FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton was having a pretty good day. He had just finished training a promising group of young agents at Quantico and he had high hopes that some of them would become good agents and snipers. He was in Los Angeles, and decided to stop by the field office to visit his old friends there. It had been awhile since his last visit, and he couldn't help but wonder what Don Eppes and his team had gotten into while he was away.

Breezing through the elevator doors, he headed for the bullpen, his eyes flickering around to see if he could spot some familiar faces. He spied David and Colby in the war room and immediately detoured in their direction. He walked in, quiet as usual, and both were so focused on their work that they didn't even notice him. He grinned in spite of himself, clearing his throat to make himself known. The moment the two agents looked at him, he spoke.

"Hey David, Colby. Where's that hot-headed boss of yours?" The way they looked at him immediately clued him in to the fact that something was terribly wrong. It was Colby that spoke, bringing the sniper's gaze to him.

"At the hospital. We're working a murder case that went real bad…suspect is a real bastard." At Colby's words, Ian focused in immediately, his eyes narrowing as he leaned on a table.

"How bad is he hurt?" David spoke next, shaking his head and baring his teeth in helpless anger as he did so.

"Not Don. Charlie. The son of a bitch tracked him to CalSci and shot him point blank in the chest. He's not doing well. Don's been there ever since. We damn near lost him." The sniper stood up straight, turning and heading out the door just as swiftly as he came in. Ian was quite fond of both Eppes brothers, having worked with them on over a dozen cases in the last year alone.

First stop: hospital. Check on Charlie and Don. Next stop: suspect residence. Start tracking immediately. Few men had ever escaped the grasp of Ian Edgerton when he was on the hunt. This time, the hunt was very, very personal, and the sniper would not rest until the man responsible for his friends' pain and grief was behind bars…or in the ground.

Don literally had no idea how much time had passed. He didn't know how long he had been at the hospital. All he knew was the pain in his chest every time he thought of the tone of Charlie's voice over the phone, when his little brother had spoken to him with the terror-fueled certainly that he was going to die alone, in a place that he should have been safe.

It should have been me… Don thought for the…hell. He didn't know how many times he thought it. It didn't matter though, and it never would, because it wasn't him. It was Charlie. It never should have been Charlie.

"Eppes." A deep, confident voice echoed above him, quiet but unflinchingly certain, unshakably familiar, and undeniably real. Don jerked in his chair, startled, and then he looked up, finding himself staring into a deep-set pair of dark eyes that reflected a pain not unlike his own.

"Ian. What are you doing here?" The FBI agent couldn't help but ask as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, warm and supporting in a way that Don couldn't understand but that he appreciated greatly.

"Just finished with a class at Quantico and got notified that there's a case needing my attention up in Washington state. Thought I'd stop by for a bit on my way up there but now…I have a feeling I'm needed here. Washington and the scum up there can wait. What happened?" The quiet, taciturn sniper was no talker, so Don was startled at everything he had to say. He leaned back in his seat, barely taking note of the fact that Ian's hand was still resting heavily on his shoulder, then he told the story. Again.

"We…we fought. Charlie and I. It was stupid…we're hunting this murder suspect, real bastard he is. Killed four people already so I brought Charlie in. Clever little genius that my brother is, he narrowed down a residence for the bastard right quick. We went to hit it…found damn near every media outlet in town waiting for us. Apparently Charlie had called them, given them the location we were going, and given his personal assurances that this piece of shit was about to be locked away for good. He was nowhere to be found. I came back here, tore into Charlie like nobody's business…he insisted he was innocent, but stormed out because I got real angry at him. He was mad too…yelled that we were through and I shouldn't bother calling for his assistance again in the future. Several hours passed, and then…my cell rang. It was Charlie. He…he'd been shot. That bastard baited us…used the media as bait, told them he was Charles Eppes…then he tracked my brother down, and shot him in the chest. Charlie died, Ian! He died! They almost couldn't bring him back…" By the end of his story, Don was babbling, nearly hysterical with grief and fear and rage as the tears he'd been fighting to hold back poured from his dark eyes. Ian's powerful hand squeezed gently at his shoulder, bringing Don's attention back to the sniper after a moment.

"Don, where is Charlie now?" The sniper spoke softly, like one would to a wounded and cornered animal. For a moment the elder Eppes's eyes wandered like a man lost in his own soul, then they snapped back into focus and he looked back into Ian's expressionless face.

"He's in surgery. Been in there for…God. I don't even know how long." Ian Edgerton had known Don for several years now. He had seen the man go through hell, his brother and their friends too. Seeing Don now…it hurt Ian. It hurt him to see the legendary Don Eppes sitting in a hospital chair, beaten, heartbroken, and fearing for his little brother's survival.

Ian had been there to watch over them so many times before, and Don and his team had done the exact same thing for their sniper friend. Hell, Don and his team, they had been the ones that saved his ass in the prison fiasco only a year prior. Charlie had saved him. The sniper owed them all a massive debt. Putting a bullet in the monster that shot the mathematician that Ian used to clash with every time they met, a man that Ian now trusted and called a friend…hell. He'd do that any day with a clear conscience and without expecting anything in return. They didn't have to ask.

"Don, you stay here. Stay with Charlie. Let me know how he's doing once you guys hear, okay? I've got work to do but I'll be nearby. I'll be back soon." With that, Ian turned and headed for the elevator, his eyes narrowing and filling with a coldness that few people ever saw…and lived.

FBI Special Agent and sniper legend Ian Edgerton was on the hunt. Let the games begin.

A/N: Yep. I brought Ian into it. He's another of my Numb3rs crew favorites...that and I really like Lou Diamond Phillips. He's an awesome actor.

Thank you to my readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers! Ya'll are amazing!

As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.

Until we meet again...

Kani