He knew where the boys were... was certain. He knew his son. Vin would have J.D. with him. Chris stopped as he reached the edge of the parking lot and then ran his eye along the outer perimeter.To the far right, he saw what he was looking for–two little boys giggling happily, perched on the top rung of the low wooden fence that surrounded the small playground bordering the shopping centre.Larabee’s heart soared. Vin and J.D. spotted Chris and their young faces lit with joy, but they didn’t climb down. “Pa!” Pounding boots behind Chris informed him Buck had followed.Moments later the two little ones were wrapped in their fathers’ arms. “We waited on the fence for Pa like you said, Uncle Buck. We didn’t move,” Vin assured. J.D. nodded cheerfully. Buck looked confused. “Sit on the fence, wait for me and don’t move until you receive word from Uncle Buck,” Chris whispered, sharing what he assumed wasVin’sversion of what Buck had been barking into the phone. Vin nodded. Buck blinked. Ezra appeared and with a smile stated, “The bomb situation is well in hand. All is well.” He reached out and ruffled J.D.’s hair, winked at Vinand then departed to give the small family some privacy. Buck gripped J.D. in his arms tightly, the terror of having experienced a missing child, finally beginning to fade. “You’s squeezing me, Pa. We waited for aaaaaaaages. I wanted to go back and look for you, but Vin wouldn’t let me," J.D. explained, searching his father’s top pocket for a candy bar. I’s hungry. Can we play in the playground now?” Chris shut his eyes and silently gave thanks before kissing the top of his son’s head. Vin had followed to the letter the bits of Buck’s instructions he’d understood... instructions the child believed were for him. “...sitting on the fence... wait for Larabee.... don’t move until you receive word from me. After all, the boys had sat on this fence only two days earlier, waiting for Chris to arrive after work so they could all play in the playground. To a seven year old... and to one father who knew and understood his son... the instructions made perfect sense. Vinsmiled at his dad. “We did good?” Chris nodded. “You did good, son. You did real good.”
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