Part 8 – Debriefing

Charlie took Nena back to the hospital and watched as she hugged her sleeping father, exclaimed over him, then chastised him for not taking better care of himself. She sat down next to his bed and told him everything that had happened in the weeks since he'd been gone, all the while promising she'd say it again when he woke up.

Charlie left Nena in the room with her father, her Uncle Don, and her Grandfather Alan and wandered the halls. He was feeling a lot less optimistic than when he'd picked Nena up from school. How could things possibly go 'back to happy' now? After all the lies and deceptions and betrayals?

He went into the waiting room and slumped into a chair. Will came and sat quietly next to him. After a while, Charlie pulled out a notebook and tried to sketch a few ideas for his Friendship Math paper. He ended up talking to Will instead, telling him stories of his odd childhood and trying to make friends. Will responded with stories of his own schizophrenic childhood as a troublemaker at school and a model child at home. Charlie tried to pay attention, since Will rarely talked about his past, but Charlie couldn't focus.

Nena came out later and they all went downstairs to the cafeteria and got some dinner. Then they went back into Colby's room and watched some TV with the sleeping Colby. Charlie felt like he was sleeping himself, like he was moving through a dream of talking, eating, breathing. He waited to wake up. He'd only wake up when Colby did.

Then they'd see.

The doctors let Colby wake up the next morning, several hours after Charlie had taken Nena to school. Only the doctors were present in the room when Colby woke, plus a dozen DOJ, FBI, and other assorted agents. Agent Granger needed to be debriefed.

They talked to him for hours while Charlie waited outside, both anxious for his chance to talk to Colby and glad to put it off. He didn't want to see him until it could be just him and Colby. Don was in that room, but he was there as Colby's boss, not his brother-in-law. Finally, they all came out.

Charlie started to stand up, but Don shook his head.

"He's asleep again, and no one is to bother him," Don explained and sat down next to Charlie. "He's … Everything's been verified. He really is one of the good guys. I should have known …"

Charlie slowly sank back into his chair. "I never doubted it."

Don blinked. "Huh?"

"I never doubted that he was doing something for his country, that he was a patriot. But I know how convoluted that can get. I was certain that he would get out of jail someday, for some reason, and be patted on the back by some black ops government group and given a new identity."

Don stared at him. "That's what you thought?"

Charlie nodded, staring across the hall to the closed door of Colby's room, and the guard who stood beside it.

"But …" Don said in confusion.

"As certain as I was that he was a patriot," Charlie said quietly, "I was certain that we would never see him again. One day Nena might disappear too and go with her daddy to his new life, but we … I would never see him again."

"So that's why you … moved on."

Charlie turned to look at Don and Don's face blanched at whatever he saw in Charlie's eyes. "I didn't move on, you know that. I just … survived. The only way I could."

Don slowly nodded. "Will said you went 'undercover,' took on a new persona, as sort of a defense mechanism."

Charlie tilted his head to the side, contemplating that. "I guess I did."

Don put his hand on Charlie's. "But what you were so sure of, the black ops and new identity? That's not what happened."

"No," Charlie said in a small voice. "No … And now I really don't know what's gonna happen next."

Don squeezed Charlie's hand. "Me, either. We can't all just go back to the way we were."

"No …" Charlie breathed out. "It's all been too broken."

"Yeah …" Don said and they sat in silence for a moment.

"What about Megan and David?" Charlie asked. "How are they handling things?"

Don shrugged. "Megan is … She seems to be doing okay. Whatever the DOJ had her doing, it really busted her up, and I think she's seizing on Colby not being a double agent as a sign that everything in the Federal Government isn't bad."

"And David?"

"I … I don't know. He's really angry, just incredibly angry. He seems to feel a personal betrayal, almost like Colby proved to David that opening up and becoming friends with someone really was a bad idea and he never wants to get hurt again."

"I can understand," Charlie said quietly. His eyes returned to Colby's closed door. "Maybe it would have been better if Colby had vanished. Then I wouldn't have to say goodbye to him all over again."

"Charlie," Don said, "You don't know that's what's gonna happen." Don's rubbed his cheek as if he was searching for something encouraging to say.

"I watched the video," Don said at last.

Charlie frowned at him. "What video?"

"Lancer, cold bastard, recorded his interrogation. I saw what he did to Colby, how much Colby suffered …" Don shuddered. "And I saw Lancer give him the final drug. Dwayne killed Lancer before he could kill Colby, we guessed that. But Colby …" Don shook his head in amazement. "Damn, he's a brave man. He never broke. Never gave Lancer what he wanted, never begged. Didn't even say a word when Lancer plunged that last needle into his heart."

Charlie nodded. He'd expect nothing less.

"You see, don't you?" Don said. "He's not a man who would give up, on his duty or on the people he loves. He loves you."

"Does he?" Charlie wondered. "Or was I just a means to an end?"

"Charlie …" Don said helplessly.

Charlie stood up. "I'll go sit with him until he wakes. He … I …" He hunched his shoulders and walked towards the door.