Nook Ficlet Repost: The Innocent Bystander & Swamp Hoedown
The Innocent Bystander
*** Spoilers *** Season two of Criminal Minds. Season Seven of BtVS
*** Disclaimer *** I'm playing with someone else's toys. No Copyright infringement intended. No money made.
*** Summary *** Morgan is tasked with verifying a suspect’s alibi.
Morgan propped the phone by his ear and listened to the Park Ranger ramble.
“…I’m telling you, that he’s innocent. It’s that cage that threw you off, wasn’t it? Oz needs that cage for transporting wild animals. There’s blood because he feeds them the stuff nearly live and as close to the animals’ natural diet as possible. That’s his job and he’s really good at it. I remember the first time that I met Oz. He looked like a nobody and so tiny for the job. And he’s so quiet. He doesn’t talk a lot and I bet that he really didn’t defend himself much, but was just patiently waiting for you to get your act together. But he’s a great tracker, the best that I’ve seen and he found the wildcat lickety-split, captured it and brought it back to his van. He didn’t need my help but he didn’t turn me down either. Oh, and the gun. Oz only kills rabid things. He’s not like some of the conservationists who think that everything deserves to live. I know that he has a lot of fire power with his gun, but that’s so that the first shot to a grizzly kills it immediately. He’s an excellent shot, too. Did you get the fax yet? All his papers are in order and we really need Oz here as soon as possible. We have yet another outbreak of rabies.”
Morgan looked over the fax. The cage was certified. The gun was registered. The licenses were in order. Daniel Osbourne really was an innocent bystander who happened to be camping near where the serial killer had been found dead. The UNSUB had been dead of a broken neck at a bottom of a gorge. There wasn’t any real sign of a struggle. The UNSUB had managed to kill himself before BAU had managed to find him. Morgan managed to politely hang up on the Ranger and walked to the holding room.
Osbourne looked up.
“Ranger Tyler verified your equipment. He’s quite a fan of yours.”
“We have good conversations.”
Derrik Morgan burst out laughing.
*
Swamp Hoedown
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, no money made, no characters created.
Spoilers: Hasn’t everyone seen all of BtVS Season Seven? Several years passed.
Crossover universe written at the end.
Summary: Short, funny. To tell you the crossover would ruin it.
*
It had been quiet and murky. The humidity and heat settled around him like a blanket. The trucker had let him out in the middle of the Florida swamp with a mild word of warning and an eye roll prompted by the eccentricities of musicians, but Oz knew what he was doing.
Sorta.
Carrying his guitar, he walked far enough away from the little two-lane highway as to not to hear the traffic. He had just been around people for too long. He just wanted to hear the swamp, the animals, his guitar and his own breathing.
He found a semi-dry place to sit and strum. It was so quiet. If he had been the vain sort, he would have maybe thought that the swamp was listening to his playing. And if his chords matched the noises made by the mating alligators, well, that was his own doing, right?
Then he heard the banjo taking the harmony to his melody.
His head turned swiftly toward the sounds. No human had been able to sneak up on him for years. He found the banjo player in the falling darkness. He blinked. His fingers stuttered on the strings. He blinked again. The banjo player played his part again, a subtle hint that he wanted Oz to join in.
Oz blinked one more time and then shrugged his shoulders.
After all, it wasn’t everyday that a guy got to jam with a frog.
***
Kermit the Frog belongs to Jim Henson Productions. This is the unfortunate result of telling my mother, ‘I don’t write that.’ I really should know better. Blame it on the FORD® Hybrid commercials.
*** Spoilers *** Season two of Criminal Minds. Season Seven of BtVS
*** Disclaimer *** I'm playing with someone else's toys. No Copyright infringement intended. No money made.
*** Summary *** Morgan is tasked with verifying a suspect’s alibi.
Morgan propped the phone by his ear and listened to the Park Ranger ramble.
“…I’m telling you, that he’s innocent. It’s that cage that threw you off, wasn’t it? Oz needs that cage for transporting wild animals. There’s blood because he feeds them the stuff nearly live and as close to the animals’ natural diet as possible. That’s his job and he’s really good at it. I remember the first time that I met Oz. He looked like a nobody and so tiny for the job. And he’s so quiet. He doesn’t talk a lot and I bet that he really didn’t defend himself much, but was just patiently waiting for you to get your act together. But he’s a great tracker, the best that I’ve seen and he found the wildcat lickety-split, captured it and brought it back to his van. He didn’t need my help but he didn’t turn me down either. Oh, and the gun. Oz only kills rabid things. He’s not like some of the conservationists who think that everything deserves to live. I know that he has a lot of fire power with his gun, but that’s so that the first shot to a grizzly kills it immediately. He’s an excellent shot, too. Did you get the fax yet? All his papers are in order and we really need Oz here as soon as possible. We have yet another outbreak of rabies.”
Morgan looked over the fax. The cage was certified. The gun was registered. The licenses were in order. Daniel Osbourne really was an innocent bystander who happened to be camping near where the serial killer had been found dead. The UNSUB had been dead of a broken neck at a bottom of a gorge. There wasn’t any real sign of a struggle. The UNSUB had managed to kill himself before BAU had managed to find him. Morgan managed to politely hang up on the Ranger and walked to the holding room.
Osbourne looked up.
“Ranger Tyler verified your equipment. He’s quite a fan of yours.”
“We have good conversations.”
Derrik Morgan burst out laughing.
*
Swamp Hoedown
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, no money made, no characters created.
Spoilers: Hasn’t everyone seen all of BtVS Season Seven? Several years passed.
Crossover universe written at the end.
Summary: Short, funny. To tell you the crossover would ruin it.
*
It had been quiet and murky. The humidity and heat settled around him like a blanket. The trucker had let him out in the middle of the Florida swamp with a mild word of warning and an eye roll prompted by the eccentricities of musicians, but Oz knew what he was doing.
Sorta.
Carrying his guitar, he walked far enough away from the little two-lane highway as to not to hear the traffic. He had just been around people for too long. He just wanted to hear the swamp, the animals, his guitar and his own breathing.
He found a semi-dry place to sit and strum. It was so quiet. If he had been the vain sort, he would have maybe thought that the swamp was listening to his playing. And if his chords matched the noises made by the mating alligators, well, that was his own doing, right?
Then he heard the banjo taking the harmony to his melody.
His head turned swiftly toward the sounds. No human had been able to sneak up on him for years. He found the banjo player in the falling darkness. He blinked. His fingers stuttered on the strings. He blinked again. The banjo player played his part again, a subtle hint that he wanted Oz to join in.
Oz blinked one more time and then shrugged his shoulders.
After all, it wasn’t everyday that a guy got to jam with a frog.
***
Kermit the Frog belongs to Jim Henson Productions. This is the unfortunate result of telling my mother, ‘I don’t write that.’ I really should know better. Blame it on the FORD® Hybrid commercials.