Part II: Colby
i.
When military intelligence cut his tour short and pulled him from Afghanistan, Colby Granger didn't know whether it was a good thing or not. Undercover was risky at the best of times but the ten year old inside him thought that working for the Bureau was the most exciting thing ever.
He never anticipated that the people he was reporting on would become his family and sitting at his desk with his fingers against the glass of his Army unit photo, he realises that he's forgotten more about those men than he remembers.
The memories have been replaced by his team, replaced by silly (some not so silly) things about the patchwork family he's found in LA. He knows exactly how many times David will relock his car door every time they get an old car without central locking (three) and he knows that the other man will deny snoring until he's blue in the face. He has several recordings on his cell as proof to the contrary.
He knows that any food in the vicinity is in serious danger the second Charlie begins one of his explanations and he knows that Amita still feels like a child in a candy store every time she works with them despite the danger and the fear. He knows that on a clear night, they won't get anything useful out of Larry because he'll be entranced by the stars.
In the mornings (and afternoons and nights) he knows that Liz takes her coffee weak and milky with two sugars but he always puts four and gets narrowed eyes and a quirked, half smile in return. He knows that Nikki is addicted to energy drinks and worries that she'll never fill the shoes she was brought in for but he also knows that she's the one who swapped them out for another pair two sizes too big.
It might have been two years ago but he would still bet his life that Megan couldn't make meringues for love nor money and that she would be on a first name basis with the closest deli that sold them. He knows that Ian knows about his starry-eyed awe the first time they worked together and he knows that the other man keeps coming back to their team because it's the closest thing he has to a family as well.
He knows that he knows lots of little things about Don but as his fingers move from the glass of the first picture to that of the second, falling onto faces he knows better than his own, the only thing he can think of is that, just like Don would if the tables were turned, (they were once) he won't stop until their family is whole again.
ii.
He thinks that if there were room in his body for more feelings, he would have been a little star-struck when he and Liz pick Billy Cooper up from LAX. There isn't room, as it turns out, but his first glimpse of the legendary Fugitive Recovery agent hits him almost as hard as the first time he saw Ian.
It doesn't matter that they've never met and he knows it is the same for Liz because of the way she stiffens beside him for just a moment. It doesn't matter that they'd hardly spent five minutes on the phone or that the only things Colby knows about Billy are what David's said and that he hasn't really aged at all if the picture on Don's desk is anything to go by. It doesn't matter that the only things Billy knows about Colby are what Don's told him and that he's ex-military.
The common link (Don needs us to work together) is strong enough that none of that matters because pride doesn't matter when the stakes are this high.
iii.
He's never before been as furious as he is when he interrogates Tyson Burke.
He finally understands what people mean when they say that their blood boils with rage because he thinks that if someone tried to take his temperature, the thermometer would explode before it even got an accurate reading.
The man looks petrified and Colby thinks that his entire body must be quivering with the effort it takes to keep his hands by his sides rather than around Burke's throat.
Low and even, his voice doesn't betray him until the cuffs rattle against the table and the man insists that he doesn't know a thing. It takes barely a second for his voice to raise in volume and lower in register as one of his fists slams into the table, close enough that it incites a violent recoil.
The chair legs scrape shrilly across the ground as Burke pushes himself away from the table. Sweat beads at his temples and Colby flashes his teeth in a feral growl that is more animal than human.
Eventually, Burke spills and Colby's satisfaction is more animal than human too.
iv.
He and Liz huddle together in the garage of the Craftsman for six hours after their closest call. His entire torso aches and her breathing is still raspy underneath the quickly bruising flesh.
The inventor of Kevlar will forever be a god to those in law enforcement.
Alan watches them like a hawk as Charlie scratches desperately at his boards and chalk dust floats slowly like dust motes in the air. Billy raises his coffee slightly and murmurs that they should get some rest before turning his attention to his cell.
When she falls asleep, her head is pillowed on his tellingly damp shoulder and he can smell the smoke and gunpowder on her hair. Nikki and David pour themselves into the other sofa and four more dark eyes rest on his face.
He rests his cheek atop the head against his shoulder and offers them a tired half nod before his eyes drift closed.
v.
There is nothing human about whatever it is that floods through his body, mind, soul, when his keys land in his hand. There is nothing human about the flash of teeth or pounding of feet as he and Billy begin the hunt.
There is nothing human left by this point - it has been bled from them in sweat, tears, blood and failure.
Now, there is only the beat of the drums of war.
There is only the howl of the bloodhounds.
I think I've turned myself into a monster and considering I've just started an eighteen week intensive certification, this might be a really bad thing. I guess this means I need to sit still long enough to read the instructions for the coffee machine and hopefully not destroy it in the attempt. Wow though, that one got completely out of control. It must be Colby that does that to me. I may double post tomorrow because there is no way David's is going to be that long. I had to start an outtake file of sorts at work today because there is evidently lot more to this than I anticipated. I thought that a lot of the little moments could go by unmentioned but apparently not.
