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Chapter 34

He stood there, the grin still planted on his face as he took in our expressions, then we all watched, still frozen in silence as he raised a brow in question.

"Yall look like you've seen a damn ghost, what's wrong with you?"

I didn't think I could even manage to speak then and I didn't try as my mind searched for possible solutions to the question of his appearance.

"But you're...you're supposed to be dead." Kyle went on, his voice filled with unspeakable awe and comprehension seemed to dawn on Eddie who, after a pause smirked.

"Well at least that explains why I didn't get a single visit in the hospital from any ah you fools." He joked as only Eddie could in the face of our awe, then without a word John stepped up and pulled him into a hug, his face buried in Eddie's neck as he held on tight.

"Whoa big guy, easy there...still healing remember." Eddie's muffled voice could be heard from somewhere trapped behind John's shirt and I took a shaky breath, holding the arm of the chair for support.

When John pulled away slowly, his face was flushed and I could have sworn I detected a faint glistening in his eyes but I couldn't be sure. "Jesus Christ you're actually here." He said, gripping either side of Eddie's face and pulling him in for another quick embrace.

"The first time you hug me in my whole life and it had to be because you thought I was dead...that's cold man." He continued to joke, pulling back from John with a wince. He lifted his hand to his shoulder and rolled his back as if to loosen the muscles there.

"What the fuck's going on Eddie? We all thought you were-" I didn't wait for John to finish his sentence, I couldn't, not when the man we'd all mourned for weeks was standing before me, clearly alive and well and in a flash I was across the room and pulling him in for a hug too. Then Kyle, who wasn't one to miss out on the welcome, after I'd pulled away shakily, had Eddie wrapped up too.

Some of earlier excitement seem to leave Eddie's eyes then and looked at each of us in turn, offering a small smile. "I'm alright guys...I swear." He promised and turned to face Nate who had yet to utter a word since his untimely arrival.

My lover stood there, his eyes roaming over the man he called brother, looking pale and still disbelieving then when he realized we were all watching he cleared his throat and took a step forward, holding out a hand that clearly shook.

"It's...good to see you man." He offered to his longtime friend and with a grin Eddie, bypassed the outstretched hand and pulled him in for a hug too.

"Missed you too buddy." Eddie mumbled.

It was a long time before they pulled apart again and as I stood watching them, my shock gradually beginning to dissipate and a blanket of utter euphoria built within me, draping me with it's warmth.

Eddie was alive. He was fucking alive. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I allowed a grin to grace my face. When I glanced over at Kyle our eyes met and we shared a smile.

Eddie was alive.

"This doesn't make any sense, the chief told me the doctors said you wouldn't have made it through the night." Nate said the moment they pulled apart and Eddie glanced quickly at me and Kyle.

"It's okay, they know." John explained and without argument Eddie nodded.

"I figured you'd tell them." He paused for a bit, took a breath and began. "I wasn't supposed to live." He said seriously, then there was a loud thumb outside and we all froze. Nate and John had their weapons raised again before I could blink.

"Down boys, it's just Simon." Eddie assured them.

"Computer geek Simon?" John asked in surprise.

"You know, I never did like labels." A voice uttered from the other side of the door and a second later, in walked the very epitome of nerd. Short, lean and wearing large square framed glasses which shielded a handsome round face. The only thing that was missing was the stereotypical pimples which I suppose were replaced by the sprinkle of well placed facial hair.

Despite his small frame there was no mistaking the hard muscles than rippled beneath his clothing making him look both sexy and capable...if you were into the handsome nerd thing anyway. In his hands he carried some form of electronic equipment I couldn't readily identify as he stepped past us.

Either he was oblivious to our moment of reunion or not really interested in what it was that was going on between us. He deposited his equipment onto a nearby table after shuffling a few files out of his way, then passed us again to go outside.

"Talk to me Eddie." Nate broke the silence and Eddie nodded, "Let's sit down, I'm still not fully recovered and after that long ass ride I feel like I got hit by a damn truck." He explained as he moved across the room then slowly and stiffly lowered himself into the couch. We all went with him, each taking a seat around him, eager to hear how it was that he was back with us.

"You guys know I'd never go down without a fight, guess I just wasn't ready to go. Docs had me on that operating table for a while, they said there was no exit wound but they couldn't find the bullet, like it just wasn't where it was supposed to be...didn't even know that could happen and that's why they had me under longer than expected, then even after they found the damn thing I wasn't responding well to treatment, guess they didn't really expect me to live and said as much to chief."

"I should've gotten in touch with him again after he told me...should've made sure." Nate murmured almost to himself.

Eddie nodded. "Stayed there for two weeks before they released me then I spent another week trynna get chief to tell me where the fuck you and John were. He's got the rest of the team thinking he put you on another case, the mission's fucked; not a thing came out of it."

"Where are the others?" Kyle asked.

"Assigned to other cases, regulated to desk work...the usual, they pulled everyone after the explosion, chief's been spittin' fire over there."

"But how'd you know Nate and John weren't really on another assignment? And how come nobody else figured it out?" I questioned.

"It's possible they could've gone dark, only few agents are thrown back under cover immediately after a failed assignment but when you're as good as these guys it's no surprise. When I heard you and Kyle escaped I knew they couldn't be though. Knew these fools couldn't leave you out here like that and trust me, the others aren't stupid, they know what's going on and I'm sure they're rooting for you to beat this."

I smiled looping my arm through Nate's and sniffling from my cold.

"It's really good to see you again Eddie...Johnny's been depressed ever since we heard you died." Kyle uttered knowingly and Eddie grinned, turning his attention to John whom he patted on the back.

"Aww John you shouldn't have." He joked and the big guy flushed pushing at Eddie's hand.

Nate tried to hold back a smile. "I'm surprised your girl let you come out here, thought she'd want you all to herself after two years of visiting you in lockup."

Eddie shrugged, his grin fading slightly, "Nah, we broke up." Then he looked at the rest of us, a strange expression crossing his face before shaking his head, "Long story."

Nate nodded, respecting his friend's need for privacy.

There was another thud on the outside then in bustled Simon again, a small duffel in hand, a laptop in the other and a gun trapped between his chin and chest. I stared with wide eyes. I'd never get used to the things, no matter how much these guys waved them around.

When he deposited his load onto the table, he adjusted his glasses then looked pointedly at Eddie, his intelligent brown eyes narrowed "I'm not carrying your shit." And Eddie snorted, waving him off.

"So give me an update, what'd I miss?" Eddie inquired and while Nate was the first to open his mouth, Kyle beat him to it with a sigh.

"Well." He began as if he'd relayed the story over and over and it had become a chore for him.

"The shortened form of it is Nate finally told Riley he loves him, we found out about the FBI thing and now Johnny is being too much of a dick talk to me, Riley's practically dying from a cold and there's no Wi-Fi up here." He trailed off addressing his last words to Simon who stood fidgeting with his gadgets, looking up briefly only to acknowledge Kyle's words.

"That won't be a problem."

"Oh yeah and turns out, the man Riley was convicted of killing is his dad."

Eddie raised a brow at that, his eyes travelling to me and I shrugged. He cleared his throat.

"When he said he wanted an update I think he meant on the case." Nate continued and after Kyle responded with a shrug, he went on to explain exactly where we'd gotten in our investigation...which really wasn't very far at all.

"...We have Sticky and Darnez back in the city helping us out, but we can only do so much from way up here. Sticky gave me a name yesterday; carl Howard, said the guy might know who had a bone to pick with Joseph Menza. We planned to go back out there ourselves, see what we can dig up. "

"Well at least it's something." Eddie said thoughtfully.

Nate nodded. "You sure you'll be up for this?" he questioned Eddie who was rolling his shoulders clearly still feeling some discomfort after being shot a few weeks back.

"You know me, I'm up for anything." Eddie said with a grin. Across the room Simon snorted.

"It's good to have you back man." Nate said seriously and I grinned, happy that things finally seemed to be looking up.

.....................................................

"This is a waste of time. I say we leave now, we'll get there by sun down and we can finally start getting some answers." Eddie said slapping down another useless file onto the table before him.

Across the room, Simon stood eating dry cornflakes from the box while Kyle talked a mile a minute as he held John's broken tablet up for him to see. Nate sat across from me buried in paperwork and John sat by my side running a hand over his face.

I shook my head. I agreed with Eddie, this was a waste of time and I said as much.

"I'm all for it. Nate you in?" John asked and with a frustrated sigh Nate dropped his file and nodded.

Eddie pushed up from his seat making his way toward the kitchen. "Okay well I'm already packed and it won't take Simon anything to cart his stuff back to the van...so if you guys get a move on we can leave out in fifteen minutes."

I sneezed into my crumbled tissue then groaned; feeling miserable.

"I'm having second thoughts about leaving them here." John began and I glanced up at him quickly, hoping he was saying what I thought he was saying.

"Let's face it, this is hardly the middle of nowhere, if someone stumbles onto this place and even catches a glimpse of either of them, the police will be swarming the place and we won't be of much use to them from in the city." He continued and my gaze travelled to Nate who seemed to be considering his words.

"So what? We hole them up in some motel while we work?"

"Why not? Simon will keep them safe...we don't need him out in the field anyway."

Nate looked at me, brows furrowed then he nodded slowly. "Alright, we'll take 'em. Kyle leave Simon alone and go pack you stuff, we're leaving in fifteen!"

In our room, Nate made quick work of it, shoving our stuff into the two duffels and eliminating every shred of evidence of us ever being there. I was forced to sit and drink a tall glass of orange juice while I watched him, glad that I wouldn't be left behind.

When he was done, he straightened up and looked around the now spotless room. "Alright that's it, let's go." He ordered, picking up the bags and walking out the door, I followed close behind him, sniffling as I went.

In the family room we all decided to take Eddie's van which could accommodate us all with ease and five minutes later, we were leaving the cabin behind and making our way to the city.

I fell asleep twice on the way there, my head resting on Kyle's shoulder and my throat still sore and aching. When I was awake, I listened to the others talking to Eddie, John and Nate obviously happy that he was back with them and safe and more often than not, I found myself smiling at their ribbing.

By the time we finally made it to the motel it was night fall and we managed to make it into the room without being spotted. It was a small space with a door connecting to another room where I expected Simon and Eddie would stay.

We piled all our stuff onto the bed and floors and the files were stacked on whatever empty spaces we found. John ordered a few pizzas and some soup for me and just as I settled in for the night, my back against the headboard in bed, John, Nate and Eddie got up to leave.

I watched as Nate pulled out a piece of paper from his jeans pocket and showed it to them and I assumed it contained a name and address. It was slightly depressing watching them gear up for what might certainly be a dangerous night and I tried not to worry for their safety.

"Be careful." Kyle muttered to John, clearly not wanting to be the first to play nice but too concerned to let him go without some form of well-wishing. Then Nate turned to me and nodded and I waved weakly in return.

"You'll be fine, Simon will take care of you." John assured us as the others stepped through the door. "He only looks useless." He added with a smirk and from his perch around the small table in the center of the room, Simon gave him the finger, his eyes never leaving his computer screen.

The door clicked shut then it was just the three of us. Kyle sighed, grabbed a slice of warm pizza and came to sit beside me in bed. After a bit, he took a swig of my drink and looked over at Simon.

"So Simon, are you gay?"

I shook my head at his words and Simon paused in his typing for a second, as he looked over at us. He seemed to be considering Kyle's words, then shrugged.

"I never did like labels." He said simply and once again his fingers were flying over the keyboard at a rate I had yet to learn.

.......................................................

~Nate's POV~

After we'd made it to the address, it hadn't been particularly difficult to find the guy. A few bills thrown at the right people and we had him in our sights. The only thing we'd had to do was wait for the opportune time to make our move, which happened to be two hours later when he stumbled out of a rundown bar, a cigarette in hand and a bottle of booze trapped under his arm.

He took a few steps then looked down at his shoes, rubbing the heel back and forth over the asphalt as he tried to dislodge whatever it was that he'd managed to step in then he continued on his way, muttering to himself. It was just as he was about to pass the mouth of the alley that John grabbed him and he thrashed, his drink falling to the ground; smashed.

I stood watching, hands buried deep into my coat pocket warming to butt of the gun nestled in its confines.

The man continued to struggle and only quietened when he heard the pulling back of the hammer issuing from Eddie's gun, then he could only look up at us, stark fear reflecting in his bloodshot eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak I held up a hand cutting him off.

We didn't have time to listen to his blabbering.

"Carl Howard. That's your name right?" I asked and the man shook his head vigorously.

John dipped into his pockets, pulling out an old and battered looking wallet, which he flipped open to read the name off the driver's license. John nodded and I watched the man in annoyance.

"Alright, Carl, this is how we're gonna do this. You answer our questions and we're out of your hair. You don't and... well I'm sure you get the picture."

The man's eyes widened but he said nothing.

"Word on the street is you're a dealer." I held up another hand to cut off his denials "I'm not here to turn you in, calm down. I just need some information. Joseph Menza worked with you." It wasn't a question and upon realizing that he nodded slowly.

"Look I don't want no trouble, whatever he did when he was alive I got nothing to do with it and that's the truth!"

"Alright, that's fine. What I want to know is who might have had a reason to kill him. Anyone he might have pissed off, that kinda thing."

He shook his head at first but when Eddie adjusted the weapon in his hand he took another route. "Okay yeah, he pissed off plenty a people, he wasn't exactly a smart guy you know, it was only a matter of time before-"

"Names Carl...give me names."

"Ah...ah Robby...Robby Paul, ugh.. Dave Barnett...they had it in for Menza since the time he started."

Eddie was shaking his head. "Stop bullshittin' us Car,l Robby Paul was killed in a hit and run weeks before Menza died and Dave Barnett's been rotting in prison since '02. We've done our damn homework, now tell us the truth or we're not gonna have much use for you." Eddie warned.

The man spluttered, "I swear I didn't know, I just deal I don't know nothin!" he lied through his teeth and John sighed.

"Just kill him, he's wasting my time" and he let go of the guy and pushed him to the ground.

Eddie bluffed right along with John, cocking the weapon, Carl was quick to comply, holding up his hands in front of him as if they could protect him from a bullet wound "Okay okay, Kelly! Edward Kelly, that's the guy you want, Menza owed him money, he was dodging him for weeks and the night he came round here askin' for him, Menza ends up dead. That's all I got I swear, please don't kill me!" the man begged.

"If you're lying to us we'll know where to find you." Eddie said and the man nodded sharply, hands still held in front of him and eyes wide.

I pulled the handcuffs from my pocket and threw them at John who grabbed Carl's hand and slipped one onto his wrist, then attached the other to one of the panels along the large dumpster.

"Wh-what're you doing?" we ignored the man's cries to release him and in a moment Eddie had his friend from a local precinct on the line.

"Cops will be here in a few...hang tight." Eddie told the guy and without another glance his way we were off.

"They'll hold off his one phone call for a little while...that should give us some time to track this Kelly guy down without interference." He explained as the vehicle swept through the empty streets.

"Edward Kelly, ever heard of him?"

They both shook their heads and I looked glanced out the window. If we were lucky we'd finally caught a break.

..............................

Thirty minutes later we were back at the motel, pushing into the warm room where Simon sat on his computer just like we'd left him and Kyle fast asleep on one of the beds.

Riley looked up when we entered, looking relived.

"We need you to find everything you can on an Edward Kelly." I told Simon who looked up from the screen with a raised brow.

"You have any idea how many Edward Kelly's there are in the world?"

"Narrow it down to the ones in this area. Possible prison record, or maybe appearing on a suspect list...anyone by that name who looks even remotely interesting." I told him and he got to work.