Title: Kettle's Knot

Author: Signs Of Sun

Type: Numb3rs Series

Genre: Action/Adventure.

Note: Thanks for the reviews!!!

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Kettle's Knot

Chapter 4

Each beat of Don's heart exploded inside his eardrums, drowning out any other sound that might have existed around him. His lungs ached for air. He needed to inhale, but the connection between his brain and his body had frayed and become faulty.

Take a breath. Take a breath. Take a breath.

He mentally bore down on the words, commanding his body to obey. Finally oxygen poured throughout him. The abruptness of its arrival made him think that it had come more as a gasp than a breath. Unable to hear anything beyond his own heart though, he couldn't be certain of which it had been. That made him wonder just how long it had been since he had taken his last breath. That was rather concerning. He only dismissed the thought because with a replenished air supply the sensations of his own body were trickling back to him. And his heartbeat was beginning to quiet to a mild pulse inside his ears. At first it seemed there were no other sounds to be heard, but a few breaths later voices started dancing around the pulsing sound of his heart.

"Don? Don!"

"He's moving around so I think he's coming around," David's voice stated to someone apparently nearby.

"Don! Don! You with us?" David's voice prodded him.

"Mmmhmm. Here," Don's voice replied all on its own.

"Good to hear. Any broken bones? Anything that needs immediate attention?"

"Not my best day. But nothin' broken."

"Good. Good. Just stay there and rest."

"Okay, sounds good," Don mumbled, thankfully that it seemed alright to leave his eyes closed a little longer. His foggy mind had convinced him that David seemed to have things handled. Whatever those things were.

"Colby! Colby! I need you to wake up! Colby!" Sinclair's voice demanded. It was quickly joined by Megan's.

"Colby! Wake up!"

The intensity in both of their voices was enough to help Don pry his heavy eyelids open. The world swayed briefly, but finally settled neatly into place. The SUV was rested on its side. Don found himself lying with his back partially against the seat and partially against what had been the driver's side window. In the space where the glass had been there was now ground. The view above him was across to the passenger seat. Colby was there, suspended from the seat by his seatbelt, and completely limp. His head lolled downward, unsupported, and Don could see the large gash that ran along his right temple. Blood streamed down his cheekbone and across his lips. Don studied him closely for a handful of seconds, noting the subtle rise and fall of his chest. At this reassurance Don started the slow arduous process of changing his position. The first thing to go was the seatbelt. Next he shifted in an attempt to get up on his knees, but that fell short when he placed his hands down and tried to push his body upward. Pain scorched through his left shoulder. His teeth instantly clenched down and he forced the cry of pain back down. It escaped him as a light grunt.

"Be careful there Don! There's glass everywhere," David advised. Don shifted his gaze from Colby to the left. David was squatted down a few feet away, just on the other side of the broken windshield. Megan was in the same position at his side.

"What the hell happened?" Don asked, finally managing to get on his knees without utilizing his left shoulder too much.

"There was a tree down across the road. I came around the corner. Didn't have enough time to stop. Plowed right smack into it. I was just getting out my cell to call you. To tell you to stop but you came around the corner right then and swerved to avoid ramming into us. You went over an embankment."

David's words brought the events swirling back to him and his sluggish mind clicked back into gear. Charlie had been with them. Now on his hands and knees Don twisted towards the backseat.

"Charlie!" he called out.

"Over here Don," a quiet familiar voice replied. Following the sound Don peered over the side of the seat. Charlie was seated there with his back to the roof of the SUV. He had the fingertips of his right hand pinched against the bridge of his nose and his head was tilted towards his chest.

"You alright?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. David and I already had this discussion. You okay?"

"What's wrong with your head?"

"I'm alright Don. I just need a minute. How are you?"

"Look at me Charlie! You in pain?" Don asked, his voice strained with concern. He would have liked to climb into the back seat and check his brother out himself but that would mean needing to disturb Granger's present awkward position. Moving him was not the best idea. If they could draw him back to consciousness Colby would be able to assess whether there had been any serious damage to his neck, head, or spine. Then they could work to free him.

"You sure?"

"I'm alright Don. I promise. Very very sore. But intact. However, I think I have been attacked by every inanimate object in this car," Charlie replied and finally looked up at Don.

"Aw! Buddy!" Don whispered out. His brother had been correct. His face was a collection of scrapes, cuts, and bruises. His nose was bleeding and the right side of his bottom lip was already swelling. It certainly looked like every object that had not been secured down had found its way to him as it tumbled around the interior of the car.

"Never thought my own laptop would turn on me like that," Charlie forced out, a slight tremor to his voice. Don was about to respond to Charlie's attempt to lighten the moment with a joke, but his attention was drawn from his brother by the low groan that escaped Colby.

"Colby, man, you with us finally?" David called out to him. The reply was an extended grunt and attempt by Granger to regain coordination between his mind and arms. The clumsy movement elicited a hiss of discomfort from the man. Don looked between Colby and Charlie, torn between the two. Charlie waved his hand at Don, shooing Don's attention off him and on to his team member. Don tugged his gaze away from his brother and up towards Colby.

"Alright Colby just take it easy. Don't move around too much until we make sure nothing major's going on with you," he instructed.

"Okay, just let me take this seatbelt off. It's choking me," Granger replied softly as his right hand fumbled to find the button to release the belt.

"No! Don't touch the seatbelt!" Both David and Don cried out.

"Alright. Alright. But you don't have to yell. Why not the seatbelt?" the agent mumbled back. Eyes closed and disoriented he hadn't quite realized yet that the reason the belt was uncomfortable was that it was just about the only thing keeping him in place. If he released the belt without assistance Don Eppes would experience Colby Granger up close and personal, right smack on top of him.

"We had a bit of a car accident. The car's on its side. Let's just say you're not on the side that's on solid ground."

"Oh, well, that would explain why all the blood has rushed to my head and hurts like there's no tomorrow."

"Speaking of that. Anything else hurt? Neck? Back? Legs?" Don asked. Colby thought about this for a few heartbeats and replied.

"I think I'm going to be sore for the next decade, but there's nothing that out of whack."

"Good to hear. Good to hear. Now we just have to get you vertical."

"I'd appreciate that!" Colby announced.

"I bet, huh? Let's get you upright!" Don answered. A few moments later and with a little assistance from Charlie, Granger was free and vertical again. All three managed to climb out of the vehicle under their own power. And all five had stood on the hill staring at the wrecked SUV for a long time, reflective of just how lucky they had been to walk away. Eventually they had torn themselves from their own thoughts and set to work.

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Don's gaze scanned the scene, surveying the human damage. Charlie sat beside him on the log, ice pack pressed to the left side of his face. Megan stood leaned against the side of the Bureau SUV. She had her own pack held wrapped around her right wrist. Instinctively, she had put out her hand to brace herself against the dash when they had plowed into the tree and had sprained her wrist quite badly.

Colby was seated sideways in the backseat of the vehicle, legs outside the car and head in his hands. Megan had helped clean the blood away from his face and a bandage was now taped in place on his temple just below the hairline. Don suspected the world was still in motion for Granger even though he was stationary. David seemed to have faired the best although Don suspected his chest was a bit sore. Every once and a while his hand would gravitate to his chest, stay there for a second, and retreat. Don hoped it was nothing more than the bruising that came from being jerked forward and abruptly stopped by a seatbelt.

"That's about it!" David called out, approaching Don and Charlie. David, Charlie and Don had collected most everything from Don's SUV at the bottom of the hill that needed to be immediately recovered. Maps, water bottles, snacks, jackets, Charlie's data, the laptop, a copy of Grafton's file, ammunition, and assorted other items. It all sat in backpacks at the side of the road, awaiting transport. One rifle had come through the wreck undamaged and lay on the ground beside the three packs. Despite many attempts the Bureau SUV wasn't starting. A few times it had sounded hopeful, but the engine simply wouldn't turn all the way over.

"What's the plan?" Sinclair asked.

"Still no cell signal," Don commented, checking his phone.

"I've tried the radios several times. I'm just getting either a lot of static or dead air in reply. Not sure if anyone is hearing me," the other agent responded. Don sighed, glaring at the broken antenna on the SUV. A tree branch had made it just another casualty in the unfortunate string of events.

"We'll have to hike back to that spot couple miles back where we got a cell signal," Don proposed.

"Sounds like our best bet. What I want to know is which one of us broke the mirror that landed us with all this bad luck?" David teased.

"Tell me about it!" Don replied.

"Don't look at me. I plead innocent! I'm more of a chalk board kind of guy," Charlie jumped in with and managed a smile.

"My money's on Granger," David offered. Both Eppes responded with a chuckle.

"How's he doing anyway?" Don inquired of David.

"Little lightheaded. A bit shaky. Seems alright otherwise. Megan's kind of, well, hovering close by in case." To this Don rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, massaging at the ever tightening knot there. He studied Colby for a moment, trying to determine if it might be best to leave Reeves with him while the rest of them hiked back up the road in search of a cell signal. Normally he would try to keep everyone together but it could be good to leave someone with the SUV.

Additionally, they would only need to carry one backpack instead of having to lug everything with them just in case. Don finally settled upon that strategy and slowly stood up from his seat on the log. His left shoulder still ached, but he was doing his best not draw attention to it so he denied the intense temptation to grip onto it with his other hand. He moved over to the pile of stuff on the side of the road and located one of the packs with water bottles and a map. Carefully he managed to slip it on without much jarring to his arm. Scooping up the rifle he walked over to Megan and Colby at the car. After waving them over, David and Charlie joined them and Colby finally lifted his head from his palms. His skin tone was slightly pale but he seemed alert.

"Alright. This is what we're going to do. Colby and Megan will stay with here. Keep trying the radio and see about getting the car started. Charlie, David, and I are going to walk back up the road to see if we can find the cell window again," Don explained. Weary nods of the head from the remainder group confirmed the plan.

"You guys ready to head out?" Don asked, turning to David and his brother.

"All set!" Charlie replied, slinging the strap of campus carryall over his shoulder.

"I'm just gonna grab my jacket. Clouds rolling in off to the west there," David stated. This drew everyone's gaze to the sky, noting that there was a bank of clouds creeping up to overtake the sun.

"David, grab me some ammo for this, would ya?" Don called over to Sinclair who had moved to the remaining backpacks to put on his coat.

"Here ya go!" the agent stated, returning and offering an entire box to Don. Taking a few steps clear of the group he loaded the weapon and stuffed the box in his jacket pocket. Another thing they had been briefed on was the wildlife of the area and Don wasn't willing to have an unprepared encounter with a very large bear on his way to make an emergency cell phone call. They had their handguns, but somehow the rifle made him feel more secure when it came to wild animals. He had just locked the rifle closed when he once again found his heart pounding in his ears. Just on the other side of his own heartbeats he could make out the sound of a gunshot resonating in the air around his body.

"Down! Down! Everybody down!" he cried and dove across the few feet of open air between him and the side of the SUV. All the others except Colby were already crouched down in the space protected by the vehicle and the down tree. Granger had sprung from slow motion straight into fast forward, throwing his upper body over the backseat of the Bureau SUV and grabbing the two rifles there and several boxes of ammo. A breath later he was squatted down behind the tree with his teammates, passing along one of the rifles to David.

They waited and listened.

Another single shot rang out, closer this time. Peering through the branches of the tree Don tried to get a visual on the shooter. He just barely caught the movement of multiple figures beyond edge of the woods down the road.

"Multiple shooters. Headed this way!" he informed the others just as a burst of gunfire filled the air. This time all four agents returned fire back. Then it was silent for a few heartbeats and David went for the radio on the front seat of the SUV.

"This is Unit Four to command!" he called into it and then released the button. Only dead air came back.

"This is Unit Four to command. We're taking fire. Our location is four miles northeast of Traveler's Pass. Repeat we are under fire! Requesting back up! Does anyone copy?" David rattled off and let up on the button once again. This time it almost seemed like there was life on the other end. Short bursts of static floated back as if someone was attempting to respond but the words just weren't carrying through.

"We need to get out of this open area! Everyone down over the embankment!" Don directed as more shots arrived. Each round was gaining ground on them. The slope of the hill would offer temporary cover and placed the Bureau SUV, the down tree, and a section of road between them and the gunmen.

"Take cover! Go! Go! Go!" Don prompted and they were all in motion away from the tree. It ignited another round of shots in their direction. The opposite side of the SUV received a shower of bullets. Staying low the group returned fire as they ran. It was enough to cover them until they reached the edge of the embankment. The group scrambled down the slope and hit the ground. Sinclair was the final member over, having enough forethought to toss one then the other back pack over the hill as he went. He then landed heavily at his partner's side. The gunfire trickled away to quiet and a brief reprieve settled in.

"Bad thought just occurred to me," Colby commented from his position between Don and David.

'What's that?" Don questioned, reloading his handgun. The rifle lay in the dirt at his side.

"What if we're not the only ones out here searching for Grafton? What if he has his own people coming for him?" Colby answered.

"You're right I'm not crazy about that thought. But I think you might be on target."

"Gee I'm so excited. Grafton has back up and we don't even know if anyone heard our radio transmission. We could be on our own out here until someone realizes we're past due at the command post," Megan piped in with.

"And they're blocking the one direction we know we can get a cell signal in," David commented and took a quick peek over the rise to see if there was a visual on the shooters. The gunmen were still not in clear view.

"Doesn't seem quite fair does it?" Colby tossed back.

"What I don't get is how they happened to be right here. At the place we go off the road. Right when we are here. What are the odds of that?" Megan pondered aloud.

"Not good," Charlie tossed in. His brother's voice followed behind.

"So either they were here first and we stumbled upon them. They've been watching us the whole time we've been here. Or they were moving our way and came upon us."

"Another bad thought," Colby chimed in with.

"I really wish you'd stop that, man. It's kind of bringing me down," David replied, glancing Colby's way.

"I'll do my best to think happy thoughts."

"I'd appreciate that!"

"I was thinking what if they have enough men that they set up guard posts. To hold us off until they can retrieve Grafton. Grafton's pretty high up the chain. He just might have enough power that he'd be worth the effort to protect."

"In other words they knew he was coming this way."

"Bingo!" Colby shot back. Turning his gaze from Granger to his brother Charlie jumped in.

"Didn't you tell me once that all Bureau vehicles have GPS locators? And I already know our cells have those too."

"True. But until someone realizes we're missing it doesn't help us a bit because no one will be looking at them," Don replied and took a quick check over the edge of the embankment. There hadn't been any more gunfire for a long string of moments and it meant they no longer had an auditory fix on the shooters' location.

"So we just have to hang on until then, right?" his brother inquired, hopeful.

"Yeah. Problem is that we can't stay here, Charlie. We have to move. There's no telling yet how many they are, what kind of weaponry they have. We're sitting ducks if we stay here. We need to either keep moving or find a location where we have the advantage," Don explained and blew out a breath before he continued.

"Everybody stay low. Move as fast as you can! Get to the tree line. On the count of three we go!" Don instructed. In preparation David and Megan each took a back pack and put them on. There would be no telling how long until before they'd be able to return to the vehicles, if at all. Better to take everything they could. Don holstered his handgun on his right hip and then tugged up the cuff of his pant leg. He slipped his back up weapon from its place on his ankle and held it out to Charlie.

"Just in case," he whispered to his brother. The other man nodded understandingly and accepted the gun.

"Ready everybody?"

"Ready as we'll ever be!" the group chorused back to him. There was a collective deep inhale and exhale followed by Don's urgent instruction.

"One! Two! Three!"

"Move! Move! Move!"

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Pop. Pop. Pop.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Gunfire.

The sound was very distant, but too familiar to be mistaken. Ian Edgerton drifted his eyelids closed and let the sound saturate into him. A round of automatic rifle fire arrived first and then handguns in reply. A beat of silence. Followed by a burst of both intertwined. The noise was so faint it just barely existed on the edge of perceivable sound. Miles away, somewhere down below in the foothills. The noise ricocheted off the rugged terrain and floated lightly on the breeze to his ears.

The only other sound was his labored breathing. His body begged to stay in his hideout a little longer, but his mind knew he would have to push on.

He could only fool Troy Grafton into thinking he was more seriously wounded than he truly was for so long. A backpack with dried blood all over it was fairly convincing, but he knew enough about Grafton that he wouldn't assume that his shot had been a kill shot without actually seeing a body. But it would buy time and hopefully make the other man comfortable in thinking he had the upper hand. And once he allowed himself that his guard would drop down a fraction quite quickly. Especially if Grafton believed that all of the dried blood covering that knapsack was the agent's and not partly the agent's and partly that of a dead animal found in the woods.

Giving up the pack had been a tough decision, but the opportunity it presented was too tempting to deny. The cell had been the only thing he debated over. On one hand, there wasn't a signal to be had for miles and miles. He had been unable to make contact with his back up for a long stream of days. He'd lost track of how many. There would be hell to pay for separating from them. But he had risked losing the trail if he had stopped to team back up.

On the other hand, there was a GPS locator in the cell. Ultimately, he had decided that by the time the GPS locator came into play the whole thing would have come to an end, one way or another. Either it'd be too late for Grafton or for himself. Maybe both. This somehow had gone beyond just a regular tracking and become something greater. So he had tossed the phone into the front pouch of the bag, adding to the appearance that the pack had not been willing left behind.

He had taken all the ammo from it which he was sure his adversary would take note of. There were two options there. Either Grafton would believe Edgerton had run out or that he carried what remained on his person. As it happened if Troy Grafton thought the Fed was short on ammo he'd be dead wrong. Edgerton had learned long ago to always stow away a spare smaller pack within the larger one. That knapsack was now lighter than the first, but filled with the ammunition that could mean his survival over Grafton's.

Everything else in the pack was a luxury. He could live off the land, find enough food and water until this was done. And then when it was over, Grafton in shackles and headed for prison, he was going to stop at the first steakhouse he came to, sit down, and have himself a real meal. Then, of course, he would have the sheer pleasure of dealing with his very irate superiors, but they would have to wait until he was done with his steak.

Just enough time to get the advantage. Just enough to have him in my sights.

Ian Edgerton silently willed the thoughts to come true, repeating them over and over in his head as he wearily climbed to his feet, his wounded and aching left side protesting the entire way, and headed off through the woods.

To Be Continued…

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Coming Up…

More on Grafton. Just what exactly did he do to become, in the words of Agent Parker, a "scumbag"?

And…

What the heck is Kettle's Knot? Figuring that out could mean the difference between life or death for Don and his team!