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Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Ain't mine.

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Its either me or you. One of us has to go. You've tried my patience,
gotten me right down to the core. I've searched all over for the answer
to put an end to my misery and you don't have the decency to reward me
with it. No, you go and make it even more painful. You mess with my
mind, make me think I'm close, then bam, you slam my face into your
power.

You control everyone and everything. If somebody wants it, you have to
be willing to let them have it. Any other way just pushes them closer to
the edge. Like you've done to me. I can't take it anymore. You or me.
Your decision.

"Hey Buck?" JD Dunne stood inside the doorway watching the showdown his
best friend was having. "Let it go Buck, its not worth it." The boy was
trying to urge his partner to give up this fight, but the intense
expression told him it was a losing battle.

"Go away, kid. I don't want you to have to see this. Its between me and
him. Go on. I'll be fine." Wilmington never let his gaze waver from his
opponent.

"I can't Buck. What if you need my help?" Dunne wasn't about to give the
older agent over without a fight.

"Don't worry, JD. I can handle this. You go ahead and meet the boys.
I'll be along, I promise." The man's voice trembled with anxiety over
his mission.

"Alright, if your sure." The agent knew in his heart he should help the
man, but another voice was telling him he needed to leave his friend to
fight his own battles. "I'll be waiting for ya."

Okay, its still you and me. No one else around to see this horror I've
going through. One last chance to save yourself, then its lights out.

The agent tried to intimidate the enemy with a hard glare, but the
opposition wouldn't give up. "Damnit all to hell. I'm sick of this."
Wilmington pressed the safety off of his 9mm and aimed it dead center.
"One of us is going down." The last thing he remembered was the blinking
light, then the excruciating pain.

****************

"I never knew anyone could bleed so much from such a small wound."
Nathan shook his head as he stared at the mess around him. He and the
other agents that made up TEAM 7 of the ATF had came looking for their
missing partner an hour after JD showed up at the saloon. What they
found had them all hanging their heads.

"Geez, I shouldn't have left him alone." Dunnes wistful words danced
around the men with a sadness.

"You'd think he could have at least given us a chance to say goodbye."
Josiah bowed his head in silent prayer.

"It is a good thing Mr. Wilmington is such a good shot, or things would
have turned out much worse." Ezra sighed as he too took in the atrocity.

"Too bad he didn't leave us anything to figure out what caused this
mess." Vin threw the piece of paper he had been examining aside as he
slowly stood up.

The five men wandered around the crime scene still in awe at what
happened. They knew Buck's temper was dangerous and now they had the
proof. They were each brought back from their reverie as the door to the
leader's office opened to reveal a none to happy Chris Larabee.

"You boys find anything useful?" He stopped a few feet from them.

"Nope, just Buck's blood and some torn papers." Tanner handed a half
sheet with what looked to be a url written on it.

"I tried to bring it up, but it keep saying the page no longer exists."
JD grabbed his newspaper boy hat and crunched it between his fists.

"I coulda told ya that, kid! Why the hell did you think I was still
hammering away at that damn keyboard. The sorry son of a bitch would
never find me the right page for any of them things." Buck Wilmington
stomped out of his boss's office and kicked at the still smoking remains
of his computer.

"That didn't give you the right to shoot it, Buck. Thats federal
property you just destroyed." Larabee shook his head at his oldest
friend.

"Hey, I didn't exactly go unscathed here. I think it got its due revenge
by ricocheting that damn bullet back at me. This was my favorite
Hawaiian shirt ya know." The agent gave his now dead terminal another
good whack before heading to the elevator.

"He okay to drive Nathan?" JD asked quickly as he started to follow his
friend.

"Yeah. As long as he don't use that arm much." Jackson chuckled softly
still listening to the mustached man grumble about the new age and where
it could be put.

"What was he trying to find anyway?" Standish picked up an almost whole
sheet and began examining it. "The Virtual Season has begun..." The
undercover agent paused, giving his partners a quizzical look. "Whats a
Virtual Season?"

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