Disclaimer: Don't own Numb3rs or it's characters.

Hope you enjoy this chapter… more Colby whump, you have been warned!

Chapter Seven – Hostage.

It had been a month since the incident with the glass, Colby's hand had healed with very little scarring and there had been no further incidents, he had relaxed once more convinced that it was over.

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Colby pulled up outside Charlie's house, as he opened his car door he could already hear the laughter of his co-workers and friends. He turned to a nervous looking Jasmine. "Hey it will be fine, they don't bite!" He smiled as he ushered her before him, walked up to the front door and pressed the bell. Within minutes the door was being opened by Charlie.

"Hey man."
"Colby, good to see you, come in, welcome." They followed him through to the backyard where Alan was standing at the grill and the rest of the team were chatting nearby with Larry and Amita. They all stopped when they spotted the pair and Colby introduced Jasmine to them all. It wasn't long before she got over her shyness and was chatting away with them.

There was no particular reason for this gathering other than Charlie had decided that he wasn't seeing enough of the team due to his other work commitments and enjoyed the banter that they shared. Thanks to his involvement in various cases over the years he was now closer to his brother, Don, than he had ever been, Charlie felt he owed a great deal of this to Megan, David and Colby as they had welcomed him into their group.

Amita walked over to Charlie and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "This was a great idea and Jasmine seems lovely, I think she's good for Colby."

He smiled at his girlfriend and looked over at Colby and Jasmine standing talking to Larry and Megan. "He says they're just friends, but perhaps in time he'll feel differently." He was thinking back to their own situation, it had taken them a long time to get their act together and start dating properly.

"Foods ready." Called Alan, they joined the rest of the guests, heaping their plates with food.

Once they were all sat round the table and Alan was happy everyone had a drink and plenty of food the group talked about what they'd each been up to.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Colby, I've found premises for my boutique." Jasmine's eyes sparkled as she announced this.

"You're opening a shop?" asked Amita with interest.

"Yes, I've always wanted to do it, I signed the lease today."

"Oh that's great." Said Megan "You'll have to let us know when it's going to open and we'll swing by." Amita nodded in agreement.

"No offence ladies, but you can count me out." Stated Colby.

Jasmine looked disappointed so he quickly added "The guys can meet you ladies afterwards for a celebratory meal, Alan that invite includes you."

David laughed at his friend's quick recovery. "I am sure Claudia would love to join you ladies, if you don't mind." He had told Jasmine all about the lady in his life.

"She would be more than welcome." Smiled Jasmine.

After everyone had eaten Colby and David cleared up, whilst the ladies sat round talking about the boutique and what Jasmine should stock. Don, Charlie, Larry and Alan talked about baseball, a conversation which Colby and David joined in once everything had been cleared away.

All too soon the evening started to draw to a close, it was getting late and they all had work in the morning, so the group started to head out, thanking Charlie and Alan for their hospitality.

Calls of "See you at the office tomorrow." and "Look forward to seeing you at the opening of your boutique in a couple of weeks." Followed as car doors slammed. A few minutes later the street was once again quiet.

"Thank you so much for making me come with you today. I had a great time, and you were right, they were all lovely."

Colby smiled "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It's good to get out and meet people."

"I can see why you love working with them, and Alan is such a wonderful cook."

"That is why Don eats there more than he does at his own place." Laughed Colby. "We all try to get invited over as often as possible without moving in!"

Jasmine laughed and relaxed back into the passenger seat, it was after midnight and she was tired.

A little while later they pulled into her driveway, Colby got out and walked round the car to open her door for her and they walked towards the house together. Jasmine opened the door and walked in, turning on the hallway lights.

"Would you like to come in for a bit?"

"No, I won't, got to get up early for work in the morning."

"OK, night, and thanks again."

"Night, I'll call you tomorrow."

Jasmine nodded and closed the door. Colby headed back up the driveway and reached his car, just as he was about to open the door he heard a muffled scream from inside. She's probably seen a spider or something, better go check on her anyway. Thought Colby.

He headed back towards the house and heard another noise, this time a thud. He reached the door and tried the handle but the door was locked, he jogged round the side of the house, heading for the back yard and pool area. He quietly opened the gate and slipped through heading for the glass doors that led into the sitting room from the pool. As he looked in he saw two men standing with their backs to him, and Jasmine was facing him. "Jason, what are you doing here, what do you want?" She demanded

"Shut it, bitch." The man, now identified as Jason Rutherford, drew back his hand and slapped her round the face knocking her to the floor. Colby seethed with anger to see this, he had to find a way into the house undetected, he was about to move quietly passed the large floor to ceiling windows when he heard a sound behind him, he spun round and came face to face with a tall, powerful looking man. He went to throw a punch in Colby's direction but Colby managed to duck at the last minute and brought his fist up into the man's stomach. There was a satisfying whoosh of air from the other man. The goon threw himself full force at Colby knocking them both to the ground, taking the glass patio table with them, which promptly shattered under the two struggling men's weight. At the sound of the breaking glass the other man in the house with Jason quickly unlocked the door of the sitting room and rushed out to the patio unseen by Colby who was otherwise occupied. At the first available opportunity the second man waded in and kicked Colby in the ribs, ready to fight back he then found himself on his back with a gun shoved in his face.

"Try it FBI."

Colby took as deep a breath as his bruised ribs would allow. "Aw, now you know who I am, but I don't know your name. If we're gonna dance like this we should really at least know that about each other."

"Hey Jase, we have ourselves a smart ass." With that the second goon pulled Colby to his feet and drove his fist into his mid-section, causing him to bend over double. "Not so smart now eh?"

"Carlos, enough, bring him in here."

He started to do as his boss said when Colby piped up. "Now there ya go, I know you're name, we can dance all night." This earned him another punch to his stomach and he was dragged unceremoniously into the sitting room and thrown into a table, causing the vase of flowers on it to fall and shatter.

Jason Rutherford shook his head as he looked at the FBI agent. "Agent Granger isn't it? So we meet again. Carlos, remove his weapon and tie his hands."

This was done in short order and Colby was pulled to his feet and placed on a chair, which he was also tied to, where Carlos could keep a close eye on him.

Glancing round Colby saw Jasmine, now seated on a sofa the start of a dark bruise forming under her right eye, he glared at Rutherford. "You'll pay for doing that."

Jason just laughed and turned to speak to Jasmine.

"You and your boyfriend here…."

"I am not her boyfriend…"

"Was I talking to you, Carlos you know what to do."

With that the large man with Jason stepped forward and punched Colby in the jaw.

"Is that the best you can do? My 5 year old niece could hit harder." Was the response Colby gave. He was rewarded by a second much harder punch.

"Keep it up, man, I'm having fun." Said Carlos, the pleasure glinting in his eyes.

"As I was saying, you and your friend here have cost me a lot of money. Now you're going to pay." Jason's smile was sinister as he sat down on a chair opposite Jasmine.

"You're the one with the money, all I have is what you allowed when we split."

"Ah now, babe, I know that's not true. I gave you a generous allowance the 10 years we were together, you didn't spend it all, did you? I would lay odds that you ferreted some away for a rainy day, smart girl like you."

She shook her head in denial.

He nodded at Carlos, who once again drew back his ham like fist and drove it once more into Colby's stomach. A whoosh of air escaped Colby's lips.

"You will tell me what I want to know."

Jasmine looked at Colby again, who looked straight back at her and shook his head.

"Carlos…"

With a gleam in his eye the man punched his trussed up victim several more times, before landing one to the side of his head, causing him to black out.

"Enough for now Carlos. You will give me what I want Jasmine, or it will be your friend here that suffers the consequences. I will give you some time to think about it." With that he headed out to the kitchen leaving Carlos to watch her.

When Jason returned he looked at Jasmine. "Well?"

She stood up and walked over to him defiantly and just spat in his face.

"Carlos, tell Frank to bring the car round." He looked back at Jasmine, raised his hand and knocked her to the floor once more, this time she struck her head on a nearby table and was knocked unconscious. "Then take her out to it."

Colby, through the ringing in his ears caused by Carlos' punches, had heard the sickening thud as her head had connected with the table, powerless to do anything.

Jason merely sneered at the FBI agent.

"Let me outta this chair and we'll see who would win in a fair fight." Snarled Colby.

Jason laughed. "I don't think so Agent Granger." He walked away leaving the angry man to fume.

Carlos lifted Jasmine and headed out the front door, on his return he turned to his boss. "What about him?" He nodded towards Colby. "Can I kill him now?"

"Patience Carlos, soon enough, but in the meantime he may be just what we need to get Jasmine to co-operate, put him in the trunk." With that Jason left the room.

Colby watched the disappointment cross the large man's face, whilst not thrilled at the idea of being thrown into the trunk of a car, it beat a bullet to the head, would give him some time to think about how to get out of this mess. Carlos walked over and untied his hands from the chair but leaving them tied behind his back, he pulled him to his feet and Colby decided to see if he could at least cause some trouble for the man. He wrenched himself free and started to run towards the front door, within seconds Carlos tackled him to the floor causing Colby to lurch forward and his head to connect with the bottom marble step of the staircase leading to the first floor. Carlos leant down, grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him, half unconscious, to the car and heaved him into the trunk. Colby groaned as it was closed over him. All he'd managed to do was to almost knock himself out and now he had to deal with the headache that he knew would surely follow, not to mention he could feel the blood trickling down his face from the cut he had no doubt given himself.

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The following morning Don, David and Megan were at their desks by 08:00, unusually they had all beaten Colby, which was rare. They chatted about the get together the previous day and all of them agreed that Jasmine was good for Colby, she seemed to bring out the best in him. Having exhausted the conversation they all turned to the piles of folders on their desks, cases that had gone cold and needed reviewing to see if they could find any new leads. The 3 settled down in silence. An hour later David glanced at Colby's still empty desk, it was not like him to be this late to work. He picked up his phone and dialled Colby's home number, it went to voicemail, he left a message, he called his cell, straight to voicemail, left another message. Once this was done he turned to see Don and Megan looking at him, their faces, he was sure, reflecting his own feelings of concern.

"I am sure he's overslept or something."

"I dunno Megan, his cell went straight to voicemail which means it's switched off, he never turns it off."

"We'll give him another hour and try again, lets not hit the panic button just yet." Said Don. David nodded his agreement and they all turned, uneasily, back to their work.

An hour later there was still no sign of Colby, once again they tried both his home and cell numbers with the same result.

"Has anyone got Jasmine's number?"

Megan nodded, withdrew her cell and dialled the number and waited. "No answer, it's going to answer machine."

"Damn, this is not like him Don."

"OK David, why don't you head over to his apartment, Megan go to Jasmine's, I'll stay here in case he turns up. Call if you get anything." Neither of his agents needed to be told twice and immediately grabbed their things and headed for the elevators.

Thirty minutes later Don's desk phone rang. "Eppes."

"Don, I'm at his apartment, he's not here, his car isn't in the parking lot either."

"OK, head back to… hang on Megan's calling my cell." He answered. "Megan?"

"Don, you and David need to head over here and we need ERT as well. I dunno what's happened but the front door wasn't locked, Colby's car is here, but neither he nor Jasmine are."

"Be there in thirty." Replied Don, hanging up from Megan, he turned to his desk phone. "Get to Jasmine's, now." Without waiting for a response he hung up and dialled the ERT, he gave them the address Megan had given him, grabbed his keys and headed out.

When he arrived Megan and David were standing by Colby's car.

"What have you got?"

"Patio table in the backyard smashed to smithereens, blood on the bottom of the staircase in the lobby. Once I'd ascertained there was nobody in I didn't want to compromise any evidence so came back out."

Don nodded and was about to say something when another vehicle pulled into the drive, it was ERT. The team leader, Jim Vickers, got out and approached Don who explained that an Agent was missing and that the house was a friend's. He merely nodded, turned to his team and directed them to different areas of the house, then followed them inside, leaving the three agents standing waiting.

A short time later Jim came out carrying something in a clear plastic evidence bag. "Found these inside on the floor, also blood on the glass from the table and blood at the bottom of the stairs, we'll take samples and run them for a match ."

The three could see that it was Colby's FBI badge and presumably his gun in the evidence bag. "Well that clinches it, he's missing and we have to find him." Don turned pulled out his cell and dialled the director to fill him in.

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Jasmine groaned as she came too, her head was pounding, she didn't think she had drunk that much at Charlie's. She started to open her eyes only to be assaulted by the cheerful, bright dawn of an LA morning. She quickly closed her eyes again, taking deep breaths to push down the nausea. When she felt ready she opened her eyes again and glanced round the room. She saw that she was laying on a sofa in a large office space, glancing round to get her bearings her eyes finally came to rest on Colby, who was tied to a chair, and the previous few hours came rushing back.

"Hey boss, she's awake." Called Carlos.

Jason walked over to her and handed her a glass of water. "Hello sunshine. Ready to tell me what I want to know yet?"

She took the water and sipped it slowly, buying herself some time before answering.

"Chop, chop babe, haven't got all day ya know."

After another sip her stomach recoiled "Bathroom?" she questioned Jason. He pointed to a door in the corner of the room and she hurried to it. A few minutes later she returned. She glanced at Colby and saw that he had bruises forming on his right jaw and cheekbone. He also looked at her carefully, she was extremely pale and shaking, there was a cut above her right eye where she must have hit her head, and a bruise on her cheek where she had been slapped. He was relieved to see her give him a small smile. This was not missed by Jason.

"Ah, ain't love grand? Sit back down on the sofa Jasmine." His voice brooked no arguments and she did as she was told.

"Now where is the money?"
"I don't have any. It's gone."

He shook his head. "You've learnt nothing I see." He nodded to Carlos, who grinned maliciously at Colby and proceeded to punch him so hard in the face that he knocked the chair he was tied to over. He then pulled his foot back and kicked Colby hard in the ribs.

He couldn't be sure, but Colby was sure he had heard something crack at that last blow.

"Stop, leave him alone."
"Then tell me the truth."

"The money is gone, I paid for a lease on a boutique with it."

Again, he nodded at Carlos, he pulled Colby back to a sitting position, Carlos didn't give him much time before he punched him in the face once more, causing his cut lip to start bleeding again. Carlos adjusted what appeared to be a ring on his finger and punched him again, this time to the eye area, the ring connected with Colby's skin to the left of his eye, ripping it open and causing blood to trickle down his face.

"Jason, stop it, please." Jasmine begged.

He looked at Carlos and shook his head, the big mans face dropped with disappointment, but he knew his boss would let him loose on the FBI agent sooner or later and he could take pleasure in beating him to death if he so desired.

"Lets take a break." Stated Jason, both he and Carlos left the room once more, knowing that neither of their captives were going anywhere, looking pointedly at the CCTV camera in the corner of the room.

Jasmine got to her feet and rushed, unsteadily, to Colby's side.

"This is all my fault."

"Jasmine, you can't be blamed for what he's doing. The man is clearly unhinged. My team will figure out we're missing and they'll find us, you have to believe that, OK?"

She looked at him with eyes filled with tears. "You really think so?"
"I know they will Jasmine. Now go and sit back on the sofa, I don't want them to hurt you again." She turned away from him and did as he said.