Title : Kidnapped plus one

Author Megan

Rating FRT

AU- Runaways

Disclaimer: Mag 7 doesn't belong to me

Author's note :

Thanks to Enola for being an awesome beta. Katy for creating the AU.

This is the sequel to Mines and other things

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George slid his hat lower. "You sure we're safe here? What if they recognize us?"

Ted shook his head. "They won't. I doubt the kids even remember what we look like. It's been what? Three weeks? Besides, the boss said we had to bring the kids to him. He wants them."

George sighed, "You can't really believe that these men are going to just let us just take the kids and wander off with them."

Ted smiled slightly. "We just have to wait for the boys to be alone with just one of the men. I would pick when they're with that gambler. He looks to be the least dangerous of the group."

"He looks plenty dangerous."

Waving his hand, Ted grinned. "Yes, but the others are more dangerous. Besides, I'm sure we can control him a little bit more."

George just stared at Ted. "You can't be serious. Do you know who these guys have taken down?"

"Doesn't matter. Our boss wants them. We just need to kidnap them and the gambler. The gambler can take care of the kids as we take them to the boss. We just have to make sure he realizes that if he tries anything, the boys will suffer for it."

George smiled softly at Ted. "That could be interesting."

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Ezra stared at the two boys. They were finally sleeping. Since the kidnapping, the boys hadn't want any of their Uncles or Da's out of their sights. Then this had come up. The prisoner transfer and protection for a gold shipment had left the town with only two protectors, Nathan and him, until there was emergency at one of the farms. Then it was just him.

The boys hadn't been happy to see that everyone was gone. Since Nathan had to ride out, the boys hadn't left his side for a moment. Ezra was just lucky that nothing had happen and that they would all be back tomorrow.

With a last look at the boys, Ezra started down the stairs. Just as he reached the bottom, he stopped. He had heard the click of a trigger being pulled back.

Turning to where he had heard the noise, he frowned. "Who are you?"

George smiled, "You don't need to know. You just need to decide if you want us to kill you now or later."

"I have a choice?"

Ted spoke up. "Yep, the boss said not to kill anyone, just take them. Though, we wouldn't mind killing someone. So, you want to die now?"

Ezra frowned. "Before I tell you, why are you here?"

The cowboy holding the gun smiled. "Why, I thought that was obvious. We want the boys. Well, more exactly, our boss wants the boys."

"What do you mean he wants the boys? They aren't his." Ezra hissed out.

Ted snorted. "They aren't anyone's. They're orphans. Now decide."

"If I die later, I'll be with the boys until we get to your boss's place?"

George nodded, "If you're good, the boss might let you live."

Ezra closed his eyes, "I would take later. I take from your expressions that you are going to take the boys from their beds?"

Ted shook his head. "What else do you think we would be doing in here?"

"Can I get them dressed at least?"

George shook his head. "Grab pants and a shirt for them later. No shoes, I don't want them running. You can dress them after we get on the road."

With a nod, Ezra turned to go back upstairs. When he turned, he didn't see Ted raise his gun and bring it down on his head. All he saw was the world going black.

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Chris woke up when a 'thunk' from downstairs registered in his sleeping mind. Looking around the dark room, he moved his arm and nudged Buck, while hissing quietly. "Wake up."

The younger boy woke up instantly. Blinking, he leaned into Chris, whispering, "What?"

"Something is wrong. Go and hide under the bed."

The younger boy didn't even stop to ask. He started to get out of bed, but he was too late. Two large figures blocked the doorway.

The larger of the two figures spoke. "I wouldn't move if you want your Uncle to live."

The boys froze. They recognized the voice. Chris spoke up softly. "Where is he?"

George smiled. "Alive, for now. As long as you two behave."

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Gagged and bound, the two boys couldn't take their eyes off the man that was tossed over the saddle of his horse. Ezra hadn't moved in the last hour. As they rode, the boys had kept their eyes on the unconscious figure, watching for any sign of wakefulness.

George and Ted, for their part, didn't seem to care. They had slung the gambler on the first horse they had seen in the livery, then they had grabbed one boy each and made their way out of town.

As the boys stared, they were finally rewarded when the figure thrown across Chaucer started to shift around and make noise.

The kidnappers ignored the sounds for several long minutes. Finally, George pulled his horse to a stop. Ted followed and jerked the horse Ezra was on to a stop.

Getting off his horse, George glared at Buck for a long moment. Seeing that the boy wasn't going to try and get off the horse, he moved over to the wakening man.

Not even trying to be kind, George shoved Ezra off the horse onto the hard ground.

Flipping over the gambler, George leaned down. "See ya waking up. You think you can ride the horse the correct way, or should I leave you like a sack on it?"

Seeing the face leering over him, Ezra softly spat out, "I can ride."

"Good, cause we can go, then. We aren't stopping till we get back to the boss."

Reaching down, George hauled Ezra up and set him on the horse correctly, making sure that his hands were tied to the saddle horn, and his feet were tied to the stirrups.

With a grin, George turned his back and headed to his horse, not paying attention to the glare from the bound man.

Ezra jerked as his horse started to walk. Taking several minutes to find his balance, he finally had a chance to catch his breath. When he was sure he was ready, he looked around, happy at least to find that he could see both Chris and Buck, and both boys seemed fine.

Closing his eyes for a moment, trying to stop the earth from spinning around him, he was happy to see when he opened them the earth seemed to have stabilized.

With a deep breath, he hoped it would be light soon so he could see where they were going and maybe find a way to escape.

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As the sky lightened, Ezra noticed that the last of dizziness was leaving him. Also, he could finally see the boys clearly. Making eye contact with each boy, he bite back the growl that wanted to escape.

Both boys were tired and scared. Ezra could tell that both boys had been staring at him for a long time, fighting sleep to stay up to keep an eye on him.

Wishing he could speak, Ezra instead settled for a wink to each boy and a short bow of his head, to let them both know that he was all right. The smile in return, from both boys, eased his worries about the boys some.

With a glance around, he was surprised to recognize the area from where they had found the boys last time. Staring at the distance, he tried to remember what was along the track they were taking besides abandoned farms and mines.

Giving up on those thoughts when his head started to hurt, Ezra wished he could have done something to let the others know what had happened. He couldn't imagine what the others guys, especially Vin and JD, would react to finding an empty house.

With a deep sigh, Ezra turned his attention back to the course they were taking. If they got a chance to escape, he wanted to know how to get back to Four Corners.

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