Disclaimer: I own barely anything, so definitely don't own Numb3rs or the wonderful characters. (If I owned Colby he'd be in every episode!) I do own Jasmine and her gang.

A/N: Thank you for your continued reviews and support, it puts a smile on my face to know that there are people out there enjoying what I write.

Chapter Nine – The Link

The following morning Adam was sitting quietly in a chair near Colby's bed. He looked up as the door opened and a nurse entered. She walked over to her patient, she checked and adjusted his IV and made a note of the readings on the monitor on his chart.

"Colby, can you hear me?" She asked softly. Her patient moved slightly and groaned. "Colby, are you OK?" She asked, concern tingeing her voice.

"Yeah." He mumbled.

Before the nurse could respond a doctor came into the room and approached his bed. "Morning Colby, I'm Doctor Jones, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got into a fight and lost." He murmured.

"I think that would certainly be an accurate description of how you ended up in here, just going to give you the once over." He turned to Adam. "Can you please wait outside." He waited for him to leave the room and pull the door shut behind him, then he quickly examined his patient. "All things considered you're doing fine. Are you in any pain?"

"Some, but I've had worse."

"I am sure you have, but there's no need to suffer in silence on my watch. I can give you something if you need it." He advised gently.

Looking at the doctor through his one good eye Colby decided now was not the time to play at being strong, he'd have enough time to do that once he was out of the hospital. "OK, something to take the edge off would be good, thanks."

"I'll write it up and get the nurse to administer some more morphine"

"Thanks Doc." Colby responded, wincing as he shifted his position slightly.

Doctor Jones turned and spoke to the nurse. "Nurse, please get Mr Granger 5 of morphine." The nurse nodded and went to do as requested. "If you need anything then just let the nurses know OK?"

"When can I get outta here?" Asked Colby, he hated hospitals, he had spent far too much time in them.

"You will be here for at least another 24 hours, we need to monitor your condition further." He watched as Colby sighed in resignation. "Get some rest, you're gonna be sore for a while." The doctor left the room, admitting Adam back in.

The nurse re-entered the room a few moments later. She administered the morphine into Colby's IV and spoke softly to him, resting her hand on his shoulder, checking the monitor once more and seemingly satisfied that her patient was once more comfortable she left him to rest, brushing passed Adam as she did so.

Colby didn't seem to realise that there was anyone else in the room with him, so Adam approached the bed. "Col?"

"Adam?"

"Yeah, it's me. How ya feeling?"

"Sore." His voice was barely a whisper, his mouth dry.

"Doctor Jones says you were lucky, concussion, cuts and bruises, no internal injuries." He passed Colby some water, holding the cup whilst he drank through a straw.
"Thanks."

"Can you tell me what happened man?"

Colby lifted his head slowly to look around the room, he thought he knew what had happened the previous day, it had to have been a set up, he just didn't know why. "I can't remember."

"Don't lie to me Col. If you don't talk to me, I can't help you." Adam was getting frustrated.

"Don't need help." He was in pain and didn't have the patience for this. He had a feeling that what had happened was part of a bigger picture, until he had a better idea of what that was he didn't feel like sharing.

"Surely you want who ever did this to be dealt with?"

"Don't worry about that, they will be." Colby said ominously.

"If I were you I'd want all the help I could get." Pointed out Adam.

"You're not me!" Insisted the injured man.

"No, I'm not, but you called me last night man. You wanted my help then, why not now?"

Sighing Colby finally looked at Adam. "I'm not good at this."

"What?" Asked Adam, confused.

"Needing help. Being laid up."

"We're family Col, that's what family do, help each other. Now come on, tell me what happened." Insisted Adam.

After a moment of consideration Colby decided to tell Adam what he had been through. "I was arrested yesterday afternoon for carrying a concealed weapon in my car, it was planted, I didn't have my gun with me."

"You were set up?" Asked Adam with a raised eyebrow.

"Certainly looks that way." Colby then proceeded to fill the other man in on what had happened.

"I spoke to the boss when I left here last night. She's insisting that you go stay with her whilst you recover. You're in no condition to worry about taking care of this for the time being." Adam winced when Colby moved and he saw the spasm of pain cross the other man's face.

"You need to get some rest. Sleep, I'll be here when you wake up." Adam settled himself into the chair and watched over his friend whilst he tried to sleep.

"David, would you please sit down!" Megan was getting fed up watching the man pace up and down in front of her. She was sat on a bench in MacArthur Park, waiting for Lieutenant Walker to arrive. Liz and Don were also there, looking as anxious as she felt.

"We haven't heard from him in 2 days." David turned round to face her, his expression one of anguish.

"I'm sure he's fine, he probably just can't get away to call us." Liz tried to reassure him.

"He's called every day, he knows we'd worry if we didn't hear from him." Insisted David.

"Keep your voice down man. There's nothing we can do. We just have to sit tight and hope he's safe." Don didn't like it any more than his Agent, but they had little choice in the matter. He turned and saw Gary Walker heading in their direction. He looked at him questioningly. Gary shook his head in response.

"Sorry, nobody has heard anything." He said softly. He had told Don he would discreetly ask around the rest of the taskforce and try to find out if anyone had heard where Colby had vanished to. "He hasn't been seen with Archer or at the bar at all." He could see the team were worried sick at the vanishing act that Colby had pulled. Gary was questioning, in his own mind, what it meant. Either the FBI Agent had come seriously unstuck and was laying in a ditch somewhere or he really had switched sides and the undercover thing was just a ruse to throw them off the scent.

"We need to find him." David was desperate for news of his partner.

"I don't see what else we can do, he's not answering his cell. His apartment is a no go area." Megan sighed in frustration.

Don got up from where he was sitting next to Megan. How could he have let this happen? He should have pulled Colby out when he first told them about this operation, now he was missing and there was nothing he could do to locate him. He was going to go back to HQ and march up to Wright's office and tell him what he thought of this plan and insist that the AD rectify the situation and find Colby before it was too late, if it wasn't already.

"You can't do it, Don." Megan had materialised next to him, he hadn't even heard her move.

"What?" He asked the picture of innocence.

"Have it out with the AD." She stated knowingly.

Damn, how did she do that? It never ceased to amaze him how quickly she could climb inside his head and know what he was thinking, almost before he knew.

"She's right Eppes. If Granger is out there with Archer then you could make things worse by going to the AD. The operation would be a bust and everything he's been through would be for nothing." Walker said. Nagging doubts aside, he didn't want to see these gangs walk away scot free.

"I know you're right, but I just feel so helpless." He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his watch, as was his custom when he was stressed. He turned to face the remainder of his team. "We'll give it another 48 hours, if we've heard nothing by then we'll go hunting for him, undercover operation be damned, we'll leave no rock unturned." The decision made, he felt much better. The rest of the team nodded their agreement.

The room was dark when Colby opened his one good eye, he had slept on and off through out the day, sitting up briefly to have some lunch and dinner before tiring and having to sleep again. He looked round the room and found he was alone for the first time today, Adam had refused to leave his side. Just like David would have at one time. He mentally shook himself, he couldn't allow his thoughts to go there, David couldn't be there, nor could the rest of the team, they didn't know where he was and that was the way it had to be, for now at least. He would protect them at all costs. He eased himself into a sitting position, grimacing at the pain it caused, and took his team cell out from under the pillow, he quickly turned it back on and sent a text to Don. "Don't worry, I'm OK, don't try to contact me, will be in touch in a few days." Turned it back off and slid it back under his pillow. Then he gently lowered himself back onto the bed and laid down. He stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room, wishing he could just hear his team's voices, hear their laughter, he missed working with them. His reverie was broken by Adam's return to the room.

"Hey man, how ya feeling?" The younger man asked as soon as he realised Colby was awake.

"A bit better, thanks. You know you don't have to hang around here, I'm fine."

"I know, but the boss asked me to keep an eye on ya!" Smirked Adam.

Colby wanted to roll his eyes but couldn't. "I don't need keeping an eye on." He responded irritably.

Adam chuckled, he was finding this new side to Colby Granger highly amusing. Colby on the other hand was far from amused. He was an FBI Agent (albeit a temporarily former one) and an ex-soldier, he did not need mothering or watching over like some invalid.

"Get outta here." He growled.

"No can do." Smiled Adam, sitting himself back down in the chair next to the bed. Colby closed his eyes, resigned to being babysat, and fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he next woke up, but he knew what had woken him, a throbbing headache, his cheekbone felt like he was being punched all over again and his ribs protested when he tried to find a more comfortable position, causing him to groan. Adam was immediately by his side.

"You OK?" He asked with concern, when he saw the look Colby was giving him he answered his own question. "Stupid question, I'll go find someone." He hurried from the room in search of a nurse or doctor.

He returned a few minutes later with Doctor Jones and a nurse in tow, he hadn't left them much choice when he had found them standing near the nurses station.

"Colby?" The Doctor reached the bed. His patient opened his eye and the doctor could see it was glazed with pain. He examined Colby quickly and efficiently before turning to the nurse. "10 of morphine and 5 of diazepam." She simply nodded and left the room to get the medication. "I'm going to give you some more pain relief and a muscle relaxant, OK?" Colby merely nodded slowly in response. "You're going to be in some considerable pain for a few days yet." His voice held a note of sympathy.

"Can I still get outta here tomorrow?" Colby asked, his voice gruff with the pain. Adam shook his head in disbelief.

Doctor Jones raised an eyebrow. "We'll discuss that in the morning." The nurse arrived and administered the medication into Colby's IV and before he could protest any further about his escape the drugs took effect and he drifted off to sleep.

Doctor Jones was examining Colby the next morning when Adam arrived, he had been kicked out shortly after his friend had fallen asleep, the nurses had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he could not stay the night and would need to return in the morning when visiting hours started again. He waited patiently outside the room until the door opened and he was allowed in.

"I have agreed that he can be discharged as long as he is careful and has someone to stay with him for the next 48 hours." The doctor told Adam.

"Not a problem Doc, a friend has offered to put him up for a few days."

"Good. You need to come back if you start vomiting, become dizzy or disorientated. If you want to get dressed, I'll go and fill out your discharge papers and a prescription for pain medication." He left the room, leaving his patient to get himself dressed.

"Lets get you outta here man. Daz is downstairs waiting to take you over to Jasmine's." Adam handed Colby a bag with some clothes in it. "Grabbed your keys when you fell asleep last night and went over to your place and packed some things."

"Right, thanks." Colby took the bag and watched as Adam left the room and pulled the door closed to allow him to get dressed in peace. He put his hand under the pillow and removed the team cell, glad he had had the foresight to move it, if he hadn't he would be facing some difficult questions about why he had two cells. He made his way slowly to the adjoining bathroom, removed the clothes he needed, freshened up and got dressed. He placed the cell in the bag and zipped it closed and joined Adam outside the room. They walked over to the nurses station where he signed his discharge papers and collected his prescription. Much to Colby's disgust he was then forced into a wheelchair and pushed out of the hospital to where Daz was waiting in the SUV.

Daz gave him a brief smile and waited as Adam helped him to settle himself in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

Colby had closed his eyes as soon as the SUV had pulled away from the hospital and didn't wake again until they pulled up outside the place Jasmine called home. He got slowly out of the vehicle and followed Adam into the warehouse, they walked in and as they crossed the space the door to the internal apartment opened to reveal Jasmine. "Bloody hell Colby." She gasped at the sight of him.

"Yeah, I know, I look like shit." He gave her a small smile.

She ushered him into her 'home' and led him to the guest room. "Get yourself undressed and into bed. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'd just like to get some sleep, thanks. Those hospital beds are damned uncomfortable."

"Alright, shout if you need anything." She closed the door behind her and went to speak to Adam. "What the hell happened to him?"

"He got arrested, when he went to collect his car he was dragged from it to a vacant parking lot and beaten. He said that at least 1 of the men that carried out the beating was LAPD." Adam had a feeling that Jasmine was going to be having words with someone over this. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the meds they had stopped to get on the way over. "Hospital sent him home with these, an' here's a list of do's and don'ts."

"Thanks Adam. Why don't you head out, am sure you have lots to do." She smiled softly and planted a kiss on the man's cheek, causing him to blush.

"Yeah, er, gotta do the rounds of the clubs." He managed to stammer before hurrying out.

Jasmine went into the kitchen and put the bottle of meds on the side. She rested her hands on the edge of the sink. She was angry. He had no right to do this to Colby, he was hers to worry about. She had made sure that the ex-agent had been watched carefully. She had listened to several conversations he had had with his Mom, he told her that he had left the FBI but didn't want to discuss it with her further than that. When she had asked him about the other team members he assured her that he still spoke to them, there was a bond that would never be fully broken, but it was complicated now he had left. She was obviously not aware of his new, highly illegal, career path and he couldn't tell her that he had cut off all contact with the team without her asking him about it. Jasmine had been fully satisfied with everything that she had seen and heard. Her silent partner had obviously not agreed with her assessment, something she would be taking up with him as soon as she got the chance.

Colby woke in unfamiliar surroundings, he carefully sat up and looked around. The room was comfortably furnished with an en suite bathroom. The décor was not to his taste, but he could see Jasmine written all over it. A big four poster bed, lots of scatter cushions, a chaise longue against one wall. He pushed himself up from the comfortable bed and was going to freshen up when he heard the sound of slightly raised voices. Not giving much thought to what he was doing he headed for the door and quietly opened it, thus allowing the voices to clearly drift through from the sitting room to where he was.

"He could have been killed, what the hell were you thinking?" Jasmine's voice was laced with fury.

"I was thinking that I needed to know, for myself, whether he was on our side or not." The voice wasn't one Colby recognised, but was equally hostile.

"Didn't I tell you I had it covered?"

"You? I couldn't trust your judgement. You were in love with the man not 6 months ago." The male voice sneered.

"That doesn't give you the right to arrange to have him beaten half to death! He has been nothing but an asset since he joined us."

"Davies wouldn't agree." The man pointed out.

"He's an asshole. Colby didn't know where the meet was so couldn't have given it away. If you had spoken to me, you would have known that, since I arranged it that way!"

"Now I have confirmed for myself where his loyalties lay. If he had been working for the FBI or LAPD there is no doubt he would have called Eppes or Walker. Eppes may bend the rules but he's not dirty. The Lieutenant is a straight arrow and everyone in law enforcement knows it."

Colby drew in a sharp breath, just feet away sat the man who had arranged for him to be beaten to a pulp. It had all been a test. He allowed his emotions to take over, seeing red he walked quietly out of the room and across the office into the sitting room, both Jasmine and her male guest didn't see him until it was too late. He grabbed the man in a head lock and pulled him to his feet, despite his injuries he was still strong and fuelled with rage.

"You bastard!"

"Colby, it's OK."

"No, Jasmine, it's not. Far from it!"

The commotion had brought a couple of Jasmine's men running, she held up her hand to stop them. "Colby, let him go." She ordered. "Now!"

Growling he gave the man a hard push, sending him sprawling on to the sofa. The man quickly got to his feet and squared up to Colby. Jasmine quickly stepped between them. "Colby, go and get some clothes on. We'll talk about this when you come back." She looked at him, hoping that he would calm down. "Please." She said softly.

Colby had forgotten that he had been wearing nothing but boxers until Jasmine had told him to go put some clothes on. He nodded his agreement and turned nonchalantly back to the guest room, pretending that it didn't bother him in the slightest that he was walking around in his underwear. Once back in the room he dressed in the jeans and t-shirt he had worn back from the hospital, he took a couple of calming breaths before rejoining Jasmine and her 'silent partner' back in the sitting room. When he entered he sat opposite the man, never taking his eyes off him.