.A/N: So I'm going through and working on finishing up a bunch of incomplete fanfics, this is the first I've worked on this week. It's an oooold Numbers story I started. i was going for 'unique' scenario in this one. Hope you like it! Not sure what I'll work on finishing next.
Colby Granger grumbled irritably as he quite literally fell out of bed, hitting the wood floor hard, and crawled to the bathroom. He was hardly happy to be called into work at the unwholesome time of day. The sun wasn't even up yet. It was three in the morning and he was being called in on a quadruple homicide. The police had apparently found a note stapled, he shuddered at the thought, to each victim's chest naming them as a gift for Donald Eppes and team. The timing for this was terrible. They had just finished a case where there was a serial killer on a spree, fifteen dead the first week, twenty-two dead the second week. It had made national news and the pressure from them went from the general public, to the news reporters for being stonewalled, to the highest level of superiority in the Bureau itself. Don took a lot of heat. They all got no more than a few hours of sleep each week. Charlie did half a dozen equations for them and they still spent days pounding pavement hunting down leads. It ended in a bloody shootout, many were injured, but somehow the only person that died was the killer himself.
The nation breathed easier at the news.
Somehow Colby managed to pull on clothes, though the first time he put his shirt on inside out, tried to fix it and managed to get it on inside out and backwards, and then his pants he achieved, without knowing it possible to get on leg in properly and the other pant leg he got on but inside out. Needless to say it was twenty minutes before he was properly dressed. The drive to the office was a blur but it brightened slightly when he found a piping hot vente coffee on his desk. On it in sharpie marker was written 'Colby Coffee One' and then next to it he found a note that said 'coffee two and three' with cash on top. He looked around to see the same on David and Megan's desk. Clearly his boss had noticed how dead tired they were and was trying to soften the blow. They were all running on caffeine alone.
The crime scene was eerily tidy. The body was arranged but not in a way of sympathy like some killers did after the actual killing. Colby got the impression that it was done to be methodical, thorough, and precise. It was that kind of killer that truly scared him. He would take a rampaging brawler over a precise organized murderer. They were the hardest to catch and the most deadly. He strutted around asking questions gathering information and hunting down the leads he could while at the scene for an hour or so. At some point he stopped, head pounding, legs feeling shaky from exhaustion and pinched the bridge of his nose eyes scrunched shut.
This was not what he needed, not after the murder spree they'd just wrapped up at eleven thirty the night before. He didn't think he could do this. Shaking the thought away he got back to work. He was nearly done here and would get another coffee with extra, extra, caffeine on his way back to the office. He hoped the press didn't get a hold of this case. Don dropped by briefly checked up on how he was doing with the case, and just in general, and then after pointing out a few leads to follow up that Colby hadn't thought of, suggested to go back to the office and follow everything up for there. To rest went implied but unspoken.
As the hours passed horrifically slowly they all managed to wander back to the office and collaborate on leads. Not a whole lot of progress was made despite all the effort. David and Megan both fell asleep at their desks. Megan went down first in a gradual slump. David face planted harshly too exhausted for even the hard thump to wake him. Twice Don had snarled viciously threatening a week suspension when someone had needed something and went to wake them. An hour after that he noticed Colby staring at a file eyes literally crossed, just staring. He wasn't sure if the man was awake but he'd decided enough was enough. It took twenty minutes to get them all roused enough to safely drive home for a required eight hours of sleep, a shower, and a hot meal. Immediately after they'd left the building Don was in Merrick's office defending the decision. If he'd only known what was happening in the parking lot he wouldn't have wasted the time…..
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Colby trudged towards the elevator. It had taken him a long while to get his stuff together and actually leave. He couldn't think. Megan and David had taken off like shots and were already gone. The elevator ride seemed to take forever. The blast of cold wind as he exited to the parking lot roused him to some level of clarity, enough to drive at least. Any other day he would have seen it coming as he pulled out his car keys but the exhaustion dragged away his normal high alertness that came from being trained as an FBI agent and reduced him to the basic necessities to keep moving.
The blow came from the left so fast he barely registered the site of the gun butt striking his temple so hard it threw him to the ground. On pure instinct alone and a small boost of adrenaline he kicked out striking his attacker in the ankle making them stumble a few steps. Colby climbed to hands and knees only to be felled by another, harder blow to the same spot on his temple. He hit the ground hard, a loud buzz in his ears bright white spots dancing before his eyes as the world spun around him. Momentarily entranced by the feel of blood seeping down his face still stunned by the blows he didn't feel as his arm was pulled to his back and cuffed but as the second arm was pulled back clarity returned with instinct and he kicked out again both legs wrapping around one of his assailants legs and yanked making him crash to the ground. Through sheer desperation to survive alone Granger jumped to his feet intent on running back inside the building only to have the world spin sharply making him lurch like a drunk and slam into his car shoulder first.
He never had a chance to recover as he was yanked away from the car and into a third blow to the head, just above his left eye this time nicking the existing gash. Colby's legs gave out but his attacker refused to let him fall as he was spun and shoved hard against the car and finally cuffed. His world reduced to pinpoints and the encompassing buzz in his ears as he was half carried half dragged some distances before he felt himself falling as he was dropped into the back of a van and everything faded away.
The next time he woke his thoughts were muddled and incoherent. His head pounded from the jackhammers at his temple the pain radiating outwards. The buzz still tormented his ears and he groaned attempting to swat at it but his arms didn't move. He frowned and struggled to think why his arms wouldn't move. He tried opening his eyes to see but that didn't work either. It took what felt like ten minutes before his senses sharpened enough to realize that there were far too tight ropes around his wrists and ankles and a blindfold over his eyes. His heart pounded abruptly so hard he thought he'd crack a rib as panic shot through him. He groaned loudly without realizing it as the nausea hit him like a brick wall. He panted heavily and rolled onto his side everything feeling like it was spinning about him wildly as he struggled not to throw up. Colby didn't hear the sound of brakes but he sure felt the motion of stopping as it sent him rolling against the side wall of the van. All he could do was struggle not to vomit. He barely heard movement above him and only vaguely felt the sting of a needle piercing his flesh and then there was nothing.
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Don rubbed the back of his neck rolling his head slowly trying to ease the tension. He'd spent an hour in the director's office just because he'd sent his team home for eight hours sleep after the quadruple murder and had received a serious pay cut as reprimand instead of suspension. They had a case to solve after all. Before they had returned there were two more murders that with notes calling them to the scene. Megan was the first to arrive followed half an hour later by Sinclair. Don hadn't given them a set time to return so no one had to worry about being 'tardy' to add to the stress. He would never tell them that Merrick had wanted to suspend them or give them a pay cut as well. The man had been in an absolutely sour stubborn hard headed mood but Don had managed to redirect his wrath upon himself.
An hour passed since David returned. A little bit of progress had been made, mostly lab reports being finished, and Colby still hadn't returned. He was starting to get annoyed by it. Yeah he knew that Colby needed the rest, they all did after the last case but he never expected him to take this long getting back. A small part of his mind niggled at him about this being odd. Every other time in the past he'd arrived before he was actually supposed to cutting his time for rest short. Maybe he should call and check up on him. This was unusually late for Granger….
"Agent Eppes this package came for you" Don looked up surprised seeing one of the office clerks holding out a small packaged box for him to take.
"Thank you Ms. Perkins" she smiled and wandered back to the offices below. He didn't recognize the return address. He neatly opened it and tossed the barely marred brown paper to some corner of his desk and popped open the box. There was a small unsigned not inside on top of something that he couldn't see because it was beneath the paper.
Missing Something Agent Eppes?
Don's scowled at the paper as if it had been a message of entirely offensive expletives instead of a small, almost ominous, question and pulled the paper out to see what was beneath. His breath froze in his throat and his heart stopped. Inside the box glinting beneath the artificial light was Colby's badge.
"Sinclair, go to Colby's car then go to his apartment see if he ever got there! Reeves get a lock on his cell phone GPS now!" Don barked jumping out of his chair gripping the box white knuckled making both agents startle.
"Don what's going on? Why are we tracking down Colby's phone?" David looked at him solemnly then into the box as his boss held it out for them both to see.
"Because I just got this in the mail" they both blanched seeing the badge. Don heard a few expletives from David and utter, dangerous, silence from Megan as they got to work while Don stormed to the lab to get the package and wrappings tested for prints. Over the next hour one thought plagued him into a rage.
Colby hadn't even made it home.
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He wasn't sure when exactly he'd woken. He'd been listening to the faint hum of a vehicle engine for some while now without realizing the identity of the sound that had his attention. He still couldn't see but he knew everything was still spinning around him slowly and it made his stomach twist in knots threatening to return his last meal. What was his last meal? Had he had a last meal? Had Don or the rest of the team eaten recently? Maybe he should get food for them too….His was pulled from his scattered thoughts as he heard the slight squeak of car brakes and the sensation of movement stopped. He tried to move again but his body was just so heavy. The mere attempt made his mind fuzz over again nearly pushing him back into unconsciousness his head feeling like it was going to crack open suddenly. Or maybe it already had cracked.
There was the loud sound of something metallic sliding that made him startle. He tried to open his eyes again having forgotten the blindfold grunting in frustration and tried to think what was wrong with his eyes. There was a voice floating over him now. He had to concentrate hard to understand each word. He almost couldn't do it.
"I'm Sorry Agent Granger, this is too soon but I'm going to have to put you down" the voice was calm and serious. Put him down? His brain couldn't wrap around that phrase. Something was wrong about that. It sounded like….sounded like a vet about to euthanize an animal. His heart froze. Euthanize. He didn't even have the chance to fight back as he felt the needle pierce his arm. It burned up his arm and itched like a bug under his skin. He squirmed and groaned as his chest tightened like a vice forcing what little air he was gasping was forced out before he could feel the relief his throat feeling like fire as it swelled closed and consciousness was torn away…..
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Don stood stiffly before a television with a video being wound up to the right point by David. It was the security camera nearest to Colby's parking spot. It hadn't taken long at all to figure he'd been taking from the F.B.I parking lot. The very thought still made the little hairs on the back of his neck stand on end from the sheer fear for his agent and rage at the audacity of this kidnapper. They watched silently as Colby trudged out. He looked so exhausted, like it took everything he had and then some just to get to the car. They could see in his body language that Colby never knew it was coming. The first blow threw him to the ground and had stunned him. They could only watch helplessly as the man worked to restrain a meagerly struggling Colby striking him twice more with a good deal more force than would have been required. After mere minutes his attacker carried Colby, whom was heavily dependent upon his attacker to stay semi-upright, into a van and drove away.
"That's everything we have but the techs are working on the video to get a license plate but they say it will take at least half an hour" Sinclair informed quietly then slammed the remote down on the table the site of his friend being struck to the point of drawing blood.
Don barked orders angrily for hours after that and everyone took it silently. The air was thick with tension and determination. Nobody spoke about what could be happening to Colby while they sorted through facts and evidence. No prints except Granger's on the SUV, no shot of the attacker's face on the camera though Charlie was working with the video technicians to see if they could get it from a few reflections.
In the end as Don looked at everything they had nothing.
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He was floating. It was the first thing he became aware of was that he felt like he was floating. He languished in the sensation for a long while unable to summon the energy to form coherent thought or action before he realized he felt unbearably heavy. This confused him. He felt like he was floating but felt like he was weighed down by a thousand pounds. That couldn't be right. He wouldn't sink but he could feel the weight. The thought held his rapt attention up till the point a rough hand grabbed his shoulder. Colby gasped startled and suddenly realized how tight his throat felt and how badly it burned. He tried to suck in a full breathe but it caught in his throat. Colby squirmed intent on thrashing to get free of this unbearable lethargy but he didn't have the strength. Hands took a fistful of his shirt near both shoulders and hauled him upright.
The vertigo that hit him from the sudden change of position had him lurching drunkenly clinging to whoever it was that was next to him with a vice grip unable to get everything to stop spinning long enough to sit up straight. Seconds later it didn't matter as he lurched sideways vomiting violently for what felt like an eternity head pounding, light and dark spots dancing before his eyes by the time his stomach had nothing left and went to dry heaving. By the time his stomach gave out he was trembling uncontrollably and his world had been reduced to vague sounds and touch. He was sat back up and braced against a wall forced to once again cling desperately to his captor to keep himself upright as everything spun crazily around him. He couldn't get around the pain shattering his skull as a water bottle was brought to his lips and he sipped through instinct alone. It was so cold it made his head pound harder to the point that he would gladly have it chopped off but at the same time the cold water was fresh and soothed the burning in his throat.
After a period of unknowable time the water was gone, the world still spun, and his captor forced him to his feet. His legs collapsed under him instantly and everything went black.
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"Don I think we've got something!" Megan hustled across the office towards his desk her call making both he and David look up sharply.
"What've you got Reeves?" Don stood abruptly.
"Well the computer techs just called and they said there was a hacker in the database" Megan began glancing briefly at the notepad in her hand.
"Reeves we don't have time to look into a hacker, we have to find Granger" Don cut her off.
"It's relevant Don" she snapped back glaring. David eyed them both nervously for a moment but the tension passed.
"What've you got" Don took a quick interest in the floor for a few seconds before looking back at Megan.
"The techs didn't notice it because the hacker was so quick and only took one file"
"Only one? What file did they take?" Sinclair interrupted.
"Well that's what has me so worried. They took Colby's medical records"
"His medical records? Why would someone take those?" Don looked confounded.
"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure out whether I should be scared for Colby because of this" Megan's voice was tinted with a bit of fear.
"So what do we have?" Don exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. He felt a migraine coming on.
"An unknown male about 5'8" medium build abducts Colby around 10 a.m this morning, no footage of the get-away vehicle at this point but I'm still working on getting access to the security cameras of other businesses in the area see if maybe they caught something"
"Good, anything off the car David?" Don pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Just Colby's prints and a few drops of his blood but otherwise nothing we can really use. This guy was meticulously careful" David growled and looked at a file on his desk for some tidbit of info to make the situation seem more hopeful.
"Alright, I called Charlie he's on his way make sure you give everything we've got to him he's going to try and do some equations." another hand run through the hair. Stress was mounting.
"I'll get everything in a file for Charlie so it's all in one place for him" Megan wrote something down on her notepad.
"Don, do you think this could have anything to do with the six murders we were working on? A warning in case we got close maybe?" Sinclair speculated aloud.
"I don't know, it doesn't really fit the MO and it's not like we were getting close. We didn't even have it a day" Don countered, "but keep an eye out for anything that could connect the two. I'll have Charlie pursue that angle too" they all scattered to do their jobs.
David couldn't help but look at Colby's empty desk. His heart clenched with worry. Sure they were all part of a larger group but still, Colby was his partner. They were a perfect team. Granger was the hot head to his own laid back and cool. They hadn't gotten along at first. It had definitely been a rocky start. David had thought him too much of a hot head, out of control almost. Don mediated for them quite a bit in the beginning before they figured out how to get along and work to each other's strengths instead of picking at the other's faults.
He massaged his forehead fighting back a stress headache. He was still trying to figure out whether he wanted Colby's kidnapping to be related to the six murders. If it was they had more info to go on for Charlie to compute, if not then he may not be in the hands of a murderer but they had nothing to work with. It was a conundrum to say the least. Charlie arrived half an hour after word of Colby's stolen medical files. That had been what intrigued the mathematician the most. It was another two hours before they got another clue. A video tape received in the mail. According to the UPS guy it was in the stack designated for his day of deliveries. They were confiscating the security footage for the warehouse as soon as they saw what was on the tape.
David stood tensely chewing nervously on his thumbnail. The video started with just Colby lying on his side against a wall his legs laying at a ninety degree angle from the wall as if he'd been resting against and slumped sideways. At first everything was silent and they were just watching their unconscious friend breathe appreciating that he was still capable of the action. The first audio was the sound of a raspy, strained groan and then his head lolled slightly. That seemed to alert someone as a masked figure the same build as the man that was on the parking lot footage appeared and knelt beside Colby and pressed a hand to his forehead then seemed to be checking the pulse in his neck, they couldn't quite see for sure.
He lifted Colby to a sitting position a hand at each shoulder. Granger swayed and slumped dangerously unbalanced with another groan that mutated into a whimper as he lurched sideways and vomited violently for ten minutes and dry heaved for another five. By the time he stopped he was trembling so hard they could see it on the camera which appeared to be a good distance away from the pair. His captor righted him again forcing him to cling, white knuckled, to his shirt swaying more drunkenly than before. Their view of him was clear now and they didn't like what they saw. Blood covered half his face from the deep looking gash on his temple, his face ghastly pale, eyes now open half -mast and clearly unable to focus on anything, and a strange discoloration at the crook of his right arm that might be a rash.
David growled angrily as he saw Granger rest his head on the man's shoulder unable to hold it up any longer. He couldn't stand watching his closest friend sipping water weakly, coughing at first as he choked, totally, clearly unknowingly, dependent upon his captor. The kidnapper put aside the water shifting his weight and forced his victim to his feet. The team could only watch as Colby's legs immediately buckled beneath him too weak to hold his weight, eyes rolling into the back of his head and he slumped once again into the arms of his captor lifelessly with a moan. The video ended seconds after they both disappeared from camera.
David growled slamming his cell phone down on the table but the outburst did nothing to soothe his rage and he immediately whirled and threw the phone across the room. It bounced off two walls and a chair before landing, surprisingly in one piece, and sliding under a desk. Don and Megan stared at him even as he spun and kicked a small plastic trashcan across the room papers flying everywhere then stormed away. Don just scrubbed a hand through his hair.
"What the hell was that video Megan?" he demanded cleaning up the papers slowly.
"A power trip. No demands were made. There was no communication at all with us from the captor. The whole goal of that film was to show us he has the power" Megan explained an unusual twinge of hate in her tone.
"So what does this mean for the case? For…for Colby?" he choked for a moment unable to get the image of his agent in such bad shape.
"I'm not sure. We've got a criminal that is on a power trip but making no demands and one-sided communication only, either way he's very dangerous" she watched her superior for a moment. Watched how he pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched his eyes shut then abandoned his nose to rub circles at his temple.
"Get that to the lab for prints and get it cleaned up. See if Charlie can help clean it up and get anything out of it too. Pull all our past unsolved files and see if anything matches up with this then go through solved ones where the criminal is out of jail." a hand raked through his hair again.
"Sure Don" she replied feeling shaken by the video and watched as he scooped up the tossed cell phone and went to check on Sinclair.
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It was cold, so cold. That was the first thing he noticed. Second was how sore he felt as his muscles shivered against his will. His head felt heavy as it lolled about from the effect of some unknown force. It made him dizzy. He shook his head lightly to clear it but was met with a strange resistance. It didn't stop the movement but it did make it harder, slower. He squirmed trying to find someplace warmer, somewhere comfortable but nothing around him moved right. He didn't move right. Everything was slowed and he felt like he would float away but was pinned down at the same time. His brow furrowed confused. This wasn't right. This couldn't be right. It was too cold and everything sounded weird. His head was pounding again and the gash on his forehead was stinging terribly.
Colby swallowed thickly wincing at the familiar burn wishing for more water. He was so thirsty. It was quiet but not total silence. There was a soft rushing sound almost like blood rushing through his ears during a hot pursuit but it was duller and more languid. He must have drifted for a while because the next thing he knew he was waking up again. His head still ached terribly but he could think easier. He could feel the soft hiss of air against his lips and the uncomfortable plastic around his mouth and nose but his lungs burned for more than he was getting as the supply was turned to a level far too low. He struggled to suck in a deep breath but there just wasn't enough being provided and it made him cough from the effort. He clenched his hands wincing as the metal he realized was around his wrists bit into his skin.
He swallowed back a swell of nausea and then opened his eyes needing to see where he was only to snap them shut with a raspy groan as they burned horribly and stung like a thousand bees. Salt water, he was chained and submerged in saltwater. Why? Why would whoever kidnapped him put him in saltwater but provide him oxygen? A hiding spot maybe? Keep him out of sight till later. For what though? If his head would just stop pounding for five minutes maybe he could think of a way out of this….
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Don grinned. Charlie had something finally. It had been almost three days since Colby disappeared and statistically his chances weren't good. But they had Charlie and Charlie had something on the video, break through at last. Charlie had sounded so excited when he'd called Don that it had become contagious and Don had smiled with hope. It took five minutes to get them all crowded eagerly around the computer.
"What've you got Charlie?" Don glanced at his team before looking at Charlie. Megan was tense but level-headed and David was chewing on his thumbnail again.
"Well I almost missed it it was so small it took me an hour to get it blown up and the image clear. I had to write an entirely new algorithm just to pull out more information from the tape" Charlie began rambling immediately and clicking more rapidly than any of them believed possible. They watched silently as square after square zoomed in blurring momentarily before clarity returned.
"Was that a window?" Megan asked pointing even as what she indicated zoomed away as Charlie sped past in a flurry.
"Yes it was and I bet this guy didn't even think about it because it was hard enough to see that there was a door in the shot slightly ajar let alone what was beyond the door through a window" he chattered excitedly. At last he stopped clicking and the screen materialized into his discovery.
"Is that a .." Don started.
"Street sign?" David finished.
"It is! It's Mcallen Lane but I'm not sure what house it is yet. If I can go to the street I can triangulate the angle the shot was taken and tell you which one" he finished triumphantly with a grin.
"That's great Charlie, get your stuff everyone! We're getting Colby back" he growled that vengeful streak kicking in again. This guy was not going to get away with this!
The street was on the outskirts of L.A about an hour away from the coast and half an hour from the F.B.I headquarters. In a matter of ten minutes Don had a few extra agents joining them armed and ready for a sting, sirens blaring and tires squealing from their break-neck speed. Charlie held to the door of the car white-knuckled the whole time but said nothing against it. The video he'd pulled the location from had shaken him. Colby was a strong person and to be brought to be so dependent, on his captor no less, was disturbing. He hadn't seen anything like that before. The ride took twenty minutes and came screeching to a stop mid-street. Charlie was the first out and scribbling in a notebook surrounded by agents with their guns at the ready.
"There! The angle of the shot says it was house 215!" Charlie pointed to a white and blue house so normally looking. David took off first with Don hot on his heels scanning for danger.
One of the agents paused just long enough to shove Charlie back into the SUV and order him to stay until the area was cleared before charging into the house. He sat in the front seat leg bouncing uncontrollably with bundled nerves. He could only see two agents that were guarding the front and back doors in case the criminal try to get away. The silence was deafening. Sixty seconds, then a hundred and twenty passed. Five minutes. Eight minutes. It felt like forever. He'd never understood that sentiment. Time feeling like forever had never made sense until this moment. At nine minutes and fifty-two seconds he saw David explode from the house. He appeared agitated from what he could see and then he got verification when David whirled and slammed a fist against the wall of the house.
Charlie gulped and fidgeted. David was visibly angry and as both Don and Megan came out a moment later no one had Colby. He sank totally motionless into the seat and just stared at the rest of the team as they rode out the emotions of defeat and anger. Charlie bit his lip as the rush of emotion hit him abruptly. For all those hours he'd worked pouring over the evidence and he'd failed.
His numbers failed.
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It wasn't so cold now. If he weren't so tired he would wonder why he wasn't so cold now. His wrists hurt though, terribly so. It made him squirm trying to relieve the pressure. Too tight, the cuffs were too tight. He could feel the skin splitting more deeply. He leaned his head back against what felt like a wooden post and struggled to keep his breathing even. It made it a little easier despite not being provided enough. He blinked a few times groaning at the sting of the salt but he didn't stop blinking slowly adjusting to the burn until he could stand to keep his eyes open. It was difficult to see between the salty water and the level of darkness but he could see a little bit. There was something long and dark directly above him that he guessed continued beyond him and had giant posts anchoring it down like the one he was chained to now. He thought he could see something clinging to the posts and floating lifelessly but he couldn't be sure. Moss probably.
He could see other things moving about mid-water, sea life. He watched as some things ambled about slowly clearly in no rush while others darted about nervously and even others still lost their lives as predators took hold of them. He watched for a long while without thought. He might have drifted. He wasn't sure. Everything was fuzzy around him and he was so tired he didn't really think. He just watched.
Then a thought struck him. He looked above him again. He guesstimated he was fifty feet below, in sea water with barely enough air and no guarantee how long it would last. He felt sick, sicker than he should for just a concussion. He was getting too tired to ignore how badly he felt. His mind wandered back to that thought that had struck him. He'd been the prey. He hadn't even known it and now he was chained beneath the sea or some other body of saltwater waiting for his last breath of proffered oxygen.
The panic struck Colby harder than the previous pistol-whipping and he began to thrash in terror.
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Don glared at the wall. They were back at the office scratching their heads as they looked over the evidence. Colby had definitely been at the house. They'd found his blood and a large amount of vomit. There was no doubt it would prove to be Granger's but he wasn't there now. Sinclair was still at the scene talking to neighbors trying to get details about the car or maybe the man. He'd left the man there for a reason. Megan was a bit better at pulling information out of unobservant or forgetful people but David was on edge and angry. Putting him in front of a computer making him sit still instead of moving, doing something physically active would be a bad idea. With all that worry for his partner and anger building pressure with no results he needed action. Don understood the feeling.
Charlie was scrambling with all the new data to figure out where the kidnapper might go, might take Colby. His gaze turned to watch his brother through the glass wall that separated rooms. He had every whiteboard and dry erase marker in the building. He had dark circles under his eyes from working three days straight trying to find Colby. He felt a swell of pride. His brother gave his all when it really mattered. He frowned when he saw Charlie pause and sway then rub at his eyes tiredly before getting back to work. Had his brother eaten at all since the kidnapping? Even as he thought the question he knew the answer. No.
"Hey Megan keep things moving here and call me if anything comes up, I'll be back in about half an hour" He called snatching his car keys.
"Um, sure Don" she looked at him oddly but didn't ask. Half an hour later he was pulling into the parking lot gathering up bags of burgers, mostly for Charlie, but he got enough for everybody just in case there was the rare occurrence that someone broke off from work to eat, or rest. Charlie at least he was going to make sit and eat.
"Charlie put down the markers bro time to stop and eat. Charlie?" Don called after leaving burgers and fries on David and Megan's desk. As expected Charlie didn't hear him so Don grabbed his shoulder and spun him around grabbing the marker from his hands.
"Hey! Don! Give that back!" Charlie lunged to snatch his marker back but Don dodged skillfully slipping behind the professor and pushing him toward the table.
"Not until you stop and eat Charlie. You've been working non-stop for three days now and I don't remember seeing you eat anything any of those days." Don argued as Charlie continued to resist the pushing towards the food.
"Don Colby's missing! I have to finish this equation! I can't fail again Don! I can't be too late again!" Charlie pleaded as he was pushed down into a chair and a burger shoved into his hand.
"Charlie what are you talking about? You haven't failed me or anyone else" Don sat and grabbed a burger for himself.
"But I did fail! We didn't get to the house in time! Colby was gone because I didn't finish soon enough!" the look of distress on his little brother's face made Don's gut twist.
"Charlie it's not your fault we didn't get there in time. You did everything you could. We wouldn't have found the house at all if it hadn't been for your help." Charlie wouldn't meet him in the eye.
"I could have done it sooner Don. I know I could do it if I just keep w-working I won't fail again" Charlie stood abandoning the untouched burger only to be shoved back down.
"Not till you eat. You didn't fail anyone Charlie. Just sit and eat and tell me what your math is telling you. It might do some good to talk out the details and review" Don smiled annoyingly at his brother and took a bite of his burger knowing Charlie couldn't refuse now that he'd asked Charlie to say what the math was telling him.
"It's telling me to look the coast. I don't understand. The math says to sure somewhere on the coast but it's nowhere near the hot zones I mapped out for this guy to live" Charlie finally bit into his burger viciously enough to make Don raise an eyebrow. At least he was eating now.
"Is this that pi thing? You don't know why it keeps showing up it just does?" Don slapped Charlie's hand as he stole some fries failing to save the stolen goods from his little brother's appetite.
"Yeah I'm still trying to get the area narrowed down. If I can't do anything else I suppose I can at least narrow down the area and try to reduce the leg work for you at least." Charlie was halfway through his burger now. Don was pleased to see that his brother was relaxed now and genuinely taking a break.
"Just do what you know to do Charlie. You follow the math to its end. I follow the evidence. We're both trying our best. No matter how this ends neither one of us failed because we tried Charlie. You understand that?" Don held his brother's gaze firm to convey that if this ended badly, which he prayed it didn't, his brother didn't carry any guilt or feelings of failure.
Charlie sighed heavily and looked downcast, "I only hope it won't matter Don"
00000
Colby jerked back to consciousness with intense pain. He lurched trying to escape the vice like claw that was tugging at the gash on his head. He groaned and struggled harder as the claw pulled free another piece of his skin. It slipped off his head landing softly in his lap. It was a large crab. Bile rose up in his throat. It scurried back up his torso going for the bleeding gash again. He could feel a claw grab a clump of his hair anchoring itself down and began picking at his flesh again with the other. It wasn't long before other creatures were joining the crab and he found himself defenseless against them all as they nibbled on him for lunch. Time stretched unbearably seeming not to pass. It had no existence beneath the water. He had no way of knowing how long it had been fighting to breathe normally and ignore the pain caused by these sea creatures that he would normally eat slathered with butter before coherency slipped away.
"David? Hello?" his couldn't hear his own voice. Why was that?
"Don?" still no sound. He blinked and looked around not wondering why his eyes no longer burned. For a moment he forgot even about the sea life feeding on him as his reality narrowed to pinpoints.
"Megan?" he was alone. That wasn't right. This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be alone. He wasn't supposed to be here. He didn't feel good. His chest felt tight his throat burned with thirst and something else he couldn't quite identify. What he wouldn't give for a drink of water. Maybe if he kicked his legs he could get some of this water he was submerged in into his mouth? The idea fascinated him.
Suddenly there was pain. Intense pressure in his ear to the point he though his ear was being torn apart. Colby lurched and cried out thrashing to get away from it, head hitting the post painfully but the source of the pain would not dislodge.
"David! David help!" his head started to loll weakly vision graying, "somebody….help, help me please…David"
0000000
Don stood staring out at the gently lapping waves. There was a slight breeze and the bright warm sun made the day seem perfect. If it were any other day he would enjoy the day. Maybe even prod his brother into taking a pretty girl out for a picnic. The thought made him grin slightly. His brother did need a good deal of help with picking up on womanly signals. He was getting better at it though. He shook his head and looked back at his team.
"Let's see what we find everybody search around. We can't board any boats unless we're invited or you find probable cause so just keep your eyes peeled" Megan hesitated long enough to squeeze his shoulder.
"We'll find him Don. Charlie's math has never failed us. There will be something here if not Colby himself." Don smiled at her.
"Yeah, you can always depend on Charlie and his numbers." They parted ways to wander the marina. They wandered up and down talking to people, showing Colby's picture, looking for anyone or anything remotely suspicious. Don drifted between areas and people taking closer looks at things worth note or people in need of more thorough questions but still they found nothing. Some people had thought that maybe they had seen him but nothing panned out. After five hours Don found himself standing on the boat launch dock just staring out at the incoming tide. Suddenly David was standing beside him looking tired and disappointed.
"There's nothing here" he stated forlornly.
"I know. We'll see if the marina workers will let us have the security tapes otherwise we have nothing" Don scrubbed his hair angrily.
"I don't get it. Charlie's never led us to the wrong place. We must be missing something" David sounded too desperate for an easy answer.
"Time to head back" was his only tight reply. He whipped around and trudged down the dock. David hesitated for a moment not ready to give up but then he had to go back eventually and there was nothing here and so he followed his boss a few feet behind.
Don was about halfway across the dock when a seagull went flying straight at him forcing him to jump sideways, barely avoiding a collision, lost his balance and stumbled two steps and was suddenly falling. Expecting to hit a wooden dock he was shocked by the ice cold water closing over him and choked on a mouthful of water. Momentarily disoriented he opened his eyes blinking fiercely at the salty sting looking around trying to find the surface. Abruptly his gaze locked onto something he hadn't expected that made his heart stop.
Colby.
Don surged downward excitedly fighting against the current to swim to wear his agent was chained to a post surprisingly wearing an oxygen mask. There were three large crabs gathered around him picking at his clothes, hair, and flesh as well as a bright orange starfish with green flecks plastered over his ear. By the time he'd reached Colby his lunges burned for air as he grabbed onto Colby's belt to keep himself from floating away as he fought off the crabs. The largest fought him for a moment before it too retreated. He didn't hesitate as pressing his fingers to the pulse point. There extremely weak and erratic but it was there all the same. He glanced around the post to see Colby's wrists cuffed and chained then whipped around and propelled hard to the surface black spots dancing in his vision by the time he surfaced.
"It's Colby! He's down here! He's alive! We need bolt cutters down here!" and then he dove back underwater. It took a moment or so for the words to sink in for David and then he couldn't breathe with excitement. He threw off his shoes and phone and anything else that would hamper free movement and took the bolt cutters another agent had fetched and plunged into the water after Don.
It was difficult to swim with the bolt cutters but it was easy to find Colby and Don whom was battling to take the oxygen mask back from a giant crab. What Don couldn't see as he battled was the second smaller crab that had a hold of the oxygen line which was shredded to pieces. The moments it took to get to them, get the sea life successfully beaten away from Colby and cut the cuff chains seemed like forever. He was deadweight between them as the struggled towards the boat launch nearby. David's muscles were starting to shake from the strain of carrying Colby and black dots dancing in his vision by the time is feet touched the launch running the last few feet their heads broke the surface. They got Colby clear of the water and sprawled on the dry boat launch water dripping everywhere. He looked terrible. He was pale as a ghost, had a gash above his eye with ragged edges and micro gashes spreading from the main one caused by the feeding crabs. His wrists were raw and bloody, he had a good size bruise where he'd been struck with the gun and a few minor bruises up and down his arms. His eyes were swollen with salty crusts like a seal between his eyelids and in his eyelashes. His lips were a dark dusty blue with black at the corners spreading both out to his cheeks and further into his lips as well as a blobs of black flesh around his nostrils while the rest of his skin had a pale blue tint.
"Don he's not breathing!" They flew into action with a controlled panic with Don throwing himself into compressions while David performed rescue breathing. Colby remained lifeless.
"C'mon Colby don't do this" Don ordered sharply during a pause while David performed another round of rescue breathing.
A minute passed.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon" David chanted catching his own breath while his boss did more compressions, still nothing.
Two minutes. Agents were starting to join them looking on helplessly.
"Don't do this to us Granger we found you!" Don growled desperately feeling a rib give out beneath his compressions.
"Breathe Colby BREATHE!" David bellowed his voice cracking momentarily.
Three minutes and forty nine second.
Colby's whole body jerked abruptly and he coughed violently water spewing everywhere. He made no attempt to roll off his back and began to choke on the water. David spurred into action again rolling him onto his side facing Don sighing in relief as after each harsh cough he got in a quick gasp for a moment or so before he finally settled into slow raspy breathes.
"That's it man, just breathe" Don encouraged rolling him back onto his back to get a better look at his agent now that the risk of choking had passed.
"Man he's cold as ice" David swore under his breathe.
"Here you should rinse that salt out of his eyes" one of the agents that came to assist with the search suggested holding out a water bottle. David took it and peeled his friend's left eye open as gently as possible. Colby groaned softly but remained still as small granules of salt allowed to dry beneath the lids fell away. The instant the fresh water hit his eyes Colby cried his trembling hand shooting up to grab David's wrist weakly trying to push it away.
"Easy Granger we're almost done" David reassured moving to rinse the right eye. Colby moaned head lolling away from the water. As Sinclair finished with the rinse he couldn't believe eyes could get so red fearing permanent damage.
"Aw geez Colby what'd this guy do to you" Megan cursed dropping to her knees at his head.
"Megan, get warm blankets or jackets or anything you can find we have to get him warmed up and call in an ambulance if someone hasn't already done it" Don barked. It had only been five minutes since they got Granger out of the water but it felt like everything was moving too slow to him.
"Colby, Colby can you hear me?" David lightly struck his friend's cheek a few times trying to rouse him. He always believed that conscious was the best course of action until medics arrived and he wanted nothing more than to see Granger conscious.
"C'mon man no more napping it's time to wake up Colby. Colby!" his friend groaned head lolling back and forth again on the brink of consciousness but he couldn't quite seem to actually wake up.
"Ambulance is on the way ETA is ten minutes" Megan explained suddenly reappearing with three thick blankets in hand immediately throwing them over as much of Colby as possible.
"Colby stay awake, c'mon open your eyes man" David encouraged again giving him another shake. He moaned again turning towards Sinclair again eyes jumping around under their lids. David gave him another shake and was blessed at last as his eyes opened to mere slits.
"That's it man, you hear me Colby?" His gaze was unfocused and not really seeing anything in front of him.
"D'v'd?" He blinked sluggishly looking dazed and disoriented already drifting again.
"Hey stay awake man just a little longer" a groan. Don scowled. His breathing didn't sound right. Like it was barely getting through a too small airway making each breathe like a rasping whistle.
"You with us Colby?" Don asked worriedly. He was totally listless.
"Can't….breathe…." His eyes scrunched shut and then peeled open again half-mast.
"Just hang on help's coming, just stay awake" Colby simply nodded slipping into unresponsiveness though he didn't totally fall unconscious. After a few minutes he began to tremble violently and coughs harsh enough to make his whole body jerk from the effort. Everything went downhill from there. His eyes drifted closed and no matter how they prodded him they couldn't get them open or anything beyond a groan in response. He stopped shivering and slipped into shock. His wrists and the gash on his head started bleeding again, heavily. The paramedics finally arrived and managed to push everyone but David away. They shouted statistics and medical lingo at each other loading him onto a stretcher and rushed him off to the hospital.
Megan, Don, and David stood watching the ambulance disappear in a state of stunned silence. Assisting agents stood around them waiting for further instruction and a similar state of awe though less severe not being as close to Colby personally. It took a sharp breeze to before Don and David realized just how cold they were and that they too had begun to shiver.
"Megan you should t-take over the scene. G-get divers…divers in the water and umm…ummm" when did it get so hard to think? His teeth were starting to chatter and now that he thought about it he could see Sinclair shivering and hear his teeth chattering as well.
"David you um, you should go get d-dry cl-clothes and g-go to the h-hospital. I'll um, I'll call Charlie" he pulled out his phone and started to dial when the phone sparked burning his hand causing him to drop it with a hiss.
"Don maybe you should go with him, it's easy to see you're both freezing from being in that water and don't think I see those bruises on your hand and arms" she pointed at the bruises made from fighting off crabs.
"Maybe you're right" he tried to stop his teeth from chattering and failed miserably. David had hunched his shoulders and wrapped his arms around himself to try and quell the shivering and preserve some warmth.
"I can handle things here Don, you two just go get warmed up and let me know when there's word on Colby" Megan made a shooing motion with her hands at them both rewarded with shivering grins. Don dug into his pocket for his car keys the shaking of his hand making them jingle only to have them snatched away.
"Nuh uh, you're not driving. Agent Davidson, get these two to Huntington Hospital to get checked out. That's where they took Colby" she ordered tossing the man Don's car keys.
"Hey! Th-those are m-mine!" he was too cold and getting harder to think.
"Don't argue with me Don, you're not driving while you're border line hypothermic and neither are you David so don't ask. Call me when you know something about Colby" and with that she walked away victoriously with a smirk on her face.
"Do either of you have a bag of dry clothes with you? It's a bit of a drive back to L.A and it may be more pleasant if you're not soaked through" Davidson broached cautiously. Don blinked a few times a haze starting to settle over him as the cold set in and a fierce headache took hold.
"Uh…yeah I think I might have an overnight bag in my car" the two of them trudged after Davidson pausing long enough for Don to dig through a bag he kept in the vehicle in case of nights he stayed at Charlie's place.
"Hey David I've got an extra pair of sweats and a T-shirt if you want. Probably won't be a good fit but it oughta be better than nothing" he held the extra set of clothes out shaking from the cold. David grabbed them and moved to the other side of the car.
Ten minutes later they were in the back of Don's car, dry clothed and wrapped in a bundle of blankets. Davidson made the mistake along the way of chuckling aloud as he looking in the rear view mirror as they both look ridiculous bundled in blankets shivering only their eyes exposed. He got a verbal beating from the now grumpy agents for the next ten minutes. Everyone was grateful to escape the car when they finally arrived at the hospital. Charlie was already there sitting in a chair looking worried and tense.
"Hey are you two ok? What happened? David where's your shoes?" Charlie cocked and eyebrow looking down as Sinclair's feet with soaked socks that squished with each step he took. Don and David both looked down at his feet.
"u-um, n-not s-sure…"he stuttered still having bouts of chattering teeth from the persistent chill.
"Any word on Colby?" Don had a slightly chattering sound to his voice as well that Charlie didn't like.
"Not yet, they just keep telling me they're still examining him." Charlie huffed.
"I'll go talk to them see if I can get any word" Don shuffled off towards the nurse's station with a pinched look on his face while David curled up in an uncomfortable plastic chair and pulled the blanket tight around him.
"Maybe you two should get checked out, you're not looking all that good" Charlie suggested and took off before David could argue.
He slumped in the chair miserably. His head was pounding and his eyes had started burning shortly after they'd left the marina, only getting worse with time, and he couldn't stop thinking about Colby worriedly which made his head pound more. Charlie returned with a nurse who got one look at him and was on the hunt. She tried to pull the blanket away from him to get a better look and Charlie was sure he heard David literally growl at her. They were still fussing when Don walked back to them.
"They won't say how Colby's doing just that they're still working with him and I have to wait" he grumbled.
The nurse caught sight of him with his blanket and the bruises and changed targets. Charlie was amused with the site of the lone nurse chasing David and Don about fussing at them to get checked out and both agents insisting they were fine. It took reinforcements of another nurse but they finally got them each in an exam room. It was only a half hour before they were out again with a precautionary anti-biotic and orders to go home eat hot food and warm up. What scrapes they did get were fixed with a splash of hydrogen peroxide and a band-aid. David got Scooby-Do bandaids while Don got stuck with Disney princesses. His only defense was that it was all they had left.
"Who's here for Colby Granger?" a female doctor called across the room.
"We are" Charlie, Don, and David declared at once.
"How's he doing?" David asked shifting in front of them all.
"Well I've got him stabilized now which is a good sign. He's suffering from severe hypothermia, prolonged borderline hypoxia, a skull fracture, concussion, and by the looks of it he's had a severe allergic reaction to a sedative that resulted in anaphylactic shock but has already been marginally treated. Right now my biggest concern is getting his core temp back up and treating the arrhythmia before he has a heart attack" she listed everything in a mechanical fashion clearly used to doing this every day.
"Wait what do you mean hypoxia, arrhythmia and when did heart attack become a factor?" Don demanded confused and more worried than he was before.
"Hypoxia means that his body was starved of oxygen. I don't know what situation Mr. Granger was in before he was brought in but he was seriously deprived of sufficient oxygen for a long period of time. All I can tell right now is that he was getting enough oxygen to keep him alive, maybe enough to avoid brain damage but I won't know that for sure until he regains consciousness" she hugged the clipboard that held Granger's chart to her chest and stared at them firmly.
"B-brain damage?" Charlie's eyes went wide.
"What about this arrhythmia and heart attack? And what's anaphylactic shock?" Don interrupted his brother.
"Anaphylactic shock is simply the body slipping into shock in reaction to a toxin or severe allergic reaction and one of the risks associated with anaphylactic shock is heart attack. Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat which is what he's experiencing now." she explained. Don felt she could use a little practice with her bed-side manner.
"Is he going to be ok though?" Charlie was shifting from foot to foot all sorts of calculations whizzing through his head.
"We're doing everything we can and like I said, he's stable for the moment. I've got him on a series of medications to combat the allergic reaction and prevent heart attack. Whoever treated him did just enough to keep him alive but clearly didn't have the expertise to truly handle the problem. Also I have an ophthalmologist on the way to treat his eyes for the damage from all the salt I won't know anything about that until she examines him" she glanced down at the chart again as if to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
"I want to see him where is he?" David demanded overwhelmed with the need to see his friend. He felt like he was losing him again just after finally finding him. The thought of possibly losing Colby now made his stomach twist in knots.
"He's still unconscious but you can find him in room 405 its one floor up but you can't all be in there, his condition is still considered critical. One of you can stay with him" her tone was sharp and her gaze firm.
"David you stay with Colby, I'm going to go find out whom has my car" Don wandered off toward the parking garage patting his pockets grumbling about being unable to find his cell phone.
It only took a few minutes to find the room. A nurse exited the room as they entered. It was quiet. Colby was pale as a ghost, thankfully having lost that blue color from his skin and the black splotches were decidedly less pronounced. His head was wrapped in thick gauze padding that had blood stains and his whole body was bundled in thick heated blankets up to his chin. His head was tilted to the left with an oxygen mask fogging up with each heavy breath which was deeper and steadier than before. His eyes were puffy, red and had dark circles around them almost like bruises.
David grabbed the first chair he saw and dragged it over next to the bed. The legs screeched pain which made Colby jolt and then groan eyes darting under their lids for a minute.
"Sorry Colb, just relax, easy, just rest" David cringed and put a hand on where he guessed Granger's shoulder was until he'd calmed again.
"Is he awake?" Charlie queried as he lifted the second chair and put it next to David's before sitting down.
"I don't think he actually is but he's closer to it than they realize maybe?" David shrugged not really sure of anything beyond the sickly battered appearance his friend had taken.
They sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence broken only by Colby's harsh breathing and the occasional moan as he shifted position. Doctors appeared often pushing drugs through into him constantly saying it was for infection or to reduce the symptoms of the allergic reaction. There was always something. The ophthalmologist arrived and gave a cursory examination and prescribed a special eye drop to help with the scratching on the eyes until a thorough check could be done which would require Colby conscious and responsive. They were down to the waiting game again. David hated it just as much but handled it easier now. He never realized when Charlie left, when Don came in or anyone else for that matter. He did notice the guard at the door, Peterson he though the name was, but otherwise he was pretty oblivious drifting in and out of sleep. It was two days before Colby started to come around.
He was groggy and disoriented at his best and staring listlessly at his worst. He would blink or scrunch his eyes shut tight then stare at them again like he wasn't seeing then rub at his ear and mumble something almost coherent before falling asleep again. It took him a few more days before he began to stay awake for more than a few minutes and make sense. David bounded up the stairs carrying a burger for himself and a light chicken soup for Colby now that the doctors were letting him try real food again. He couldn't help but scowl at the lack of a guard at the door but wasn't surprised. The Director had made them pull the guard two days ago, three after having found Colby, claiming without further threat made against him it was a waste of resources. He slipped in quietly not surprised to find his partner asleep, it was the norm still. His attention immediately went to a new pot of flowers with a card stabbed into the soil. It had to have arrived this morning while he was catching up on paperwork.
"Until we play again…Get well Soon" He whispered the note out loud a cold pit filling his stomach. He set down the food in a chair and backed out of the room calling Don. He was able to obtain gloves from the hospital staff and ferried the flowers out of the room guarding them so that no one touched them and Colby was none the wiser sleeping through the whole incident. Sinclair had just gotten the situation handed over to Don intending to eat with Colby again, discreetly playing guard, when the doctor arrived.
"Alrighty I've got his release papers here we just need to get all this signed and he can head home today as soon as he's done eating and packed up" David gaped.
"What? Send him home? Already?"
"Well of course, his heart is strong and steady, has been for a while now, all signs of the allergic reaction to the sedative have faded. His temperature is normal, no signs of infection, the concussion has a few more days but isn't showing signs of complication. All he needs is bed rest and solid food. I would just have someone check on him for a week or so but otherwise there's no reason why he can't finish his recovery at home. Just have him sign all these when he can"
"Oh, ok" David took the papers and joined Colby, now awake, still startled. Granger still looked ashen and could only stay awake about a half hour at a time but he was eating hearty. David supposed the doctors knew what they were talking about but he sure didn't look all that healthier than when he'd arrived.
"Ah the delivery boy is…" he yawned, "here" Colby grinned groggily and rubbed at his left ear.
"Haha funny, think you can handle alfredo today? Figured you were tired of chicken soup" Colby grinned ear to ear.
"Food? You brought me real food?!" David chuckled and dished out their lunches.
"So the doctor said you can go home today. I've got the papers here to sign after you eat"
"Fantastic, can't wait to sleep in my own bed!" Colby paused to scrub at his ear again and worked his jaw around like he were trying to make the pressure pop during a long flight.
"Something wrong or are you imagining chewing gum?"
"Just an earache" Colby answered around a mouth full of pasta. "Megan came by earlier, got all mushy, you know how she does, then she got all FBI and asked all sorts of questions but I couldn't remember anything. I was riding the elevator to go home and next thing I know I'm waking up here a few days ago" he shoveled pasta in rapture.
"Really, not a thing? I wonder if that's worse or better than remembering whatever happened?"
"I don't know and I'm taking her word for it not to force it. I'm just going to sleep!" They spent the rest of the lunch talking about everything and nothing. The paperwork was quick to sign and Colby didn't have anything to pack so they got straight to the drive. It was long and slow. Colby snored the whole way while David brewed over the note with those flowers. David searched the house to make sure it was ok while Colby, half asleep, rooted around the bedroom getting settled into home again.
Grudgingly he left the phone next to Colby and promised to call in a few hours. He was only slightly appeased at leaving having checked all windows and doors were secure. The Director was pitching a fit about having an able bodied agent unavailable so they could babysit and Don had clearly played out all his cards already. He couldn't fight this battle. Several days went by like this and Colby regained a good deal of stamina by sleeping in front of movie marathons and pigging out on the food the team brought him, including a few home-made dished from Alan. The only hitch had been the way his ear ache never subsided and the constant odd tilt of his head to the left he'd gained adding to always rubbing at the ear. Day four everything went south. Colby rolled his eyes as the phone rang.
"Yes David I'm fine" he quipped before greetings could be exchanged.
"Doctor's orders you know that. Snack foods still stocked up?"
"Bout halfway through the supply but you gotta buy more of that Chex Mix, good stuff" Colby gave one of many yawns.
"How's that earache?" Colby huffed.
"Still hurts and gave me a headache too. Took some ibuprofen feels like swelling has gone down in the ear so it's probably just an infection or swimmers ear"
"You need to get it checked out by a doc Colby"
"Yes mother, if it doesn't clear up in a day or so I'll get an appointment"
"See if I buy you anymore Chex Mix!" David muttered.
"Hey that's mean! Oh by the way thank Megan for the plate of cookies she left" David stiffened.
"What?"
"Ya know, the plate of cookies she brought by. I must have been asleep cause she left it on the doorstep with the note, see you soon"
"When was this?"
"About an hour ago maybe. I vaguely remember the doorbell ringing but went back to sleep. Oh my movie is on bye!" Colby hung up without further ado and grabbed the cookies and began to devour them.
David sucked in a breath of panic. Megan had been in court since eight in the morning and hadn't returned yet. He barreled through the office to his car calling Don on the way, mind flashing back to the last note, until we play again. His heart pounded through the entire drive till he screeched up to Colby's house. The door was shut but unlocked. He pulled his gun and pushed inside.
"Stop right there!" he snarled at the man holding a slouched and wavering Colby by the arm.
"What're you doing here!" The look of surprise on his face was satisfying.
"Catching you now let him go!" David looked at Colby whose eyes were glazed depending heavily on his would-be abductor, legs shaking, but what really caught his attention was the blood and yellow fluid draining thickly from his left ear.
"The hell you are! You CAN'T stop me! You're incompetents, all of you! You never would have found him that day if it hadn't been for that stupid bird! He was rescued by accident!" he bellowed making Colby startle. David barely saw it in time as the man shoved Colby at him. David dodged reminding himself to apologize later hearing the thud and charged at the criminal. They hit the ground in a tangle of punches and kicks finding it to be an equal match. David had a bit more weight to him but this guy had the skills to compensate. David twisted around nearly gaining the upper hand when the man wrenched and slammed an elbow to a pressure point freezing up David's entire back the muscles suddenly leaping on top of him gun pressed to his forehead.
"You're dead" he hissed. The sound of two guns cocking punctuated the tension for David.
"Get off my agent" Don growled standing behind the man straddling David. David squirmed for a moment head lolling to see back behind him an upside down Megan standing between them and Colby. His attention snapped back as the gun dug into his forehead making him grimace. "Don't try it, it's two against one and Reeves can shoot faster than you" The man thought about it a moment more than jabbed David with the gun and let it drop to the side. No one breathed easy until the backup had arrived and the man was secured in the back of a car.
"You ok David?" Don offered him a hand up which he refused choosing to stay sprawled on the floor grimacing.
"Sure, just a wicked hit to a pressure point, damn my back feels like fire" he tried to prop up on his elbows and slid down again instantly.
"The paramedics will take a look at you when they're done with Colby" David was going to argue but stopped as pain spiked through his back. Things moved in a blurred frenzy after that. Colby was loaded up and rushed off his condition stable but odd with the strange condition of his ear. David lay like a slug until his back calmed to a dull throb and he was able to shuffle stiffly to the car. The doctors gave him some pain relievers and declared him fine leaving them all to wait on Colby. It was an hour before the physician arrived.
"Mr. Granger is stable and doing well though I must say it was a very odd case. He's been mildly sedated and we're keeping him overnight as a precaution" He ran a hand through his hair back popping making David cringe.
"Why was his case odd?" Megan inquired stirring over-sugared coffee with a stick.
"Well it had to do with the condition of his ear. There was an infection but I must say it's the first of its kind I've ever seen. You see the issue was he had the stomach sack of a starfish wedged in the inner ear. My guess is the ibuprofen he took for the headache reduced the swelling allowing the sack to move outward and all the puss and blood that had built up to drain. We were able to reduce the swelling further and pull out the sack then clean out anything that was left. He's on an antibiotic just in case and should get the ear checked up on again in a week or so but otherwise he's fine"
"A…A starfish stomach?" Don stammered.
"Yup, I'm not asking how it got there and don't tell me I don't want to know what he was doing to manage that. He's in room 405 if you want to see him but he's still groggy" he dismissed himself without another word. They found him glassy eyed with a grin and half asleep.
"Hey guys, did ya hear I had a starfish in my ear!" he gave a faint giggle head drooping for a moment then jerked awake again.
"I can't believe you sound proud of that!" Megan scowled. Colby failed miserably to hold back the yawn his eyes wavering ever closer to closed.
"Hey Granger just get some sleep, we got the guy now so rest easy" Don ordered even as Colby yawned again.
"Tha's good, I mean wha'kind of monster poisons the cookies" He muttered and fell deep asleep.