Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own anything :( Except for Rae ;)
AN: This is a little AU, just that David wasn't offered the job. I love writing Colby and David's relationship too much, but I wanted Charlie and Amita to be married.
Summary: After a body is found at a park, the FBI have been asked to help catch the Broadway Killer, a serial killer who dresses up local actors and kills them similar to famous broadway shows. After forgiving him for "the Janus list", Colby may lose some of his friends newly gained trust, after learning of complications with the woman he loves, who is also a suspect in the case. To make matters worse, Colby never introduced his girlfriend to the team, being with her behind their back. Colby/OC.
Liz Warner stretched in her seat, glancing over to her partner Nikki Betancourt. They had been at the computers for hours, trying desperately to find anything that could help.
"Well… I got nothing. It's just one line. We need help." Nikki said, handing Liz a cup of coffee, as she leaned on the desk.
Liz shook her head in agreement. "I'll talk with Don."
"'Bout what?"
"Speak of the Devil and He shall come…" Liz muttered as she spun around.
"Hey, don't complement the devil for being this badass." Don joked as he stood in front of the girls.
"Well, what's all that badass going to do with no lead on the lyrics? It's not enough of the song and too generic." Nikki inquired, taking a sip of her much loved coffee.
"Well… The roommate of the latest victim has a solid alibi, according to Colby. She is big in the theatre area, we could ask her for help." Don suggested, motioning to Colby.
"Why not? She could see things differently, like Charlie." Liz agreed.
"Colby! I need you to get the Roommate, Rae something. She knows you… We'll see what she has to offer." Don shouted, noticing the lack of pictures on his desk. "What happened with the hooker-I mean date?" Don tried to stop the nickname, but he heard it so many times that, occasionally, he couldn't stop even himself.
Colby grabbed his badge, gun and cell. "Umm nothing, I kind of mentioned the nickname here so she's getting me a, uhh, better work photo."
Liz and Nikki could barely contain their laughter, grabbing each other for support as Don placed a pitying hand on Colby's shoulder.
"Help me." He whispered to Don as he headed to the elevator.
-FLASHBACK-
"Ooo, Granger! How much did you have to pay the hooker to get this picture?" Nikki teased, stealing the frame as she passed.
"Give it! She's not a hooker.' Colby chased her to Liz's desk, who Nikki quickly passed it to.
"Humm…If she's not a hooker and she doesn't look like a Granger then that means… DAVID! Your boy-toy got himself a new pretty little girlfriend." Liz shouted as she studied the picture. The girl had a simple girl-next-door look, with long, blond striped hair, big blue eyes, and full lips. She was on the floor in a split, looking up at the camera. She wasn't super skinny (she defiantly had some curves), but did have toned muscles. Dressed in only cheer shorts and a tanktop, Liz could see how Nikki teased Colby about the girl being a hooker, but Liz saw the brains behind that pretty little face. Colby snatched the picture back.
"Nice job, Colby." Liz said, seriously.
"Thanks Liz… The problem is… She's like a drug, She makes the bad things go away and I always want to see her."
"Sweetie… That's love."
-END-FLASHBACK-
"…Epics are usually very long, but can anyone tell me how Percy Jackson could be considered an Epic?" Rae stood in front of the class, dressed up in an Ancient Greek outfit. A small girl in the front raised her hand.
"It would be an Epic because…. It's a story about a journey with many stops at different places?" She said, questioningly.
"Very good Marcy! What else? Think about the vocabulary words and maybe the characters… Yes, Tristen." Rae smiled at how smart her kids were.
"Annabeth has hummus." A boy in the back answered.
"Umm… I think you mean Hubris, but close enough. Percy thinks she said hummus in the book-Yes Marcy?"
"There's a man at the door." She pointed at Colby, who smiled and waved Rae over to him.
She opened the classroom door and stepped out, worry on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin' wrong." He reassured her. "My boss needs your help."
Her eyes widened in fear. "Okay. But I have to finish up here."
He nodded. "I'll wait. But maybe they would like to meet a real life FBI agent." His lips slid into a light pout.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine… Everyone this is FBI Special Agent Colby Granger. I'm sure we all can get some good questions to ask him, but first who would like to tell Agent Granger what we are reading now?" She announced as they stepped back into the room, with Colby, waving at the kids, behind her.
A blonde, pigtailed girl in the front raised her hand. "Are you...involved with Ms. Smith?"
Colby just stared at the small girl. "Um, no. Who are you?"
"Joanne Kentrich." The girl replied in a brisk tone.
"Well, Joanne, you have a very good vocabulary. Are you thinking of what you want to be when you grow up?" Colby asked, falling to one knee in front of the desk.
She nodded. "My parents always told me, 'It's never too early to think about the future'."
Colby considered the quote. "May I suggest becoming a lawyer? I have a friend who you remind me of who is a lawyer."
She scrunched her face in concentration, thinking about what he said, eventually agreeing that she would like to be a lawyer.
A boy in the back, dressed in a simple teeshirt, raised his hand next, "Agent Granger, were you ever a cop? What do you think we should do if we want to be FBI agents or spies or ninjas? Do you really need school?"
Colby stood up, poker face instantly appearing by reflex. "No, I was never a cop. There's not much of a need in Idaho. I don't suggest being a spy. It's very hard and you have to lie about everything to everyone. You definitely need school, we have a mathematician help us all the time. But if you want to be anything, even a ninja, work hard in school, work hard at everything. Stay out of trouble. Pick elective that you want to do, even if you think it's useless for what you want to be. I took Food Prep in high school and it was actually useful at FBI Academy." Colby hoped that was the right thing to say to a bunch of middle schoolers. He blanched at the number of hands that were raised. If only Don or David was with me...
The conference room at FBI headquarters was usually full of whiteboards, covered in Charlie or Otto's equations. But today the whiteboards were blank, waiting for someone else to write on them. Don, Otto and Charlie were in the middle of the room slowly spinning around as Amita watched on from her seat behind the computer. Colby burst into the room with a tiny woman, dressed in a simple outfit of a blue button down shirt and jeans, in tow. "Sorry Don, She works as an English teacher."
"Nah, it's fine Colby. Hi, I'm Don Eppes, Ms…." Don shrugged it off, offering a hand.
"Smith, but, please, call me Rae." Rae smiled as she accepted his hand, and introduced herself to Otto, Charlie and Amita. "So, what did you need me for?" She asked, sitting down.
"The serial killer that murdered Nicolette leaves behind clues in a line of lyrics. No one here has a good enough Broadway knowledge to figure it out… The line is 'I'm gunna live forever.' Do you have any idea at all?" Don asked, writing the lyric on a whiteboard.
Rae slowly got up and walked to the computer, quickly typing, and started writing on the whiteboard as music played.
Remember my name
Fame!
I'm gonna live forever
I'm gonna learn how to fly high
I feel it coming together
People will see me and cry
Fame!
She stepped back to quickly admire her work, only to write the scariest words the team had ever seen.
VICTIM WILL OVERDOSE. CRIMESCENE POSSIBLY BE AT AN ACTING SCHOOL, OR IN AN ALLY NEAR A THEATRE OR CONCERT HALL.
They were in shock.
"Explain." Was all Charlie could manage to say.
"Well, the lyric is from 'Fame on 42nd Street'. It's about an Arts school in New York City. Anyway the main character, Carmen, sings this and she dies from an overdose. Can you write the other lyrics and how the according victims died? Just to see how it works." Rae explained, turning to Don for the answer to her question.
Don nodded, already grabbing the files, handing one to Colby to write on the other board. Out of the three previous murders, only the first one have two sets of lyrics. Don pointed to that one.
"Are these from the same musical?" Don asked, not too abashed for asking for help.
Rae shook her head. "It looks like that one" She circled the first quote, "is from RENT, which correlates with that victim. Angel, the drag queen, dies from AIDS." Tears started welling up. "Sorry, I had a friend who played Angel right before he died. Umm, this other one looks like it's from Urinetown-"
"Urinetown?" Otto cut in "What kind of a name is that? I mean, that show sounds kind of bad, no offence but then again, the title is only a hook and I would see that show to see what the hell it was about, like the subject matter is really all that is important, that's how I chose some of my courses, the weird titles that intrigued me, but of course, I couldn't do that after I choose my major but it would be fun to minor in something for grad school... "
Rae turned around, smiling at the young physicist, taking advantage of his need to breathe. "That's the question they want you to think. It's a very 'knock down the 4th wall' kind of show. I wouldn't suggest watching it, cops are on the bad side." A sarcastic smile played on her lips. "Um… the guy in this died from an horrific fall, but before he dies, he sings mushy-gushy stuff."
Don looked at her in amazement. "You got all that from 'Run, Freedom, Run'… I'm impressed."
Amita rolled her eyes. "I love theatre and I never thought of those. I'm going to get some coffee, it's much needed to compensate for jet lag. Nice meeting you, Rae."
"Oh, you too!" Rae called over her shoulder, already scribbling the next lyric. "I heard you went to England? I grew up there, maybe we could get some coffee and talk?"
Amita laughed. "Yes, of course! Oh, Charlie, pay close attention. She looks like you when you work. You two both like a good puzzle."
Charlie blanched. "I look like this?"
Laughter ricocheted off the walls.
"Umm, Agent Eppes." Don turned to the smiling woman who was making a quick ponytail out of her red hair.
"Call me Don."
"Okay, Don. This one is unusual. It's definitely the same killer but there is no lyric." Rae explained, glaring pointedly at what Colby had written.
The boys crowded around her. "Hey if it's my handwriting, I'm sorry, I just have really crappy handwriting." Colby raised his hands, surrendering himself to Rae's possible wrath.
"Nah, It's not that. But speaking about handwriting, sorry it's the teacher in me, but do you think that's just bad handwriting?"
Colby looked at her strangely. "Yea, everyone mix stuff up writing all the time."
Rae cocked her head, thinking. "Yea... Anyway this is bothering me. It just says 'Tony', repeated over and over."
"I don't know. Maybe you should sleep on it." Don suggested, guiding her to the door. "Colby can drive you home."
She nodded absentmindedly, mind working in double time, trying to understand the problem before her.
"Right this way."
Liz stuck her head into the room. "Hey Colby! The losers who claim to be our partners are ditching us to go pair up on some paperwork thingymabliger, wanna come and hunt down some suspects?"
Colby rolled his eyes. He knew that David had a crush on Nikki and was more then jealous of Ian, even if David didn't know it or admit it.
"Sure, I just need to drop off Rae home first."
Liz could have sworn that she had seen Rae Smith before, but where...
"...know where to contact any of us. If you feel like something bad is going to happen, just call, no matter how small the feeling is." Colby said, waving as Rae got into her flat. The two agents were standing outside the car getting ready to walk into the theatre.
"What should we be looking for?" He asked Liz, not knowing the profile. She barely figured out a profile, and she was nowhere near what Megan was.
"He's probably really involved. A fan that gets overlooked. Each of the victims have stared as the roles they were dressed up in. I really don't know. Try anything." Liz was getting exasperated. They had no clue on what do to look for a suspect.
"Don Eppes method?"
"AKA winging the shit out of it... yea, pretty much."
Together, they walked into the theatre. Splitting up to cover ground, they passed around pictures of victims and past possible suspect. It took three and a half hours to get through half of the local theatres on their lists. At the office they met up with the rest of the team, including Charlie, who was busy studying Rae's work, starting to see what she saw, and flipping through files she was denied from seeing.
Liz was the first to dare speak. "We don't really have anything. Four possible suspects, with one already a victim so we can count him out."
Colby clicked the monitor and a face popped up. "Greg Jonvic, 47. A ravid fan with a local theatre blog. Asked many of the actresses out, most said no. Came to LA to start a career in Acting but failed. Joanna Lisbon, 34. Local actress, mostly at the same theatre as the most recent victim. Works at a local boutique. Known to through temper-tantrums even though she was a minor role. Disappeared a few weeks ago, not that she was missed much. Joseph Bianco, 48. Janitor for many of the theatres, or works as something else, lighting, set building etc. A creep, most of the girls see him hanging around the girls dressing room. Personally, I think that this is our guy. He probably stalks his victims and the guys got in the way of the girls he wanted." Colby voiced his theory. Nikki shook her head. "Nahh. I think he wanted the guys. He's seen some lame-ass show being put on and he wanted people to remember the greatest ones. And the most recent victim is a girl, the rest are guys, they were handpick. Also, I think he tried to get fame and fortune but didn't get it and now he is getting what he wanted." She folded her arms across her chest and put on her best 'I-am-from-the-bad-streets-of-LA-do-not-mess-with-me" look. Colby was so used to dealing with her, he just matched her glare and waited.
Don rolled his eyes. Poor Parents... I never want more then 2 kids... This team was a family. Don was the dad, David was the responsible older brother, Liz was the rebellious teenage sister, Nikki and Colby were defiantly twins, or the two kids that would always fight with one another, and Charlie was the baby brother who was a total genius, which is technically what he was. After a straight minute, Don finally was ready for them to stop. "5 bucks." was all he had to say. Colby and Nikki immediately grabbed their wallets and handed it to Don. Don glanced at David and they shared an eye roll. So predictable. If only they knew how predictable they really were.
Liz snatched the clicker from Colby, sitting on top of him, as she brought up Joe Bianco's records.
"Oof! Really? Was that necessary?" Colby muttered as he tried to shift into a more conferable position for both of them.
"Yes. It was necessary for my enjoyment. Anyway, Joe Bianco has charges of petty thief, possession, one restraining order. He seems like a an accomplice, but he's our best bet." Liz said, enjoying Colby squirm. She had no feelings for him other then siblingly for the young man. He was handsome, yes, the rugged look defiantly worked for him, but she always saw him as a younger brother. Don's phone started buzzing, and he answered as the team looked on.
"Yea... Kay we'll be there in like... 10." Don looked down at his watch, he would have to call Robin and ask her to have dinner with him at the office. "Um, is there any writing? There is? I'll see you soon. Thanks Ian." He turned to Nikki as he closed the phone. "Ian was hunting a fugitive when he stumbled across the body. He's been listening to the news, so he called us. It's in an alley on Elton. Colby or David, I need you to pick up Ms. Sm- Rae. I would rather she stay in the car and we give her the lyric there, unless she is busy and can wait till tomorrow." Colby and David immediately faced each other to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Nether liked having to pick up consultants (or what ever she was) and having to be responsible for them, it was just an extra, unnecessary hassle. David won, Colby swore and they were on their way.
Charlie shouted to them right before they all parted ways to separate cars. "The killer is probably stalking his victims first! See if any local actors have been noticing anything suspicious recently to try to catch this guy!"
Don and Ian just stood there and stared at the body, same look of utter shock and confusion plastered on their faces.
"Damn, She's almost as good as I am." Ian muttered, folding his Aviators onto his black shirt while running a hand through dark hair.
"Yea Yea, Yoda Jr."
The woman was dressed in 80's garb, no physical indication that she was a junkie other then the fact she died from an overdose, like Rae had predicted. Her short, multicolored hair was short, bright makeup and jewelry decorated her pretty face. Don crouched next to the body, CSI snapping pictures around him. The coroner next to him carefully looked in her mouth, only to find no note as Ian called Don's name. He was looking at the wall behind the victim, the lyric carefully written as well as a note from the killer himself.
WELL DONE EPPES, BOTH OF YOU.
MUST HAVE BEEN HARD ON YOUR EGO, BUT YOU'LL SURVIVE... MAYBE.
HERE IS YOUR RIDDLE, MAYBE YOUR LITTLE HELPER CAN WORK IT FASTER THIS TIME WITH A LITTER BIRDIE ON THE 3RD FLOOR, YOU DEFINITELY DON'T WANT THIS TO BE A CASUALTY:
AND YOU WILL KEEP ME SAFE,
AND YOU WILL KEEP ME CLOSE.
Don quickly wrote the parts onto sheets of paper, one to give to Rae who was hopefully in the car with Colby, and the other to give to his team. He quickly told Liz to go check the 3rd floor as he searched for Colby.
Colby was smart enough to park near, but far away enough that Rae could not see the crime scene. They were in light discussion of something, Rae sitting on the hood of the SUV and Colby leaning on the driver-side door. She hopped down when she saw Don coming, a serious look appearing on her face. She knew what she had to figure out, and hopefully more now if she wants to save lives. Bringing the paper closer to her, she was handed a red marker by Charlie, who followed Don, interested in her process. Silence was over the group for a long time, as Rae studied the paper, wrote something down, checked her phone, scratched something off, looked around nervously, and started the process over again.
The third time she looked around, Don put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you OK?" He asked.
She looked him in the eyes, hers full of fear. "I think someone has been stalking me, and with what this suggests..." She gestured to the quote.
Don slipped his arm around her shoulders as he maneuvered her so she was surrounded from all sides by himself, Colby and Charlie. "What does the lyric mean?" He asked, probably a little more forcefully then he would have liked, as he gestured to Nikki and Ian. As they joined the little group, Rae's hands shook as she pressed the paper against the car.
"These lyrics are two messages in one. You mentioned the extra note, so this has a little extra meaning to it. It's...it's from Les Miserables. Eponine's line. Les Mis is rarely done here. There have been too many good productions, it's a very high bar to match. The most recent show was last year at... at my theatre. Lillianna Theatre. I was Eponine. There was a high school that did it, but I think it was targeted to me. He's taunting you. 'And you will keep me safe, and you will keep me close.' He's telling you that he will get me. I don't know where I saw it, but there is this face I keep seeing that I can't place." Don nodded when he saw how fearful she was. Turning to the rest of them, he thought of his options. He hated being leader sometimes. "Colby, you are the closest with her, Nikki find Liz and chose someone to go with them, there needs to be a female present, and Ian..." He looked at his friend. "If you have a second, can you look over the safe house? The eyes of the world's fourth best shot would be good, even if it is a second."
Ian scoffed. "Didn't you hear, Eppes? I got up to third. Even with that offence, I'll look over, even stay if you want. My partner" He said in disgust. Ian didn't like the whole 'partner' idea. "will be fine."
Don laughed. "Nah, you have a job to do. Plus, would you really chance at your partner getting all the glory?"
Ian smiled as Liz ran out of the building with a bundle in her arms. "Don, we have a problem..." She yelled softly as the bundle shifted and a little head peeked out of the top. Colby opened the car door for her and Liz placed the bundle of blanket, clothes, teddy bear, and child of about 5 or 6 on the seat.
"This is Sophie. Sophie, this is Don, Colby, Charlie, Ian, Nikki and Rae. Can you tell them what you told me?" Liz asked gently. The girl was perfectly fine, the way her mother, the victim, left her. Peacefully reading a book while her mother was forced to overdose. The child, Sophie, shrieked in delight as she saw Rae. "Ms. Smith!"
Rae smiled brightly for the child, and Don finally saw how she was such a good actress, as all the fear disappeared.
"Hi Sophie. Can you tell me what happened? It's okay." She turned to Don. "Sophie is in one of my classes, loves to read."
The girl licked her chapped lips. Rae knew Sophie often forgot to eat or drink when she was deeply involved in a book and was sourly disappointed when Independent Reading was done, though she was allowed to read with Rae during recess. Liz grabbed a water bottle and a power bar from the back and gave it to the child, who greedily drank and ate. After she swallowed she started her story. "A man came to see Mommy and she went outside with him after telling me to read my book. It was a long time ago because it was right after lunch and I don't notice anything when I'm reading my books, then Miss Lizzie found me and took me to you, Ms. Smith." Sophie had the same eyes and face shape as the victim as well as dark curly hair, probably the same color as the victim's natural hair.
Don sighed as he had another person to take care of. "Nikki, grab some clothes and books with Sophie and bring her to the office and find next-of-kin. Liz, go with Colby, Rae and Ian to the safe house. They'll fill you in. Charlie-" He turned to find the mathematician and child in a deep discussion. Charlie was trying to show Sophie a math-magic trick that Sophie was too smart to be awed by the simple math involved. She was definitely be practice for Charlie because his and Amita's children would be as smart if not smarter. Don tried not to laugh. "Sophie, would you like Charlie to show you the real math that he does at the office?" She nodded excitedly, and jumped out of the car to met Nikki who had clothes and books. "Charlie, you do know that that would be the dumbest of you and Amita's kids right?" He really did laugh out load as Charlie paled.
"I'm calling Amita and Dad." Charlie whispered as he took out his cell.
"Good idea." Don said, as he waved goodbye to everyone and made his way back to the crime scene.
