The South African consulate was an imposing building set back from the main hustle and bustle of the street. They checked their weapons at the gate and then Eppes and Edgerton headed into reception. To their surprise, a brief conversation with the receptionist, accompanied with the flashing of badges had them admitted into the core of the building in a matter of minutes.

"Do you get the impression that they were expecting us?" Don asked Edgerton as they followed a tall, well dressed woman into a panelled room.

"Could be" Edgerton wandered round the room, inspecting the walls, windows and door checking out possible exit routes. A door on the far side of the room clicked open and the well dressed woman gestured for them to follow her through.

To his shock and horror, Don found himself across a desk from Kurt de Villiers, currently wanted in connection with the running of a meth lab and the attempted murder of a federal agent. He summoned up all his self control to stop himself from leaping across the desk and punching the guy in face. De Villiers was dressed smartly in a business suit and tie. He would have been the very model of a bureaucrat if it wasn't for his sheer size, his bulk making Colby look tiny by comparison.

"Please, have a seat" he gestured at some plush leather chairs between the agents and the desk. Don glared at him for a moment without moving. Edgerton sat down and leaned back in the chair, his body language and facial expression relaxed, the perfect contrast to Eppes'pent up rage. No one spoke for a moment, the men all eyeing each other up. It was Don who broke the silence first.

"You running a little business off the clock, is that it?" To his surprise de Villiers smiled.

"Agent Eppes, things are very rarely as simple as they seem. You are an experienced agent, you should know that."

"What I know is that you and your cronies are going away for a long time. You and your partner Van de Bergh shot a federal agent." He almost spat it out he was so angry.

"I am sorry about Agent Granger but it was unavoidable. I couldn't risk him exposing my presence at the arrests. I've worked too long and hard to get where I am are to let anything get in the way. In any war there is unfortunate collateral damage bru."

"What?" Don walked up to the desk and leaned across until he was face to face with the consulate official. De Villiers didn't flinch, he hardly even blinked Edgerton noticed. "Collateral damage? Is that what you call it? Well, here pal we call it attempted murder!"

"I do what I need to do to protect my country. We are a fledgling democracy and like any parent bird I will protect it until it is strong enough to fly"

"South Africa is hardly a new democracy" Edgerton noted.

"Edgerton right? Your reputation proceeds you. I've studied some of your work and I must admit to being very impressed. No, South Africa is a new democracy in many ways and there are those inside and outside our borders who would like to see a return to the old ways."

"The apartheid system right?" Edgerton leaned in closer, this was getting interesting.

"Exactly, the white supremacists have spread their influence far and wide and are actively working for a return to the old ways. We can't have that." He paused as he seemed to weigh up something in his mind.

"I am sorry about Agent Granger but I can't reveal too much about our current operations here. Let's just say that I am trying to work my way to the centre of a large operation that generates funds for our domestic terrorists. Your raid the other night has set me back quite considerably as they have all squirreled themselves away until the dust settles. Whilst I am not willing to divulge the details of our operations here, I can tell you why your agent was shot; you deserve to know what happened. I know how distressing it can be to lose personnel"

Neither Don nor Edgerton said anything; Don glared at the big South African whilst Edgerton just looked at him, no expression apparent on his face.

"I was with Van de Bergh. He had seen the African American agent and being what he was he wanted to put a bullet in his back." De Villiers gaze was unwavering as he spoke to the two men. "He pulled the curtain back for a clearer shot and that movement was spotted by your man. He turned and got a shot off at Van de Bergh. I had to shoot him to look like I was protecting Van de Bergh. His actions saved the other agent and probably his own; dodging the bullet knocked my aim off, other wise it would have gone through his skull, not his jacket."

"You shot Granger?" Don asked incredulous. On seeing de Villiers behind the desk, he had started to think that it was Van de Bergh that had pulled the trigger.

"What would you have me do? Three years of work would have been utterly destroyed because I tried to save a "kaffir" as Van de Bergh so delightfully called your other agent No, I'm sorry. This is a war and there are more lives at stake that of your agents."

Don backed away from the South African and turned to look at Edgerton as his mind grappled with what he had just heard.

"You can forget about arresting me, bru. I understand it is frustrating but I have diplomatic immunity." Don rounded on him, fury blazing in his eyes.

"No, you can forget thinking that you are going to get away with this buddy. You shot a federal agent in the course of his duty and I don't care about your immunity, your fledgling democracy or your internal terrorist problems. You shot one of my men on American soil. You can't just play out your political games on American soil and think that you can get away with it!"

"And you are stood on South African soil my friend. It is time you left." De Villiers stood up. "My secretary will show you the way out and you may collect your firearms from the security detail at the front gate. We are done here"

"No, we are a long way from being done" Don jabbed a finger at De Villiers as he spoke. "When we meet again it will be to put your ass in jail" and with that Don stormed out of the room. Edgerton rose slowly and casually. He nodded at De Villiers and then followed Don out into the corridor.

Back in the car the two men sat in silence for some time. Edgerton could literally see the steam coming out of the senior agent's ears and decided it was wiser to leave him to calm down. Eventually Don calmed down enough to speak,

"Who the hell does he think he is?"

"We know where to find him now. He'll be easier to track and keep tabs on. He may eventually lead us to Van de Bergh."

"De Bergh didn't put Colby in the hospital."

An uncomfortable silence settled on the two men again. Edgerton looked out of the window and watched the street pass by for a while.

"I'm pretty sure that the guy is South African special ops. He is well informed and packing a little too much muscle for a career diplomat." He paused. When he spoke again his voice was quieter. "I think he lied. I get the impression that if he wanted to put a hole in Granger's head, he would have done it, bullet dodging or not. He doesn't strike me as the clumsy type. It was risky shot but one I think that he thought would look authentic enough to dispel any doubts the people he is after might have had. Lower chest GSW, away from the heart and main body of the lungs." Don grunted in agreement but said nothing else.

"What are you going to tell Sinclair?" Ian asked eventually.

"God, I hadn't thought that far" Don raised his hands in exasperation. "Hey David, a racist SOB tried to put a bullet in your back only Colby saw what was about to go down and saved your life." He sagged in his seat. "De Villiers is right, we can't touch him. He shot Colby, whether he was aiming to kill him or not is irrelevant, and he will get away with it and there isn't a damn thing we can do." He turned the key in the ignition and put the car into drive. "Time to talk to the DOJ, see what diplomatic strings we can pull."

Colby rose to the surface of sleep and opened his eyes. The room was quiet, the lighting subdued. He turned his head and saw a monitor at his bedside, it was still tracing his heart beat with its pulsing light but the audio monitor had been turned off to let him sleep. He turned his head to the other side and saw an empty chair at his bed side. A woman's jacket was slung over the back of it and he thought that he vaguely recognised it. A small movement by the window caught his attention and he turned his head to see what it was. A tall woman was stood staring out through the glass.

"Mom?" Colby was surprised at how weak his voice sounded. Alicia spun round at the sound of her son's voice.

"Colby! Alan, Colby is awake." She rushed to her boy's side and took his hand.

"Water" Colby managed to gasp. His mouth was so dry.

"Of course honey." She lifted her head to speak to someone on the other side of the room. To Colby's astonishment Alan Eppes appeared at her side.

"I'll get ice chips" and then he disappeared again.

"Oh baby, how are you? How are you feeling? I've been so worried." His mother gushed, a small tear of relief falling down her cheek. Colby's own eyes reddened as guilt washed over him for frightening his mom. He pulled his hand out of hers and placed it flat on the bed at chest height. As he pushed to sit upright a stabbing pain tore through his chest, leaving him gasping for air. Alicia put a firm hand on his shoulder and gently pushed her son back towards the bed.

"Don't try to move, sweetheart. You've been hurt and you need time to heal."

Colby closed his eyes and focussed on the pain in his chest. As it slowly subsided he began to piece together what had happened. He remembered the raid on the meth lab, the curtain moving, the gun pointing towards them but try as he might he couldn't remember anything beyond that. He guessed that he must have been shot and judging by the site of the pain it was a chest shot. He opened his eyes to see his mother accepting a cup of ice chips from Alan Eppes. As he gratefully sucked on the chips, feeling his mouth moisten again he looked at Alan.

"The team?" he whispered. God, it even hurt to talk.

"They're all good, all safe Colby, no need to worry. Don and David said they would stop by tonight." Typical of the man thought Alan. He hasn't asked about what happened to him, more worried about his friends. Colby's mother leaned in closer to inspect her son; she could see that his green eyes were filled with pain.

"Do you need something for the pain?" she asked. Colby shook his head little. "What happened?" He asked finally.

Alan and Alicia exchanged glances and Alan stepped closer to the bed. Alicia gripped her son's hand a little harder as Alan spoke.

"You got shot son. You were with Donnie and the team at some sort of meth lab and there was a lot of gunfire…" he let his voice trail off. Colby was confused. How had he got shot in the chest when he had been wearing Kevlar? He remembered putting it on before they had headed out. Alan saw the younger man's confusion.

"They had armour piercing rounds. It went straight through your jacket."

Colby grimaced as pain shot through his chest. He closed his eyes and waited for it to settle. When he opened them again he could see the faces of his mother and his boss's father looking down at him, concern written all over them. He smiled weakly at them both.

"It's OK, it just hurts a little." Alicia reached up and stroked her son's head. The reassuring touch of his mother seemed to settle him. He closed his eyes and let the comforting warmth of her hand wash over him. Soon, he was asleep again.

Alicia looked across at Alan as her son relaxed into sleep.

"Thank you…" she began but Alan cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"It's nothing. Remember, I have a boy of my own in the FBI and everyday I pray that I don't end up holding his hand in a hospital bed. It is the nature of what they do. It is dangerous and leaves me in a cold sweat some nights but I don't think that they would swap it for anything. It is just the kind of men that they are" Alicia nodded and smiled. Alan couldn't help noticing that when she smiled it lit up her whole face. Mentally, he chastised himself, her son was lying in a hospital bed having just woken from a coma and he was eyeing her up! He went to get his coat.

"I'll. I'll get some coffee and something to eat from the deli down the street. The food here is just terrible" he stuttered, aware that he was going red. To his relief, Alicia was too preoccupied with her son to notice. Alan stepped out into the corridor and hurried off before he embarrassed himself anymore.