Part IV: Colby

i.

"Any advice before we pound him?"

"We're after names, bases, affiliations. Sounds like we're dealing with some kind of mob deal but it isn't ringing any bells with the gang squads or narcotics, which is odd in itself even before you consider the fact that they've run off with Don and Ian. They're still running down commonalities between the bodies from the scene, six of them have rap sheets and we're waiting on IDs for the other two. How's the arm feeling?"

"How can there be a mob we don't know about that managed to take down two of us in an ambush like that? It was perfect, man."

"I know. Whoever hired these guys is a pro and either half ghost or really damn good at covering their tracks."

"No one's perfect, they had to have made a mistake somewhere."

"They will, we just have to find that mistake."

"Their biggest mistake was taking Don and Ian. We aren't going to stop, they have to know that."

"I know, Colb. We've just got to get what information we can and try and find them and bring them home."

"Yeah. We'll bring them home."

ii.

"I didn't need rescuing, you know."

"Oh, I know. Hold still or I'm going to drag you back to the ER and let them deal with you, got it?"

"A couple split, so what? Three, max."

"Bleeding all over the interrogation room is very unprofessional, Granger. You're hardly going to inspire fear if you hit the table once and faint from blood loss two minutes later. I count seven busted, by the way."

"Do you really think they don't know? And I hit it twice, Warner."

"That it was a setup for them as well? Yeah. They got played too. These guys aren't the hardcore crews like ex-Special Ops, they're the ones who figure being hired guns makes them untouchable. They aren't the type to go into a clash with legitimate firepower knowing that they'll come out worst off. Easy money's their game."

"Then it was those guys in the van. The more I think about it the more I remember them trying to separate us. We haven't had any ransom demands and failing that, what could they want with two agents?"

"Revenge? Don and Ian have put a lot of people away."

"Then why not just shoot them outright? I mean, they had the opportunity."

"Think about it."

"You think…"

"I'm scared it's that, yeah."

iii.

"I want the case files of every single case involving someone with affiliations to European crime that was handled by Agent Eppes or Agent Edgerton. I don't care how little they had to do with the actual crime, if there's even a shred of possibility that it might be a motive, I want it."

"What timeframe are we talking, sir?"

"Christ, I hadn't thought that far."

"Just the ones since he's been in LA to start with. I'll make a call to the Albuquerque office and see if anyone remembers anything that might raise a flag. You should call that guy in Fugitive Recovery. Billy Cooper, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, they were partners. Maybe there's a grudge there we could follow up on?"

"Definitely possible. His number's probably on Don's desk. Can someone get me Albuquerque on the phone?"

"Over here, Agent Warner."

"I have Billy Cooper on line three for you, Agent Granger."

iv.

"Guys?"

"You're looking kinda peaky there."

"Did you get anything more?"

"Nothing groundbreaking. We've got the people trafficking, the European mobsters and the narcotics link. We're trying to run down a concrete connection now. Colb, you're white as a ghost. What's wrong?"

So, in conclusion this was completely unplanned and exists kind of out of the story-arc so far. I had a thought Thursday morning, about just how much the team would want to break these guys and then figured I hadn't put them through enough yet and naturally, this is what happened as a result. I hope it helps put some more pieces together.